Chocolate(s) of The Day
Weiser Classic Candy
Grizzly Paw Soft Caramel
Good ++
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70.75 g.) / 5 oz. (141.5 g.) in total package/box
Calories: 387 calories (estimate) in 1/2 serving
Cost: $6.99 for 1 package/large bear paw (+ other bonus items)
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA
Sjaak's Organic Chocolates
California State Bear Dark Chocolate Almonds (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: Missing information
Purchased from: Missing information
Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Bears Theme Week, featuring two bear-themed chocolates.
Grizzly Paw Soft Caramel with Cashew "Claws"
This chocolate coated Grizzly (bear) paw was from Weiser Classic Candy (Weiser, ID).
Weiser Classic Candy is a family-run store (and deli) serving: fudge, caramel (and chocolate) confections, and ice cream. The small-batch chocolatier also produces chocolate confections that are carried in several other small businesses. (They use local ingredients including sugar from local sugar beets and dairy from local cows.)
This bear paw caramel-filled confection was big enough to share with two other people. It was filled with a soft, gentle sea of caramel. The sweetness of the caramel was vast, but balanced by the impressive claws (whole, salted cashews).
I enjoyed the salty claws (whole, salted, jumbo cashews) on this generously-sized grizzly claw. I also was tickled to find two bonus items...
...Under the chocolate caramel claw were a smattering of chocolate-covered raisins (chocolate bear scat) and a small bell (a reference to bear bells often used to let bears know you may be in their area and/or that you're headed their way).
A short printed bear story included information about bears being reintroduced in Idaho (and suggestions about possible human-bear interactions).
Ingredients: Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk, Soya Lecithin, Vanillin (an artificial flavor), natural & artificial flavorings, butter corn syrup, evaporated milk, tenox, sucovert, paramount crystals, cashews
Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy, Nuts (Cashews). "These products are produced in a facility that uses major allergens: peanuts, soy beans, milk, eggs, fish, tree nuts, and wheat"
California State Bear Dark Chocolate (bar)
Today's California State Bear Dark Chocolate Almonds bar was from Sjaak's Organic Chocolates.
This bear bar was a marvel. It was six years old, and looked and tasted brand new. The well-tempered dark chocolate (no cacao % listed on the label) was smooth-textured and smooth-flavored with a balanced chocolate-y taste. Tiny almond bits added a bit of texture and authentic nut (almond) flavor.
Sadly, the chocolate maker is no longer in business. (Sjaak's Organic Chocolates was based in Petaluma, in Northern California and closed up shop in November 2023 after an almost 20-year run.)
Ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (organic cocoa paste), organic sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla), organic almonds.
Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds. "Sjaak's Organic Chocolates is a vegan facility. Equipment shared with peanuts/tree nuts. Ingredients suppliers may share equipment that could result in trace amounts of dairy protein."
