Monday, May 24, 2021

Hu Kitchen - Chocolate Covered Hunks, Cashew + Vanilla Bean - May 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Hu Products LLC
Chocolate Covered Hunks, Cashew + Vanilla Bean
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 4 oz. (113 oz.) in total package
Calories: 340 calories in 2 servings
Cost: $6.49 for 1 package
Purchased from: Sprouts, Mountain View, CA 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and VWXYZ Theme Week, featuring chocolate items with origins or flavor inclusions that begin with the letters V, W, X, Y and/or Z.

Today's Cashew + Vanilla Bean Chocolate Covered Hunks were created by Hu Products LLC/ Hu Kitchen (Union Square, NYC, NY). 

Siblings, Jordan Brown and Jessica Karp, co-founded Hu Kitchen, a paleo-inspired restaurant in New York City. And together with Chairman and co-founder Jason Karp, the company expanded their line of chocolate bars, snacks, and other items.*

This yummy snack smelled sweet--thanks to the vanilla bean (and its implied warm, floral, spice promise of baked cakes and cookies, hot cocoa, etc.)--with notes of caramel cashew, chocolate and vanilla, and freshly baked cashew shortbread cookies. 

These chocolate covered nuts had a natural matte finish (no confectioners glaze). Don't let the short list of high-quality ingredients fool you though. This organic, vegan and paleo offering ticked every box on my "addictive chocolate snacks" checklist: authentic flavors, sweet (but not too sweet), salty (but not too salty), flavorful dark chocolate, roasted nuts, crunchy texture. So, don't be surprised if you suddenly find you've just eaten more than you thought.

Thank you Hu Kitchen for going the extra mile to make this high-end treat: 1.) the organic, house-ground 70% cacao-based, flavorful, velvety dark chocolate (that coated crunchy, nutty cashews) that had a trace of earthiness in the finish; 2.) the judicious amounts of vanilla bean and sea salt; 3.) the organic cashews; and the 4.) organic, unrefined coconut sugar which added a hint of warm, caramel flavor.

Ingredients: Organic cashews, organic cacao, organic unrefined coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter, sea salt, organic vanilla bean. 

(Note: the company has said in the past that they purchase much of their cacao from the Dominican Republic and Bolivia. Cacao origin was not identified on the packaging for this offering.)

Allergen-related information: "Contains cashew and coconut. May contain almond and hazelnut. Allergen cleans are made prior to production, but beware that product is produced using equipment that also processes tree nuts, soy, peanuts, milk and wheat."

*In January 2021, snack food giant Mondelez International (that had taken a minority stake in the company in 2019) completed an acquisition of Hu Products.

Brookside Dark Chocolate Vineyard Inspired Merlot Grape, Black Currant (pieces) - May 23, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Brookside Chocolate
(Distributed by The Hershey Company)
Dark Chocolate Vineyard Inspired Merlot Grape and Black Currant Flavors 
Good 
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving (16 pieces)
Cost: missing information
Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and VWXYZ Theme Week, featuring chocolate items that have origins and/or flavor inclusions that start with the letters V, W, X, Y and Z.

Today's Brookside Dark Chocolate Vineyard Inspired Merlot Grape and Black Currant Flavors (pieces) were distributed by The Hershey Company (Hershey, PA).

The grapes in today's wine grape and fruit flavored chocolates were part of a festive, sweet sangria-colored, fruit punch filling, with vineyard roots. (It was great to see wine grapes featured in something other than wine.*) The "velvety" fruit center had a soft gummy chew, and was enveloped in dark chocolate and confectioner's glaze.

The blend of merlot grape and other juice concentrates, plus a hint of vanilla in the dark chocolate, resulted in a tart-sweet brightness, natural fruit colors, and a sugary warmth.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate [sugar; chocolate; cocoa butter; milk fat; cocoa processed with alkali; lecithin (soy); milk; salt; natural vanilla flavor]; sugar; deionized apple juice concentrate; corn syrup; fruit juice concentrate [merlot grape juice concentrate; cranberry juice concentrate; black currant juice concentrate; lemon juice concentrate]; maltodextrin; natural flavor; pectin; malic acid; confectioner's glaze; canola oil; sodium citrate; baking soda; dextrose; citric acid; ascorbic acid.

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free; No artificial flavors; No artificial colors." "Manufactured on the same equipment that processes almonds."

*Wine table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice are almost as rare as cacao fruit/pulp and non-alcoholic cacao juice. However, these fruits can be delicious on their own if you ever have the chance to try them. 

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