French Broad - Dark Chocolate Montmorency Cherries + Sted Foods Salty Licorice 38% (bar) - Dec. 11, 2025

Chocolate(s) of the Day

French Broad Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Montmorency Cherries
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 240 calories in 2 servings
Cost: $17.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Sted Foods
Salty Licorice 38% White Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sted Foods, online order 

Welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week(s)--where salutes to movie snack bars and concession stand memories are piling up. Here are a few more.

Today's two chocolates are collectively honoring memories of cherry slushie/ICEE drinks, chocolate covered snacks, and licorice candy (including cherry licorice candy) enjoyed in childhood. 

I'm upgrading these flavor memories significantly with chocolates from two U.S.-based bean-to-bar makers.

Dark Chocolate Montmorency Cherries

Today's cherry-filled chocolates were handcrafted by French Broad Chocolate (Asheville, NC). 

Make sure to savor these confections slowly, to fully appreciate the bean-to-bar dark chocolate and the high-quality Montmorency* cherries. Dark chocolate and cherries are a natural match, but these two ingredients had a special sense of resonance with each other.

Aroma and flavor notes included: flavorful dark chocolate; and authentic, concentrated sweet-tart (whole, dried) cherries with a concentrated, rich flavor that lingered into the finish. 

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (cacao, sugar*, cacao butter), dried cherries (red tart montmorency cherries (red tart montmorency cherries, sugar, sunflower oil). (*organic)

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles tree nuts, wheat, gluten, milk, eggs, sesame & peanuts. May not be suitable for people with allergies to these foods."

*The Montmorency cherry (Prunus cerasus) is named for an area in France, and is a popular cherry in the U.S. and Canada.

Salty Licorice White Chocolate 

This Sted Foods Salty Licorice 38% White Chocolate (bar) (a "Scandi treat") was manufactured by TC Foods, LLC (Fergus Falls, MN)

Aroma and flavor notes for this golden-hued bar included: caramel (brown sugar, faint maple candy) with   upticks in salt. (The tiny salt crystals on the back looked like fresh-fallen flakes of snow.) 

There was licorice flavor (powder) incorporated into the white chocolate; but, I did not taste it. So I paired this bar with a black salted licorice caramel from Holland. That added the licorice oomph my adult-self was looking for and it helped balance the milky sweetness in this bar.

Ingredients: "organic cocoa butter, organic cane sugar, organic whole milk powder, organic licorice powder, sea salt"

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk. Made in a facility that uses sesame seeds, pecans, almonds, coconut, cashews, hazelnuts, and milk."

Cherry & Licorice Movie & Music Video Pairings...

I "paired" these two chocolates with a short animated video fairy tale: "Princess Chang and the Cherry Tree"; and a music video of KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" (2005).

I also watched the movie "Licorice Pizza" (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) (2021). Many people missed this one (I did), as it coincided with Covid-19, when people felt uncomfortable in movie theaters. (Note to parents: this movie is Rated R.)