Sunday, March 6, 2022

Chocolarder - Gingerbread 55% Milk Chocolate India (bar) - Mar. 6, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolarder
Gingerbread 55% Milk Chocolate India (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Weeks, and Day #1 of Chocolate and India Theme Week. 

When I first started Chocolate Banquet in 2006 I could not find Indian cacao; and even Indian-inspired flavor additions (usually chai blends) to chocolates were rare. Happily, that's changed. 

Today's well-tempered bar was made with ginger from the Kamthana Village in the State of Karnataka--located on the (south)western coast of India. Spices and India are forever linked in my mind. And what little flour this chocolate contained was gram (chickpea) flour--a possible nod to Indian cuisine.*

Today's Gingerbread 55% Milk Chocolate India (bar) was made by Chocolarder (Falmouth, Cornwall, UK). 

This milk chocolate bar had an aroma with chocolate (cake) and authentic gingerbread spice (star anise, ginger, cinnamon, clove) notes. 

The texture and flavor notes were also a thoughtful homage** to favorite ginger-spiced "breads" (more accurately, cookies/biscuits and cakes). Tiny grains of sugar and sea salt added interest to this smooth, spiced chocolate--reminding me of large, soft-ish, gingerbread people (cookies). Smelling of ginger and molasses right out of the oven, they were sprinkled with granulated sugar. If they lasted that long, sugar icing smiles and buttons were later applied. 

Maker's tasting notes: "Flavours of fudge and brasil nuts with pockets of fiery ginger and dark molasses."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, whole milk powder, gingerbread (oats, gram flour, butter(milk), ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, sea salt).

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk/dairy.) "Made in a factory that also handles tree nuts."

* India produces the most chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Although they may have originated closer to the Mediterranean Sea. There are two main types of this legume (desi and kabuli). Gram flour (besan) is often made with the smaller, browner desi chickpeas. (We see primarily the larger, lighter-colored kabuli type in the US--unless you're enjoying some authentic Indian chana dal perhaps.)

**The inside (plastic-free) packaging for this bar contained the following gingerbread history and description of today's chocolate:

"It is believed that the first gingerbread recipe originated in Greece in around 2400 BC. From there, Chinese recipes were developed in the 10th century and by the late middle ages, Europeans had their own version of the biscuit.

The hard cookies, sometimes gilded with gold leaf and shaped like animals, kings and queens, were a staple at Medieval fairs in England, France, Holland and Germany. 

Now in the 21st century, here is our own grown up take on Gingerbread, made exclusively in house, using exceptional ginger sourced from Kamthana village, India."

Raaka Chocolate - Pumpkin Swirl Unroasted Dark Chocolate 60% Cacao (bar) - Mar. 5, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Raaka Chocolate
Pumpkin Swirl Unroasted Dark Chocolate 60% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: .9 oz. (25.5 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar 
Calories: 134 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Raaka, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Weeks.

Today's Pumpkin Swirl Unroasted Dark Chocolate 60% cacao bar was made by Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY), and included Oat Haus (maple-sweetened) Granola Butter. 

Today's Pumpkin Swirl had a very subtle cacao aroma* with warm spice (maple, cinnamon, pumpkin pie and oatmeal) notes.

The dark chocolate was fully blended with the warm spice blend that was blended with a swirl white chocolate and pumpkin powder, adding even further flavor depth and complexity.

The spice-infused chocolate was sweet but the pumpkin powder, dark chocolate and perhaps some of the "butter" and spices helped balance the sweetness in the well-executed, overall blend. The pumpkin, spice and granola flavors played well together in this, and there were no off notes in this dairy-free and gluten-free bar. 

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coconut, organic Oat Haus Granola Butter** (organic, gluten-free oats; organic flaxseed, organic olive oil, organic maple syrup, organic coconut oil, organic cinnamon, salt, organic allspice, organic cardamom, organic ginger); organic pumpkin powder; organic sunflower lecithin; organic cinnamon; organic ginger; organic allspice; organic cardamom; organic nutmeg.

Allergen-related information: (Contained coconut.) Certified Organic and Kosher. Vegan, Gluten free. Soy free.

*Un-roasted cacao beans can be milder/smoother than roasted cacao(s). However, there were a lot of other flavors in today's Pumpkin Swirl chocolate, making it more difficult to discern the cacao notes from the Zoral Cacao, Dominican Republic cacao used to make this bar. The dark chocolate clearly helped anchor the sweet and spice flavors though.

Bixby and Co. - 20 Karat Primo Bar - 70% DR Dark Chocolate Spiced Primo Almonds - Mar. 4, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Bixby and Co.
20 Karat Primo Bar
70% Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate Spiced Primo Almonds 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar ($46 for 4-bar assortment)
Purchased from: Good Food Awards Marketplace, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Weeks.

Today's "20 Karat Primo Bar"--70% Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate with Spiced Primo Almonds (bar)--was created by Bixby and Co. (Rockland, ME) to celebrate Rockland neighbor Primo Restaurant's 20th anniversary. 

The aroma for this bar encompassed bold, flavorful dark chocolate, salt/savory snack, roasted nut, and raw sugar notes--and the scent of a potentially addictive, high-end, savory-sweet snack mixes with spices and herbs (rosemary) as well.
 
The flavors did deliver on the promise of a seductive and satisfying, salty-sweet nut mix. This 70% dark chocolate bar was a balanced blend of bold flavors and smooth and crunchy textures. 

The spices (salt, red and black peppers and rosemary) were a great match with (and elevated) the roasted nuts and chocolate. I detected to a very faint tingle of ginger spice; however, there was no mention of ginger in the ingredients list. Probably the pepper and sugar. It was hard to tell if there might have been a warm spice note also in the single origin DR chocolate.

Bixby notes for the spicy almond pieces adhered to the back: "...Primo's iconic recipe for roasted rosemary almonds, a snack that's typically served with drinks and cocktails." The Mediterranean-themed, almond blend helped balance the sweetness and added sassy savory depth.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, almonds, rosemary, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper.

Allergen-related information: "(Contains) Tree Nuts. Manufactured in a facility that also processes Peanut and Milk products."

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