Charles Chocolates - Ode to Joy (bar) - Sept. 24, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Charles Chocolates 

Ode to Joy (bar)

Good +

Weight: 1.3 oz. (36 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 bar

Cost: $4.00 (estimate) in 1 bar

Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Nuts and More Theme Week.

Today's Ode to Joy (bar) from Charles Chocolates (San Francisco, CA) was a high-end homage to American chocolate-covered candy bars with nuts (almonds) and caramel.

The core of this small, chubby bar was milk chocolate ganache, "deep" roasted almonds, and soft fleur de sel (salt) caramel that was coated in 65% bittersweet chocolate. It was small, sweet and successful as a high-end candy bar.

Ingredients: Bittersweet chocolate (cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin, vanilla beans), almonds, cane sugar, butter, milk chocolate (cane sugar, cocoa butter, full cream milk, cacao beans, sunflower lecithin, vanilla beans), cream, glucose syrup, salt, vanilla beans.

Re-Think Ice Cream - Chocolate Orange with Almond Butter - Sept. 23, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Re-Think Ice Cream
Chocolate Orange with Almond Butter Ice Cream
Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (92 g.) / 14 fl. oz. (414 mL) in total container
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving (1/2 cup)
Cost: $1.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Nuts and More Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Orange with Almond Butter ice cream was from Re-think Ice Cream  (San Francisco, CA).

The company described this ice cream as "the first and only collagen-infused, lactose free, A2/A2* dairy ice cream"..."Indulgence with benefits." Today's flavor included 9 grams of protein, 9 grams of sugar and 11 grams net carbs in one (1/2 cup) serving.

Aroma tends to be muted with frozen items like ice cream. There was a nutty, and faint chocolate, aroma. 

The base chocolate-orange ice cream had a very light chocolate flavor with very low chocolate/cocoa acidity. (The company may use Ghirardelli Majestic Cocoa which is apparently not dutched or alkalized, but it has an unusual, slightly alkaline pH. (It wasn't acidic like most natural cocoa tends to be.) Bakers and ice cream makers may milder flavor if they're highlighting other flavors. The natural orange flavor paired nicely with the chocolate and was allowed to shine.

Two additional flavors were added: chocolate flakes, and ribbons of almond butter. 

The initial frozen texture was hard, but it quickly softened, creating a pleasing smooth and creamy texture with a relatively rapid melt. Finely ground almonds (almond butter) added nutty texture and authentic nutty almond flavor.

This was a nicely balanced flavor combination of chocolate, nuts and something more. The orange added flavorful, sweet citrus to the mix. This ice cream also contained fiber (organic inulin) and whey protein. The latter helped to boost the protein content.

Ingredients: Milk, cream, whey protein concentrate, organic agave syrup, almond butter (almonds, canola oil and invert sugar), chocolate flavored flake (sugar, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali, butter oil, soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural flavor), cocoa processed with alkali, almonds, organic inulin (agave fiber), natural flavor, green tea extract, locust bean gum, guar gum, citric acid.  

 

Fazer Confectionery Ltd. - Nordi Dark Chocolate Lingonberry, Oat Crumble Almond Sea Salt Snacking Thins - Sept. 22, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Fazer Confectionery Ltd.

Nordi Dark Chocolate Lingonberry, Oat Crumble Almond and Sea Salt Snacking Thins

Good +

Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) / 4.02 oz. (114 g.) in total package

Calories: 320 calories in 2 servings

Cost: $1.99 (estimate) in 1 package

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Nuts and More Theme Week.

Today's Nordi Dark Chocolate Lingonberry, Oat Crumble Almond and Sea Salt Snacking Thins were from Fazer Confectionery Ltd. (Vantaa, Finland).

These dark chocolate, roundish snack thins were the wonderfully slim, making them very easy to consume. Smooth dark chocolate encased crunchy bits (almonds, oat crumble) and tart-sweet, ruby-colored bits of lingonberry.* 

The classic snack attractiveness formula calls for just the right blend of salt and sugar smoothness and crunchiness, and a bit of fat. And, these dark chocolate thins with nuts and other inclusions* from this large confectionery company--that produces baked goods, cookies and snacks in Finland--hits the addictive snack formula on the nose, and it manages to do so without artificial or extra additives, preservatives or colors.

*Lingonberries added something special, perhaps exotic, for U.S. snack fans who may not be familiar with this berry that grows wild in the Northern Hemisphere. It is probably the most popular wild berry in Finland where today's snack originated. (The average Finn harvests several pounds of wild berries each year, perhaps as much as 22 pounds (10 kg.) per year by one estimate.) Lingonberries are likely being picked in northern Boreal forests right now (fall) as I write this.

The round, red lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) looks and tastes like a smaller version of the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) with occasional notes of red currant and raspberry.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, reduced fat cocoa powder, natural vanilla flavor), oat crisp (oat flour, rice seminola, sugar, apple fiber, corn flour, salt), roasted almonds, dried lingonberry, sea salt.

Fossa Chocolate - Macadamia and Shitake (bar) - Sept. 21, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Fossa Chocolate
Macadamia and Shitake (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 294 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $15.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate, Nuts and More Theme Week.

Today's Macadamia and Shitake (bar) was from Fossa Chocolate (Singapore) and was made using Bolivia Wild Beniano cacao. 

I loved the aroma of this intriguing chocolate, handmade in small batches, with its mix of floral, nutty, umame (baked mushroom) and roasted coffee notes. 

The chocolate had a smooth, relatively creamy texture, accompanied by a circus of tiny, crunchy caramelized nut bits. Macadamia nuts are quite mild and it was difficult to tell what type of nut was there, but they were present. The chocolate notes were complementary and pleasant, but muted somewhat by all the other fun going on.

This was a great, well-balanced implementation of a unique blend of flavors. Extra points for making this sweet and umami melange shine.

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, macadamia, cocoa butter, shitake mushrooms, sea salt.

St. Benoit Creamery - TCHO Chocolate Pot de Creme organic dessert - Sept. 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

St. Benoit Creamery 

Organic Desserts Pot de Creme - TCHO Chocolate

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in 1 small jar

Calories: 200 calories in 1 small jar

Cost: $3.99 for 1 small jar

Purchased from: Farm Fresh (CSA box item)

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

Today's TCHO Chocolate organic pot de creme dessert was from St. Benoit Creamery (Sonoma, CA).

This little glass jar was full of smooth and creamy chocolate goodness. Its rich

chocolate aroma and flavor was the product of plenty of chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter. The cocoa powder also contributed an authentic, medium cacao acidity that nicely accented the more bland but altogether yummy milk and cream.

Ingredients: Organic whole milk, organic cream, organic egg yolk, organic 66% chocolate (organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, soy lecithin, organic vanilla beans), organic cacao beans, organic cocoa powder, organic cane sugar, pectin, sea salt, organic vanilla extract.

The Cookie Department - Mint Condition Double Chocolate Chip + Mint - Sept. 19, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

The Cookie Department
Mint Condition Double Chocolate Chip + Mint
Good 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package/cookie
Calories: 210 calories in 1 package/cookie
Cost: $3.49 for 1 package/cookie
Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

The surprise in this case was finding this in my chocolate vault.

Today's soft chocolate chocolate chip cookie was from The Cookie Department (Portland, OR) and had an aroma with chocolate cake, light sweet (sugar alcohol) and menthol notes. 

An almond flour base created a slightly stiffer version of what looked and tasted like chocolate cake. Cocoa powder and chocolate chips as well as a hint of grass-fed butter and egg contributed a nice rich chocolate flavor and binding/cohesive texture.

The faint menthol or mint note (achieved via "natural flavoring") in combination with the sweeteners had a strange alcohol sweetness and coolness to it; but it was not too overwhelming. 

Rather than sugar, this keto-friendly and gluten free cookie was sweetened with monk fruit sweetener (erythritol and monk fruit extract) and stevia. (My only quibble: I'm open to, and grateful for, processed sugar (and gluten free) alternatives; however, I might have dialed the alternative sweeteners back a bit. The cookie was almost too "sweet." 

Total Carbohydrates: 21 grams (dietary fiber 6 grams, total sugars 1 gram and sugar alcohol 11 grams), with 4 net carbs. The cookie contained 5 grams of protein and 18 grams of total fats. 

Ingredients: "Almond Flour, Monk Fruit Sweetener (Erythritol, Monk Fruit Extract), Grass-Fed Salted Butter, Whole Eggs, Prebiotic Fiber (Tapioca Syrup), Dark Chocolate Chips (Unsweetened Chocolate, Erythritol, Cocoa Butter, Stevia Extract, Sunflower Lecithin), Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Contains Less Than 2% of Rosemary Extract, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavoring, Salt."

Fossa Chocolate - 70% Dark Shrimp and Bonito (bar) - Sept. 18, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Fossa Chocolate
70% Dark Shrimp and Bonito (bar)
Good 
Weight: .44 oz. (12.5 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 66 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar 
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

Today's 70% Dark Shrimp and Bonito and (bar) was from Fossa Chocolate (Singapore).

Billed as offering an "umami of the sea" experience, this bar delivered. When you opened this bar, you could see authentic marine life--tiny little dried shrimps nestled amongst the sesame seeds. 

But, the sight of these tiny crustaceans were not the surprise. (I have enjoyed chocolates with smoked salmon as well as dried anchovies and many other umami (savory) flavor inclusions before.) Nor was it the slightly fishy aroma that emanated from the bar--that became much fainter after taking a bite of the chocolate.

Surprise! This bar contained 6 of the 8 major food allergens,* including gluten (wheat flour), although it was not present in visible amount(s). I've been dodging wheat/gluten all my adult life. I like it; it doesn't like me. So, I limited my tasting to a smaller piece of this 70% dark bar, and shared it with others.

The dark chocolate was bold enough that it covered up what might have been a "fishy" flavor. The dried shrimps and bonito fish flecks contributed a bit of chewy texture and a hint of saltiness and no scary fishiness. If blindfolded, it's unlikely I would have been able to identify the specific type of seafood (shrimp, bonito) flavor inclusions.

The bar was not too sweet or too salty (thank you). It was a skillful, balanced, implementation of these unusual flavors. Definitely worth trying if you can get over the fear factor. (Tiny dried shrimps are almost adorable when you become accustomed to them.)

*Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, dried shrimp, seaweed, sesame, soy sauce, lactose, salt, egg, spices, yeast extract, wheat flour.

*Note: "Contains seafood, sesame, egg, dairy, gluten and soy."