Harbor Sweets - Harbor Lights Cranberry and Raspberry Truffle(s) in Dark Chocolate - Aug. 29, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Harbor Sweets
Harbor Lights Cranberry and Raspberry Truffle in Dark Chocolate
Good ++
Weight: 1.43 oz. (40.5 g.) / 2 7/8 oz. (81 g.) in total package of 8 pieces
Calories: 222 calories (estimate) in 4 pieces
Cost: $12.95 (+ shipping) for 1 package of 8 pieces
Purchased from: Harbor Sweets, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and The Sea Theme Week, including craft chocolate bars as well as some novelty sea-themed chocolates.

As we approach Labor Day (and the end of summer), here in northern California, strolling down a beach and being awed by the ocean seemed appealing. It also made me think of the importance of lighthouses and navigational buoys on the often rough Pacific coast. (Some historic shipwrecks in the San Francisco Bay Area are still viewable at low tide.)

On a related, sweeter note, today's Harbor Lights Cranberry and Raspberry Truffle(s) in Rich Dark Chocolate from Harbor Sweets (Salem, MA) were topped with the embossed image of a lighthouse. The company offers a variety of sea-themed chocolate confections.

Aroma and flavor notes for these individually-wrapped (in gold foil) two-tone truffles included: sweet dark chocolate (outer covering and creamy dark ganache filling), tart-sweet fruit (berry, cherry), faint vanilla, and barely detectable oxalis (tart green herb, sour grass).

The foundation (bottom layer) of this truffle was creamy, solid, white chocolate with a warm, welcoming vanilla flavor. And both the dark and white layers of chocolate complemented the sweet, tart cranberry and raspberry flavors (and touch of buttermilk) very nicely.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor processed with Alkali, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Butterfat (Milk), Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), White Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Milk fat, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Heavy Cream (Cream, Carrageenan, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80), Blended Red Raspberry and Cranberry Juice Concentrate, Butter (Cream (Milk), Salt), Buttermilk (Cultured Pasteurized Fat Free Milk, Salt, Sodium Citrate), Salt. 

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk and Soy. This product is prepared in a facility that handles soy, milk, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts and sesame.

 

Harbor Sweets - Dark Chocolate Lobster - Aug. 28, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Harbor Sweets
Dark Chocolate Lobster
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 3.32 oz. (94 g.) in 1 lobster
Calories: 480 calories (estimate) in 1 lobster
Cost: $13.95 (+ shipping) for 1 lobster
Purchased from: Harbor Sweets, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and The Sea Theme Week, including craft chocolate bars and a few novelty sea-themed chocolates.

Today's Dark Chocolate Lobster was from Harbor Sweets (Salem, MA). The company offers a variety of sea-themed chocolate confections.

Aroma and flavor notes for this generously-sized, dark chocolate replica of a salt water crustacean included: deep, dark, fudge-y chocolate (dark chocolate candy, dark chocolate syrup), very slightly smoke-y vanilla, and very faint caramel and nut notes.

The dark chocolate had a uniform texture and flavor, and was interspersed with soft and slightly crunchy elements. Embedded in the solid chocolate center there were pieces of caramel with pecan, toasted almonds, and "almond buttercrunch toffee."

This lobster was sweet, but not ultra-sweet (thank you). The dark chocolate had a little roasted oomph and vanilla to it, and wasn't too bitter. (The cocoa used was alkalized, to control acidity and bitterness. This relatively common process is used to tame dark chocolates and mellow hot cocoa mixes, especially if some of the cacao is not of the highest quality.)*

I enjoyed the realistic lobster shape, posing this on a plate with garnishes, and the fact that I didn't have to drop a real live lobster in a pot (a traumatic childhood experience for me) to imagine this wondrous creature roaming around the sea bottom. 

I was less fond of the additives and emulsifiers in the ingredient list. (But the touch of honey was nice.)

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor processed with Alkali, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Butterfat (Milk), Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Sugar, Butter (Cream (Milk), Salt), Pecans, Almonds, Cream (Light Cream and Disodium Phosphate), Tapioca Syrup (Tapioca Starch), Evaporated Milk (Milk, 0.5% or less of: Dipotassium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Vitamin D3), Light Brown Sugar, Wildflower Honey, Vanilla, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda. 

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Almonds, Pecans and Soy. This product is prepared in a facility that handles soy, milk, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts and sesame.

*People often ask me why they should spend $13 on a bar of chocolate. In today's case, you're paying for the novelty shape, and 94 grams  (a lot) of chocolate. 

Taste a few single origin dark bars (made with just two ingredients) side-by-side with dark chocolate blends that have been more highly processed, and contain emulsifiers, additives and preservatives, and let me know if you can tell the difference.