Cosmik Ice Cream - Mexican Chocolate Chip - Jan. 1, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cosmik LLC
Cosmik Ice Cream - Mexican Chocolate Chip
Good

Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar/serving

Calories: 155 calories in 1 bar/serving 

Cost: $4.95 for 1 package

Purchased from: REI, Mountain View, CA 

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first day of 2019—and Day #7 of Crunchy Chocolate Theme Week.

Which organic, chocolate confections are most ready to eat and ready for adventure? Given that chocolate is a great food for explorers of all types, that may be a tough question to answer. Less messy are more portable are often criteria when choosing chocolate on the go.

Today's Mexican Chocolate Chip freeze-dried ice cream from Cosmik LLC (Margaretville, NY) certainly qualifies for consideration. This bar of premium, organic, freeze-dried ice cream had superior flavor and texture than previous freeze-dried ice creams we remember from ancient backpacking and camping trips. 

The freeze-dried ice cream* was, like its progenitors, sealed in an air-tight pouch to preserve freshness (and would be prone to breakage if heavier items were dropped upon it). However, the fresh cream and light chocolate and cinnamon notes signaled something better, especially in the embedded, flavor-rich small chocolate spiced chunks/chips.

This dessert was paired with "Crunchies" freeze-dried mixed fruit pieces (bananas, strawberries and blueberries) that also had a light airy crunch and natural flavors. It was a fairly cold, winter day; however, this festively cool dessert, strangely, helped keep us warm.

*Freeze-dried ice creams debuted in the later half of the 1900s, and were marketed to backpackers and hikers, and to those wanting to store food for long periods without refrigeration. In some cases, the resulting lightweight shards tasted more like foamed, dried sugar than ice cream. However, freeze-dried foods including ice creams, developed when men were first launched into space, were a novelty when they first appeared. And they reduce the weight of a backpack by several precious pounds during a long trek.

May all your 2019 adventures be sweet ones.

ChocolateBet: March 13, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 package
American Outdoor Products, Inc. / Astronaut Foods
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (19 g.) total package
Calories: 130 calories
Cost: $(lost receipt)
Purchased from: REI, Mountain View or San Carlos store, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week. In honor of the safe landing of the last U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery flight this past week, today's chocolate choice was Astronaut Foods Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream -- freeze-dried, like they eat in outer space.

My understanding is that a single slice of ice cream is cut, freeze-dried and packaged. The pieces of this slice were contained in a specially sealed pouch and inner wrapper, and was ready for eating.

I would liken this freeze-dried ice cream to bits of mint chocolate chip meringue -- very light (apparently freeze drying removes 90% of the weight); not quite as sweet as a meringue (which I liked); and ice-cream-like in flavor. Ingredients included milk, chocolate drops, and natural peppermint flavoring. The package label says that freeze-dried food dates back to the early Mercury (space) Missions; and that this and other products "continue to be used on NASA missions today."