Askinosie Chocolate - Davao, Philippines - Dark Chocolate and Ginger bar - Jan. 21, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Askinosie Chocolate
Davao, Philippines - Dark Chocolate and Orange bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 153 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $8.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Ginger Theme Week.

Pairing yesterday's dark chocolate and salt bar with fresh ginger and honey tea yielded such a surprisingly successful result, I decided to try a Ginger juice blend with today's dark bar.

I sampled today's Dark Chocolate and Orange bar from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO) bar, first by itself, and then with a sip of Ginger 100% juice shot from Odwalla Inc. (Half Moon Bay, CA). This "small but mighty" bottle of concentrated flavor contained ginger, beet, carrot and cranberry juices, which explained why this pairing was not quite as magical as yesterday's. Too much going on.

The Askinosie bar by itself was quite good, with smooth dark chocolate and a light, authentic orange/sweet tangerine aroma and flavor. Organic orange (peels and fruit) provided the citrus note. And a faint hint of vanilla added a bit of mellow warmth. (Think high-end Creamsicle*.)

The Trinitario cacao (beans) used to make this bar were grown in Davao, in the Philippines. And like most Askinosie bars, today's package featured an image of (and information about) a real person working to produce the cacao beans from the actual source country for a given bar.


*A Creamsicle (R) is currently a Unilever-owned branded product. This frozen dessert is a blend of vanilla ice cream surrounded by frozen fruit juice) on a stick. The orange and vanilla flavor was very popular in California where I grew up. Creamsicles/Popsicles were first invented by a young man named Frank Epperson over a century ago when (legend has it) when he was only 11 years old. Epperson later patented the idea.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Easter Carrots - April 17, 2017

Easter Chocolate Item
April 2017

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Easter Carrots
Good
Weight: .918 oz. (26 g.) in 2 carrots
Calories: 138 calories (estimate) in 2 carrots
Cost: $7.00 for 1 carrot
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

This post is a special post-Easter holiday entry.

These diminutive, foil-wrapped "carrots" from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada) were flavored/colored with real carrots and blood orange—giving this Easter confection the advantage of having small amounts of Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

The sweet cocoa butter/white chocolate based carrots were cone-shaped and tasted like the real thing. They were even seasoned with a generous pinch of salt...raising an age old question. If this is made out of plants, can I count this as a vegetable?

Probably not, but these little orange beauties were beautiful to look at and fun to taste.

ChocolateBet: November 2, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Vosges Haut Chocolat
Crispy Carrot Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in 1/2 bar/ 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 (plus any applicable taxes, shipping)
Purchased from: www.vosgeschocolate.com

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and All Things Orange. There are so many potential chocolate "inclusions" that are the color orange -- and not just the citrus fruit.

Today's chocolate, the Crispy Carrot Bar from Vosges (Chicago, IL) featured a subtly crunchy carrot confit, Valencia oranges in deep milk chocolate (45% cacao), with hints of carrot puree and carrot cake. Brava to Katrina and her team for continuing to experiment with original and lively sweet and savory combinations. Extra points for a successful bar with carrots -- I'm sure this wasn't the easiest blend.

Vosges also was celebrating the Day of the Dead (El Dia de Los Muertos) this week with flavored Skull Lollipops.

ChocolateBet: May 2, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Betty Lou's Inc.
JustGreatStuff - Organic Chocolate Dream Greens
Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) total bar
Calories: 180 calories
Cost: $2.39 total bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today I continued on a healthy streak I've been on this week. I found a tasty blend of organic dark chocolate and organic vegetables: carrots, spinach, broccoli and kale, to be precise. All this, and some dried fruits (raisins, dates and bananas) too -- in the form of a pressed, slightly chewy, chocolate coated bar from Betty Lou's Inc. (McMinville, OR).

This gluten free, vegan, lightly sweetened (with tapioca syrup) bar supplied 15% of my recommended daily allowance for Vitamin A; 10% of Vitamin C; and 8% of Iron -- and a few other nutrients. It hit the spot. I've found that healthier chocolates, with less (or no) refined sugars just seem to taste more satisfying to me. Thanks Betty Lou.

ChocolateBet: March 17, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece/carrot
Lindt and Sprungli
Chocolate Carrots (Solid Milk Chocolate blended with Hazelnut)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .45 oz. (13 grams) for 1 pc/carrot; 1.8 oz. (52 grams) total box
Calories: 52 for 1 pc/210 for 3+
Cost: $5.25 for box of 4 chocolate carrots
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, in North Beach area of San Francisco, CA

These solid milk chocolate Lindt and Sprungli chocolate carrots, individually wrapped in orange, were fun chocsimiles (chocolate facsimiles) of this favorite Easter bunny treat.

And, making sure to include as many holidays as possible... the little green stick and green part of the wrapper provided a bit of green for St. Patrick's day today.