Woodstock - Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins + Deux Cranes - Matcha Strawberry (bar) - Dec. 8, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Woodstock
Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 3.25 oz. (92 g.) / 8.5 oz. (241 g.) in total package
Calories: 450 calories in 1/2 package (3 servings)
Cost: $9.49 for 1 package
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week, with a Japanese twist.

Today's Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins were from Woodstock (Edison, NJ), and distributed by UNFI (Providence, RI)* -- a day that also featured Japanese movies and snacks that included an elegant white chocolate Strawberry Matcha bar from Deux Cranes (Los Gatos, CA); Matcha, Sardine Cracker and Curry Popcorn(s);...and mentions of two treats that got away.

These raisins were paired with a virtual trip to an imaginary Tokyo theater (my living room). I had fun making Japanese popcorn flavors (Matcha, Sardine Cracker and Curry). These were joined by sweet rice crackers and sesame crackers. This snack buffet on a lacquered tray was a good match with classic Japanese films. 

There were two small disappointments: 1.) I couldn't find the Japanese gummy eels (candy) in time for this entry. 2.) Nor was I able to find the Japanese Raisin Tree (Hovenia dulcis), with fruits that taste like raisins. Both seemed perfect for the occasion. (You might see these in a future Japan-themed chocolate week.)

Some of you are asking, where are the Raisinets? A doff of the hat to our U.S. classic chocolate covered raisin brand: Raisinets.

I featured Nestle Raisinets** here on Chocolate Banquet (10/14/2009). I don't feature the same chocolate twice unless there's a new version/ingredients change. Raisinets are now owned by a different company, but they're still going strong at movie concession stands, nearly 99 years after they were invented in 1927.

I was happy to find Woodstock's organic version of the popular American movie treat, that I had not tried yet.

Woodstock Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins

Aroma and flavor notes for these glazed chocolate raisins included: smooth chocolate-y, dark chocolate  and faint dried fruit (raisin). The dark chocolate coating surrounded whole dried raisins.

I appreciated the company's long-time commitment to the use of organic and Non-GMO ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Soy Lecithin [An Emulsifier]), Organic Natural Flavor, Organic Sunflower Lecithin [An Emulsifier], Organic Raisins (Raisins, Sunflower Oil), Confectioner's Glaze, Organic Maltodextrin, Organic Sugar. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Soy. Manufactured in a plant that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, sesame, eggs and milk products." 

Japanese Films

I "paired" today's dark chocolate raisins with a classic Japanese film: "Rashomon" (1950); a more modern classic film "Spirited Away" (2001); and episodes from the classic animated series "Speed Racer". Popular in the 1960s-1970s in the U.S., this series featuring a talented young racer driving a "Mach 5" car in a racing world surrounded by intrigue, was part of the local Saturday cartoon line-up where I grew up. Go, Speed Racer, Go!

*Woodstock is owned by United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) based in Providence, Rhode Island. The company sources organic and Non-GMO ingredients from farms in 25 countries. Today's organic dark chocolate raisins were produced in the U.S. with domestic and imported ingredients.

**Ferrero acquired Nestle's U.S. confectionery business in 2018, which had previously bought the brand from the Bluementhal Brothers in 1984. The Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company "invented" Raisinets in 1927.