Puchero - Chocolate with Pistachios & Strawberries 50% (bar) - Mar. 8, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Puchero
Chocolate with Pistachios and Strawberries 50% (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 177 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate with Pistachios and Strawberries 50% (bar) was from Puchero (Valladolid, Spain), and made with local ingredients from Spain: "Pistacyl" pistachios from Valladolid and strawberries from Segovia.

The subtle aroma notes included: sweet red berry (strawberry), milk chocolate, and caramel.

This bar had a unique texture. It had a thick (in a cold room), high-fat, creamy melt and mouthfeel. There was no dairy or dairy fat in this bar. The relatively high fat content muted the chocolate and other flavors a little, and provided a buttery tasting experience.

The rich texture was accomplished via (I'm guessing) cocoa butter and very finely ground pistachio nuts (as I did not detect any pistachio nut pieces, just subtle nut flavor). 

The flavors were mild and balanced. The cacao flavors were extremely subtle, with no detectable acidity, bitterness or dark chocolate flavors one typically finds with the presence "darker" half of the cocoa bean (solids). 

This chocolate belongs on a 50% cacao bar tasting flight, to show what is possible using a lower percentage of cacao solids.* (It would also be a nice addition to a dessert plate.)

Almost all 50% cacao chocolates are very sweet. It was a happy surprise to discover this one  (refreshingly) was not. Sugar was the third ingredient listed. 

There was no "more-ish" sugar craving (to wolf down more of this chocolate) in this quieter bar. I enjoyed savoring each bite slowly, and was content with less.

Ingredients: "Cacao beans, pistachio (25%), organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, dehydrate strawberry (4%), salt."

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of nuts, milk and gluten.

*Percentages may surprise you, tasting both darker and milder than one might expect. Some "lower" percentage chocolates may taste higher than indicated, and vice versa. The origin and variety of cacao (not always identified on the packaging) makes a difference. And, in today's case, a lower percentage bar doesn't have to mean more sugar.