Ranger Chocolate - Alaska Sea Salt Chocolate Bar - July 4, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Company
Alaska Sea Salt Chocolate Bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week. And Happy 4th of July (Independence Day) to all those from the U.S. The salt sparkles in this week's chocolates have helped celebrate summer.

Today's Alaska Sea Salt Chocolate Bar (Batch 8) was from Ranger Chocolate Company (Portland, OR).

The bean-to-bar makers described this collaboration bar (and series of bars with salt) as follows: "Our sea salt adventure explores salt harvested from the Pacific Ocean. For Alaska, we teamed up with our friends at Bitterman Salt Co." (Portland, OR).

"We paired the pristine Alaska Pure Flake Sea Salt with Ranger's Makers blend of cacao. Sea salt is turned into the chocolate to add texture and retain its true flavor."

Aroma notes included: diffuse fruit (red grape), dark chocolate (dark chocolate torte), faint spice and very faint sweet floral green.

This dark chocolate and Alaska salt blend had a smooth, creamy texture and melt, and embedded tiny crunchy sparkles of sea salt.

Cacao flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes mentioned above, with a deeper dive into the dark chocolate--a flavorful, very balanced and chocolate-y "makers blend" with attractive and very balanced complexity.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar, cacao butter, sea salt

Allergen-related information: (None listed on label. Check inside.)

Chugach Chocolates - Dark Chocolate Alaskan Kelp & Cayenne (bar) - July 14, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chugach Chocolates and Confections
Rich Dark Chocolate with Alaskan Kelp and Cayenne (bar)
(Made with Barnacle Foods Bull Kelp)
Good 
Weight: 1.75 oz. (49.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 263 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift (thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Savory Theme Week.

Today's Rich Dark Chocolate with Alaskan Kelp and Cayenne bar was from Chugach Chocolates and Confections (Girdwood, Alaska).

When I opened the packaging, I was greeted by the sweet childhood smells of chocolate: Swiss Miss* hot cocoa, Cocoa Puffs* and other chocolate breakfast cereals, i.e. the aroma of alkalized cocoa** -- cocoa that has been treated to make it less acid and/or bitter. 

There was no cacao/cocoa percentage listed on this bar. I'm guessing, by the sweetness level, it was made with less than 50% cacao dark chocolate. (In the U.S. dark chocolate needs to contain at least 15% chocolate liquor or cocoa mass from ground cocoa bean pieces or nibs. The mildest dark chocolate might only contain 15-34% cacao.)

The sweet chocolate had a smooth melt and creamy mouthfeel (butterfat) that was accented by crunchy bits of dried kelp (from Barnacle Foods in Juneau, AK) that had a very mild, salty flavor (that helped balance out the sweetness). And a friendly, soft tingle of cayenne pepper rounded things out. Overall, this was a fun bar to try; and, surprisingly, it stimulated many childhood memories.

Kelp (seaweed) is quite edible and nutritious. It's a good natural source of iodine and other minerals and vitamins. I first tried it during a Girl Scout outing on the beach (it was boiled in a large pot for us children to try) in the late 1960s after a long hike to the sea. 

Kelp is still found washed up on West Coast/Pacific Ocean beaches in the U.S.; but, sadly, kelp forests (home to fish and undersea wildlife) have declined by almost 90% since I first sampled it on a Northern California beach many years ago--primarily due to rising ocean temperatures. 

Thank you to Chugach for featuring kelp (and cayenne) in today's chocolate bar--that was made with a special blend of ingredients that originated in the Americas.

--o--o--o--

*General Mills introduced Cocoa Puffs breakfast cereal back in 1956, the year I was born. Americans elevated sweet, crunchy cereals to a commercial art form in the 1900s.

Around that same time, Charles Sanna invented Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix where consumers could just add hot water to a packet of cocoa (instead of fixing it on the stove with milk). Hot chocolate on the go was made much easier for families, soldiers, field workers, campers and explorers. I remember drinking Swiss Miss on backpacking trips. (Incidentally, engineer and inventor Charles Sanna passed away in 2019 at age 101. He continued to drink hot cocoa even after the formula changed when the brand was purchased by Beatrice Foods and then Conagra over the years.)

Like it or not, these chocolate-for-breakfast items had a big influence on me. After all, I've been sampling unique chocolates in the mornings for almost 14 years now. And while I've lost my taste for overly sweet, sugary items, my love for chocolate lingered.

**Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, butterfat (milk), soy lecithin and vanilla); (Barnacle Foods) Kelp; Cayenne Pepper; Salt. 

Chef Stef's - Alaska Spicy Salted Chocolate Caramels - Aug. 21, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chef Stef's 

Alaska Pure - Spicy Salted Chocolate Caramels

Good

Weight: .66 oz. (18.84 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total package

Calories: 105 cals. (estimate) in 2 pieces

Cost: $N/A - gift ($7.00) for 1 package of 6 pieces

Purchased from:  N/A - gift 

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

Today's Alaska Pure Spicy Salted Chocolate Caramels were created by Chef Stef's (Juneau, AK). This package of six caramels were carefully transported back to California and given to me by a frequent traveler and friend. (Thank you again Toni for this chocolate surprise!)

These individually-wrapped, soft brown sugar caramels were seasoned with Gulf of Alaska sea salt and had a spicy kick at the end. (Ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, unsweetened chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sea salt, hot sauce pepper.)

Many years ago I visited Anchorage, Alaska, and during my visit there I tasted some remarkable chocolates, including some made with native berries—and two made with bits of smoked salmon and anchovy and blueberry, respectively. (Both were skillfully made and much better than you'd think.) Thank goodness for places with room for big ideas.

ChocolateBet: May 26, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Alaska Jack's (manufactured for)
Polar Bear Smooch
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .75 oz. (21.2 g.) in 1 piece
Calories: 112.5 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ 0.60
Purchased from: Alaska Wild Berry store, in 5th Ave. Mall, downtown Anchorage, Alaska

The Polar Bear Smooch contained "two types of chocolate" and had a peppermint center (shown).

This was the last chocolate I took home with me from a recent trip to Alaska. I found more chocolates there than I thought I would; however, I was not surprised. I have yet to travel to a destination where chocolate is not present in some form.

ChocolateBet: May 24, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Alaska Wild Berry Products
1.) Cub Crunch - Milk Chocolate and Almond Toffee
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .459 oz. (13 g.) in 1 small package/piece
Calories: 69 calories (estimate)
Cost: $
Purchased from: downtown Anchorage, Alaska

2.) Alaska Grizzly/Brown Bear - (molded, milk chocolate)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .55 oz. (15.56 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 82.5 calories (estimate)
Cost: 75 cents ($1.50 for 2 pieces)
Purchased from: Alaska Wild Berry Products, in downtown Anchorage, Alaska

3.) Alaska Salmon - (molded, dark chocolate)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .55 oz. (15.56 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 82.5 calories (estimate)
Cost: 75 cents ($1.50 for 2 pieces)
Purchased from: Alaska Wild Berry Products, in downtown Anchorage, Alaska

The grizzly and salmon chocolates (shown above right) were part of the Alaska Wildlife in Chocolate series, or line, from Alaska Wild Berry Products. I missed seeing either one of these species live, in the wild, during my trip -- so, I took these two chocsimiles (chocolate facsimiles) home with me. Thanks to the staff at Alaska Wild Berry for your help in picking out these chocolates.

ChocolateBet: May 16, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Northern Delights
1.) Alaskan Black Bear Paw
(1/2 piece) - Good +
Weight: .63 oz. (17.6 g.) /1.25 oz. (35.4 g.)  total package
Calories: 97 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bear paw/package
Purchased from: Cabin Fever, in Anchorage, Alaska

2.) Alaska Gold Nuggets
2 small pieces/nuggets - Good
Weight: .1 oz. (2.8 g.) / .5 oz. (14 g.) total package
Calories: 15 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.95 total package
Purchased from: Cabin Fever, in Anchorage, Alaska

The Cabin Fever shop in downtown Anchorage was chocked full of interesting items from Alaska, not the least of which was several chocolates that were new to me. Two of these (above) were from Northern Delights (based in Eagle River, Alaska I believe).

I didn't get to pan for gold or see a bear on my trip to Alaska. So eating realistic, chocolate facsimiles (chocsimiles) of both was the next best thing. There were three types of Northern Delights bear paws available: black bear, brown bear and polar bear. I chose the black bear paw -- a dark chocolate, realistic looking paw with roasted almonds for claws, that was filled with caramel. I enjoyed splitting this was Edith, who I met on a day cruise today and who was visiting Alaska also (from Mexico). The second Northern Delights item was a small metal miner's pan, filled with chocolate facsimiles (chocsimiles) of gold nuggets nestled inside. This clever packaging called to mind the various gold rushes that helped lure many to the Western U.S. in the past.