Arete Chocolate - Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder - Aug. 18, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Arete Chocolate

Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder

Good +

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 8.8 oz. (250 g.) in total package

Calories: 65 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving

Cost: $ Missing information  

Purchased from: Arete or The Chocolate Garage*

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

Today's homemade chocolate and rice (cake) dessert employed Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder from Arete Chocolate as a topping and ingredient.

An ultra-dark (82% cacao) chocolate covered rice cake** that I made. It was topped with a large scoop of green tea ice cream and garnished with a healthy dose of Arete Chocolate Cocoa Powder and chopped almonds.

The Arete Chocolate cocoa powder classed up this dessert considerably. I'm hoping they might resume making and selling chocolate one day. (They closed shop in 2020.)

Ingredients: Expeller pressed cocoa solids

 

Allergen-related information: (None listed/found on package.) 

*The Chocolate Garage Retail space in Palo Alto, CA, is no longer open.

**Notes: I used a commercially available (Lundberg Family Farms) rice cake as a form to be chocolate covered. Melting a bar of chocolate on a round rice cake for a single-serving dessert can be done in the microwave; but it is very easy to burn the rice cake if you start with room temperature/cooler chocolate. 

It's best to warm the chocolate up on a microwave-safe plate first (so that it's soft, but not completely melted) and then transfer it (with the help of a spatula if needed) and place on top of the rice cake--and finish the melting over the rice cake for a bit longer--spreading the melted chocolate over an uncovered edge if needed). You can then transfer this to a clean dessert plate if you want a nice clean edge.

The end product is an easy-to-make, attractive perch for ice cream or a fruit dessert.

 

Mikawaya - Mochi Ice Cream, Chocolate Mint - Aug. 17, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Mikawaya Mochi Ice Cream

Chocolate Mint

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 3 oz. (86 g.) / 9.1 oz. (258 g.) in total package of 6 pieces

Calories: 220 calories in 2 pieces

Cost: $3.99 (estimate) for 1 package/box of 6 pieces

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

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Rice Theme Week.

Today's (frozen) Chocolate Mint Chip Mochi was from Mikawaya Mochi Ice Cream (Vernon, CA), and was part of a plate of three different mochi-inspired sweets. 

Chocolate Mint Mochi Ice Cream

The best of the three ball-shaped confections on today's plate was this Mikawaya ice cream wrapped in a sweet rice dough. A beautifully springy rice dough enveloped a refreshing mint chocolate chip ice cream center.

Mango Mochi

The second mochi plate confections were miniature-sized Mango mochi from Royal Food Co. that nicely captured an authentic tart, sweet mango fruit flavor. They were relatively sweet, and had a slightly firmer springy/chewy texture. They were sealed in packets (sets of 4) and were not refrigerated. 

Homemade Chocolate Horchata flavored mochi

Last, was my homemade rice ball (soaked and stovetop cooked Jasmine rice dough), that I used to make a mochi-inspired chocolate horchata ball. The cinnamon and cocoa flavors were nice but the texture was not as light and springy. (Pureed, soaked and cooked jasmine long grain rice + finely ground almond flour and a generous dose of cinnamon and cocoa that were slow-cooked and stirred together; but could not be magically transformed into the loftier, sweet, sticky mochi rice dough of today's featured chocolate.

Mikawaya Mochi Ice Cream Ingredients: 

Ice Cream Ingredients: Milk, cream, cane sugar, chocolate flavored chips (cane sugar, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali, cocoa, corn starch, salt), whey, nonfat dry milk, natural flavors, stabilizer (guar gum, locust bean gum). Mochi dough ingredients: Cane sugar, water, sweet rice flour, egg whites, rice flour, enzyme. 

Allergen-related information: Contains: milk, egg. "May contain peanuts and tree nuts." (No gluten or soy ingredients.)

Bouchard - Belgian Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao Napolitains - Aug. 16, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Bouchard
Belgian Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao "Napolitains"
Good ++   
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 16 oz. (1 pound) (455 g.) in total package of 75 small bars
Calories: 140 calories in 5 small bar(s)
Cost: $9.99 (estimate) for 1 package of 75 bars
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Rice Theme Week, featuring a fine chocolate that was tasted by itself--and also paired with a rice dessert from Puerto Rico.

Today's individually-wrapped, Belgian Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao "Napolitains" were from Bouchard NV (Ghent, Belgium). 

The family-owned Belgian chocolatier has been making chocolate since 1931, and offers at least three different chocolate Napolitains that I'm aware of (today's 72% dark chocolate, a salt caramel variant, and a version with probiotics).

The Napolitains (small, thin bars) have tiny ridges on one side--designed to make the pure chocolate flavors more accessible (when the chocolate is placed, ridged side down, on your tongue).

These dark chocolates were well-suited for multiple purposes including: 1.) a convenient, portable tasting chocolate or snack--easily shareable with a group of people; 2.) an after-dinner chocolate; or 3.) an accompaniment to a bowl of ice cream or dessert. They served as all of the above today.

First things first - tasting this chocolate a la carte

Aroma and flavor notes for this four-ingredient chocolate included: bittersweet chocolate with faint, balanced woodsy earth and light green (tree syrup, maple sugar), and very faint woody nut notes. 

If you sample these snack-sized bars as suggested, and you let them dissolve slowly on your tongue, your patience will be rewarded with a luxe melt, lots of true chocolate (and more subtle) adjunct flavors--all layered within a relatively bold but balanced, dense dark chocolate. (I'm guessing this chocolate was made with Forastero or Amelonado variety cacao beans.) 

The Napolitains really were the perfect size and shape for chocolate tasting. They rested perfectly on my tongue during the tasting experience.

Pairing with Arroz con Dulce dessert

For the chocolate + rice pairing...I made a version of Arroz con Dulce--following a Puerto Rican Coconut Rice Pudding recipe* that called for a generous helping of warm spices (ginger root, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg), rice, coconut milk, brown sugar, raisins and salt.

I stirred in two Bouchard Belgian dark chocolates into a (warm) 1/2 batch version (3 servings) of the original recipe* (that would have made 6 servings) toward the end of the cooking process on the stove. (I also added 1/2 tsp. of almond flour, and 1/4 tsp. of molasses to this recipe early on.)

I topped the resulting cooked coconut rice (+ chocolate) pudding with rum raisin ice cream with two more small, individually wrapped bars of Bouchard Belgian Dark Chocolate on the side. Delicioso.

This rice pudding was very rich and much more flavorful (and interesting to me) than rice puddings (that can be lumpy, starchy and bland) found in the continental U.S. states (a group that does not include Hawaii--or Puerto Rico). 

Notes: The high carbohydrate content of white rice (rice puddings) and the very rich coconut milk in this recipe, as well as the cream and sugar in the rum raisin ice cream, made me drowsy (unlike my normal energized feel after sampling a chocolate). I used jasmine rice for the rice pudding; and some sources have suggested that this rice helps promote sleep in the hours that follow consumption. (Maybe. Or the drowsiness was due to blood sugar fluctuations from a white rice-based pudding.) 

Ingredients: Unsweetened chocolate, sugar, low fat cocoa, sunflower lecithin.

Allergen-related information: (No soy or gluten.) "Produced in a facility that uses milk and tree nuts."

*The recipe for Coconut Rice Pudding (Puerto Rico style) was from Salima's Kitchen website.

Trader Joe's - Oat Chocolate Bars - Aug. 15, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Trader Joe's 
Oat Chocolate Bars
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: 0.88 oz. (25 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total package of 3 bars 
Calories: 140 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package of 3 bars (Thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: Trader Joe's 

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Rice Theme Week, featuring more examples of how foods from different parts of the Globe have found happiness together.

Today's Oat Chocolate Bars were a product of Colombia, but distributed and sold exclusively by Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA). The company has offered a very large range of chocolate bars and confections over the years. This neatly compact package held three individually-wrapped small bars.

Chocolate and Rice as a Sweetener

Rice can serve as a flavor inclusion, or as a chocolate sweetener. While oats feature prominently in today's set of 3 small chocolate bars, the chocolate was sweetened with rice syrup (instead of cane sugar).

The aroma for these bars included: bittersweet chocolate that mellowed a little after opening, allowing subtle caramel and milk notes to shine through.

The texture was relatively thick and quite creamy. (This bar was eaten at room temperature (70 degrees F. (21.1 degrees C.).)

The flavor was uniform and chocolate-y (ganache, fudge) with faint cereal grain/oat notes. The oat flavor(s) may have made any rice syrup flavor less obvious. (Generally rice syrup is mild, with very faint nutty and butterscotch notes, which would be consistent with aroma and flavors of today's chocolate.) Vanilla flavoring added warmth.

Ingredients: Cane sugar, cocoa butter, ground oats, cocoa mass, rice syrup, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla flavor.

Allergen-related information: "dairy free, soy free, gluten free, vegan"

Nora Kitchen - Champorado Chocolate Porridge - Aug. 14, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Nora Kitchen

Champorado Chocolate Porridge 

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 3 oz. (86 g.) in total container

Calories: 310 calories in 1 container

Cost: $1.48 for 1 container

Purchased from: Walmart, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Rice Theme Week, where I'm looking forward to several items featuring this West meets East combination.

Today's Nora's Kitchen Champorado Chocolate Porridge was distributed by Capital Foods Int'l. Inc. (Santa Fe Springs, CA).

The History of Champorado and Champurrado

This story starts in Mexico. Corn (or maize)-based, porridge-like beverages in Mexico have been fortified with chocolate/cacao for centuries*. A hearty cup of champurrado (so named when chocolate is added to cooked corn, or masa harina corn flour) is typically enjoyed hot, and sometimes with churros (fried dough pastry). (Search for "chocolate beverages from Oaxaca, Mexico" to find some of the most authentic recipes.)

Cacao likely arrived in the Philippines from Mexico/Central America by ship centuries ago. Champorado is a popular rice and chocolate porridge in the Philippines--that dates back to an era when large Spanish Galleon** ships traded goods between Mexico and the Philippines in the 1500s-1700s. These cargo ships overlapped with the time when Spain laid claim to both Mexico and the Philippines--before these two countries became independent in 1821 and 1898, respectively. 

Back to the present, with Instant Nora Kitchen Champorado

The aroma for today's easy-to-make, warm Champorado Chocolate Porridge included hot cocoa, chocolate rice cereal, and faint nutty and vanilla (cashew shortbread butter cookies) notes. 

The warm, soft porridge had a soft texture (like a tender oatmeal or cooked cereal with milk), qualifying it as a great chocolate comfort food (or a hot dessert) for a cold day. 

The flavor: hearty and rich, creamy, hot chocolate porridge. The chocolate was balanced and was very low in bitterness and acidity. It took only 5 minutes to make. (Just add hot water, stir and let sit for a few minutes.)

Yes this was sweet, but within the range I expected (sweetened chocolate cereal parameters).

Ingredients: Rice, sugar, natural cocoa powder, food starch modified, rice dextrin, non-fat milk, vanilla, guar gum, Arabic gum, sodium caseinate, salt.

Allergen-related information: Contains milk.

*The cultivation of corn in Mexico likely began around 10,000 years ago. (Cacao was first domesticated in South America around 5,300 years ago, and was likely spread to/made popular in Mexico by the Olmec people in Southern Mexico around 3,500 years ago. (These dates are estimates based on available research, and could change in the future if more information becomes available.)

**Galleons were large, often armed, cargo-carrying sailing ships (with multiple levels/decks),  used by European sea-faring nations, including Spain, Portugal and England during this period.

Unreal - Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar - Aug. 13, 2022

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Unreal Chocolate

Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar

Good +

Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) in total bar

Calories: 180 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $2.69 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar was from Unreal Brands Inc. (Boston, MA). 

The company offers updated/healthier versions of chocolate covered candy bars, generally with a much shorter list of ingredients. (Today's certified gluten free and vegan bar listed three ingredients: organic coconut, organic cassava syrup and dark chocolate (later spelled out as dark chocolate liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla).)

Aroma notes from this filled bar included: chocolate (dark chocolate ganache (truffle filling)) and sweet coconut. 

The dark chocolate provided a smooth, velvety coating, that contrasted with the chewy, lightly moistened, sweet shredded coconut. These coconut shreds continued to supply an authentic, textural chew that lasted into the finish after the chocolate had melted away.

As expected, the flavor was a blend of dark chocolate and coconut, with one complementing the other. Yes, it was sweet, but not quite as sugary or syrupy sweet as candy bars from the late 1900s. The flavors were balanced and uniform, with very faint, fleeting tropical fruit and nut notes, and a warm blanket of vanilla.

Adults wanting a healthier confection for their families, or wanting to take a trip down candy bar memory lane themselves--without all the preservatives, additives, or "natural flavors"--will appreciate this bar. The fact that some of the ingredients were fair trade was an added plus.

Ingredients: Organic coconut, organic cassava syrup, dark chocolate liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla

Allergen-related information: "Contains coconut. Made in a facility that handles peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, wheat and milk. Made on equipment that processes milk chocolate. Please visit getunreal.com to read our allergen information." (Certified vegan, Certified gluten free; no soy ingredients.) 

Rau - Mind Fuel - Cacao + Coconut MCT Superfood Drink Mix - Aug. 12, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Rau
Mind Fuel - Cacao + Coconut MCT Superfood Drink Mix
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .74 oz. (21 g.) / 7.4 oz. (210 g.) in total box of 10 packets 
Calories: 90 calories in 1 packet/serving
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package/box of 10 packets/servings 
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Mind Fuel - Cacao + Coconut MCT Superfood Drink Mix was from RAU (San Diego, CA). The company offers three flavors of plant-based cacao drink mixes (Cacao +; today's Cacao + Coconut MCT; and Cacao + Espresso).

The two founders (Daren and Brian) were some of the first to explore cognitive energy cacao blend beverages. They use organically farmed cacao, and eschew cane sugar or preservatives.

"Our beans are single origin, organic, fair trade, ethically farmed and hand picked to deliver a bold flavor for seekers of epic nutrition."

The Rau team also chose to include the amounts of theobromine* in each serving (80 mg.) and antioxidants (from polyphenols) (120 mg.)--information I appreciated and that's very rarely provided on any other cacao-related product packaging. (Thank you.)

The aroma was attractive with fruit (mango) and subtle chocolate; after adding warm water, the scent was more cocoa forward, with a trace of the tropical fruit/mango and very faint floral (vanilla).

The texture was smooth (once fully stirred in with warm water), almost creamy.

The flavor was very consistent with the aroma with faint fruit (mango and very light, fresh coconut) and rich, smooth cacao--that was relatively low in bitterness or acidity. The sweetness (coconut palm sugar) was tempered by a judicious dash of Himalayan pink salt.  

Overall, I would rank this a superior offering in the increasingly popular, much-hyped category of drinking cacao beverage mixes. I also found the individual packets convenient and portable and the sizes were the perfect portion for me.

Note: Monk fruit extract also supplied sweetness. This small, round fruit from China (aka Luo Han Guo) has the property of minimizing bitter and sour flavors, making it an interesting pairing with cacao. The sweetener (mogrisides) in monk fruit also is thought to have a mild anti-inflammatory effect.

Ingredients: Organic, fair trade cacao powder; organic, fair trade coconut palm sugar; organic mct oil powder; organic coconut oil powder; organic vanilla powder; himalayan pink salt, organic monk fruit extract.

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut. Certified Organic, gluten free; keto friendly. 

*Theobromine is a plant alkaloid found in cacao (and to a lesser extent in teas, kola nuts, guarana and other plants) that acts as a stimulant. It is a close cousin to caffeine, another stimulant found in plants--most notably coffee (and to a lesser extent cacao, kola nuts, yerba mate, guarana and other plants). (Coffee contains trace amounts of theophylline but no theobromine.)

Although I've found theobromine to be much less jarring than caffeine, people's individual reactions may vary. Some people are sensitive to cacao (which does contain a very small amount of caffeine as well as theobromine); but they can drink all the coffee they want with seemingly no ill effects. I'm the opposite. I love coffee, but it doesn't love me. (I can't seem to process the caffeine and acids.)