Palmer - "Bee Mine" - Milk Chocolate bee - Mar. 29, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

R.M. Palmer Company
"Bee Mine" Milk Chocolate
OK+
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories for 1/3 package
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day of a short, 4-day Spring Celebration Series, featuring different chocolate critters.

Today's "Bee Mine" hollow milk chocolate item was distributed by R.M. Palmer Company (Reading, PA). Originally created for Valentines Day, this holiday novelty item had been squirreled away in my chocolate vault just for such an occasion.

Loved the concept of having little honey-flavored bees inside a bigger chocolate bee. Very clever design. OK chocolate.

I hope that the abundance of rain, green grass and wildflowers we're receiving in California this year will be good for our (real, non-chocolate) honeybees, which seem to be having a rough go of it.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Palmer - "You Mooove Me" (Cow) - Mar. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by R.M. Palmer Company
You Mooove Me - Milk Chocolate Cow
OK+
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories for 1/3 cow
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to a spring celebration of chocolate animals this week.

The last few days featured chocolate Easter bunnies, in part inspired by real rabbits seen enjoying green grass* in the area. And, today, I'm moving on to other chocolate critters.

Today's "You Mooove Me" Hollow Milk Chocolate cow was distributed** by R.M. Palmer Company (Reading, PA). This item came from the chocolate vault, where chocolate animals from holidays past were hiding.


This well-rounded, slightly goofy-looking, foil-wrapped cow was not one you'd typically see in a pasture. And the chocolate is not super top quality. But the design was great. The cow was a traditional milk chocolate novelty candy item that included dextrose candy, and both natural and artificial chocolate flavors.

But wait, there's more. Inside this hollow milk chocolate cow, there was a whole herd of tiny "Chocolate Milk Flavored Candy Cows" that had a faint, hot cocoa confection flavor.

*I was inspired by the beautiful green grass we've been experiencing following actual rain...something we haven't seen for 4-5 years, due to a serious drought. And I get a kick out of chocsimiles (chocolate facsimiles) of animals and other nouns.

**"Dextrose candy made in Malaysia" -- I'm guessing this refers to the tiny candy cows in the middle.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

ChocolateBet: December 26, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Palmer
Swirling Santas and Snowmen
Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.)/ 4.3 oz. (122 g.) total bag/package
Calories: 100 calories
Cost: $0.99 total bag
Purchased from: CVS/Pharmacy, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Theme Week.

Palmer is one of the larger maker of novelty and holiday chocolates in the U.S. The company's milk chocolate Swirled Santas and Snowmen, individually wrapped in foil and flavored with caramel, were the object of today's fun and games.

Where was the coconut? you might ask. It was provided by Safeway -- in the form of shredded coconut "snow." (No, that is not yellow snow.)

ChocolateBet: December 23, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bite of zombie
Palmer
Zombies - Milk Chocolate Flavored Solid Decorated Pieces
OK + - Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 bite of a zombie/ 5 oz. (142 g.) total package
Calories: 38 calories (estimate)
Cost: $1.00 (sale)
Purchased from: Rite Aid, in Mountain View, CA

Time is running out on 2010. And, some would say, given hard economic times this past year for many, that is a good thing. However, the end of the year is also a time to review all the theme weeks that might have been on Chocolate Banquet (this blog) -- themes that were just a little bit too "different." This week's theme week tackles a different imaginary theme every day.

Today is Day #1 of Chocolate and Something Different Theme Week, and today we explore chocolate and zombies, with a few Albanese Gummi Army Guys thrown in for fun.

Palmer makes lots of fun novelty chocolates, and their Milk Chocolate Flavored Solid Zombies offering is in tune with the recent resurgence in popularity of zombies (e.g. local San Jose Metro cover above right). The fruit-flavored (green apple-ish) Gummi Army Guys were made by the Albanese Confectionery Co., based in Merrillville, Indiana. Poor chocolate zombie never had a chance.

ChocolateBet: December 28, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

4 pieces
R.M. Palmer
Double Crisp Santas 'n Snowmen
Good
Weight: .66 oz./ 2 oz. (56 grams) in total pkg.
Calories: 97 calories (estimate) in 4 pieces
Cost: $ 0.50 for 2 oz. package (12 pieces)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: March 21, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1/4 choc cross
Palmer (R.M. Palmer Company)
May His Light Shine Upon You (solid milk chocolate-shaped cross)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 grams)
Calories: 37 calories (150 calories total)
Cost: $0.99
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: March 20, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Palmer (R.M. Palmer Co.)
Hear My Prayer Double Crisp
(A pair of chocolate hands folded in prayer)
Very Good
Wt. 1.5 oz. (42.5 grams)
Calories: 220
Cost: $0.99
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

I was thinking good thoughts while munching on the chocolate hands. This was another Easter related chocolate for this week leading up to Easter Sunday.

Chocolate Bunnies in the news...

I read in an article that last year that more than 90 million chocolate rabbits were produced in the U.S. for Easter. This data apparently came from the National Confectioners Association.

"A survey by the association revealed that 76 percent of chocolate bunny eaters bite the ears first, and 42 percent of sweet eaters preferred solid chocolate bunnies. Of those people surveyed, 21 percent said they preferred a hollow chocolate bunny, 10 percent wanted to see a marshmallow bunny in their basket and 9 percent wanted other types of Easter candies."

This information was from a (New Hampshire) "Telegraph" article by Andrea Bushee entitled "Sweet shops make their own chocolate bunnies" that ran yesterday, Wed. March 19, 2008.

ChocolateBet: April 11, 2007

Chocolate of the Day:

Palmer Company
Animal Expressions (card with chocolate)
Good
Weight: .4 oz./11 g.
Calories: 60 calories

Cute puppy card with red foil wrapped chocolate lips/"kiss"

Later on the way home, I watched little apricot-colored puff clouds being blown across the evening sky. OK, I realize this is a random addition. But, it's important to enjoy the moment, chocolate or otherwise. Thank God I can still do this.

I'm starting to read "Best American Travel Writing (short stories edited by Tim Cahill)." This should either help feed or help satisfy my travel lust. And, with travel will come chocolate field trips.