Chocolate(s) of The Day
Eclat Chocolate
Porcini & Thyme 33%/28% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .55 oz. (15 g.) / 2.2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 86 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order
The Organic House
Salted Cream & Onion 55% Belize - Maya Mountain Belize (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 1.76 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving (30 g.) of bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order
Welcome to Day #6 of Savory Chocolates Theme Week, featuring two different chocolate bars that contained (collectively) at least three savory ingredients: mushrooms, thyme and onion. The first bar was a polite sweet confection, and the second chocolate was a flavorful, hearty onion-tinged fiesta.
Porcini & Thyme 33%/28% Cacao (bar)
Today's Porcini and Thyme 33%/28% Cacao chocolate was from Eclat Chocolate (West Chester, PA). This bar was part of the company's "Parallel" bar series--that pair classic flavors, offering a light, layered tasting experience.
Aroma and flavor notes in this attractive bar (with alternating, parallel, fields of white and milk chocolate) included: sweet white chocolate and sweet milk chocolate, vanilla, and very faint (barely detectable herb and umami).
Texture: smooth, with an even melt. (Flavor additions were fully incorporated. I couldn't detect any traces of porcini powder or herb "grit".)
I liked that I could choose squares that were more milk chocolate than white chocolate and vice versa. This elegantly designed and packaged bar would make a nice gift for those with a sweet tooth and who are botanically inclined.
However, it may be too sweet for dark chocolate lovers. The high sugar content (and low cacao percentages) made it difficult for me to taste any cacao, porcini or thyme flavors--that were lost in a sweet cream and vanilla white chocolate confection.
Ingredients: White chocolate: (min. cocoa mass 28%, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soya lecithin, natural vanilla), milk chocolate (min. cocoa mass 33%, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soya lecithin, natural vanilla), porcini powder, fresh thyme.
Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy. "Produced in a facility that handles peanuts, tree nuts, milk, wheat and soy."
Salted Cream & Onion 55% Cacao Belize (bar)
Today's Salted Cream & Onion 55% Cacao Belize (bar) was from The Organic House (Burlington, ON, Canada).
Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate (rich, chocolate-y with faint fruits) and honey-ed onion soup. This was a rich, smooth chocolate with diverse flavors that played together very nicely (in my opinion). The results were: less stuffy traditional orchestra and more New Orleans/Caribbean jazz ensemble.
The base chocolate was smooth textured. The "cream" (in the salted cream and onion title) was achieved with cashews, not dairy. The onion powder was fully incorporated; and the sea salt balanced the honeyed sweetness, naturally occurring fruit and the subtle balanced earth and acidity in the cacao and onion.
I really enjoyed the few squares I tried. But, sweet and sassy flavors may not be for everyone.
The single origin Belize (Maya Mountain) cacao was the bold heart and fruity soul of this bar, and the onion, sea salt and coconut flower nectar took it to the next level.
Thank you to the makers at Organic House for producing several chocolate bars with savory and/or umami flavor inclusions; using a short list of single origin, Organic ingredients; and creating chocolates with less processed sweeteners (maple sugar, coconut flower nectar) than refined white cane and beet sugars.
Maker's Tasting Notes: "Buttery notes of chocolate, roasted onions, honey, raisins, pineapple, and sea salt"
Ingredients: "Organic coconut flower nectar, Organic cacao beans, Organic cacao butter, Organic cashews, Onion powder, Organic sea salt."
Allergen-related information: Contains Coconut, Cashews. Made in a facility that uses tree nuts.
