ChocolateBet: June 16, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Hashahar Ha'ole
Special Cocoa Spread
Good +
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 1 lb. (454 g.) total container
Calories: 155 calories
Cost: $3.29 for 1 1b. container
Purchased from: Crossroads Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Bacon Theme Week. This not-for-everyone theme week has been great for finding new chocolates, and also playing mad scientist by combining various separate chocolate and bacon items in the kitchen.

I first tasted this Special Cocoa Spread (made "for filling of cakes and sandwiches") by itself on a small piece of toast (Rudi's gluten-free bread). This nut-free cocoa spread -- a cross between Nutella and homemade chocolate ganache -- was tasty on toast by itself. So, those who like simplicity, and don't care for bacon can stop reading here. I'm pretty sure this next step is not what the makers of this cocoa spread/filling had in mind.

For those still with me, I made another piece of toast with melted feta/cream cheese, and a piece of crisp, oven roasted Pancetta Americana (from La Quercia in Iowa). Yes, that's right. The piece of toast with cocoa spread was joined in unholy matrimony with the piece of toast with feta cheese and pancetta. I really enjoyed this sandwich. With the right ingredients, prepared correctly, this combination can be very good.

ChocolateBet: June 15, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Lillie Belle Farms
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.)
Calories: 225 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.00
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Bacon Theme Week. While I have been playing mad scientist this week and combining unsuspecting chocolates with bacon, there are several ready-made chocolate and bacon products available. One such offering: The Oregon Bacon Bar, from Lillie Belle Farms (based in Southern Oregon). Made with three ingredients: organic milk chocolate, bacon and salt, this bar was very tasty. The pieces of bacon were just the right size and texture -- not so hard/dry or chewy that they would jolt the eater out of the tasting experience; they were a seamless extension of, and addition to, the chocolate. Choosing the right milk (my preference is deep milk) chocolate to blend with bacon also results in a finished product that is tastier than its constituent parts.

When tasting any combination, I prefer to taste the individual components first, and then determine whether the combination of the two (or three) flavors result in anything that is better than the individual ingredients. This is not always possible when buying a finished product, and it is trickier than one might imagine if you're creating something at home. Side-by-side pairings may work better than blends (as with wine and chocolate). And my hat is off to those chocolate chefs and chocolatiers, or food lovers in their own kitchens, who succeed in creating new and wonderful blends of all kinds.

ChocolateBet: June 14, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

2/5 bar
Perugina
Premium Dark Chocolate with Caramel Filling (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (11.32 g.)/ 3.5 oz. (99.2 g.) total bar
Calories: 210 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.79 total bar
Purchased from: Molinari Delicatessen, North Beach, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Bacon Theme Week. With apologies in advance to Perugina, I also was scouting for a chocolate that would be suitable for eating, and also could be incorporated in an Applegate Farms Turkey Bacon version of "Piggy Candy" (think bacon roasted/baked in an oven with brown sugar, and drizzled with chocolate), from the Southern United States.

This Dark Chocolate Caramel bar fit the bill, in that it contained some brown sugar in the caramel filling, surrounded by a rich, sweet bittersweet chocolate, and could also stand on its own as a good bar to sample. Large companies often choose to use ingredients like corn syrup in caramels, so I was disappointed to see this on the list of ingredients. However, the use of brown sugar made a different, and the caramel had a slight honey taste and nice texture.

Now, for those that don't care for bacon of any kind, or deplore mixing good chocolate with anything else, you can stop reading now.

For the rest of you, I can say that the Applewood Farms turkey bacon (gluten and casein free, no nitrates) was better than other turkey bacons I have tried. So, that was a good start. Drizzling and "frosting" a few, crisp, cooked strips of this bacon with melted Perugina chocolate and caramel was not bad. I wouldn't say the flavor together was a vast improvement over the Perugina bar and the turkey bacon separately, but it would be a good brunch item after a good workout, along with gluten free toast or a pancake w/ maple syrup and fresh oranges.

ChocolateBet: June 13, 2011

 Chocolate of the Day:

1 package
Nosh This
Bourbon Bacon Rocky Road
Very Good +
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 182 calories (estimate)
Cost: $
Purchased from: Nosh This, in San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Bacon Theme Week. Today's chocolate choice was a creative take on rocky road -- made with delicious bits of homemade marshmallows, a hint of bourbon, Organic walnuts, small bits of real bacon, and dark chocolate.

I had intended to cut this generous piece in half; but, this rocky road was gone in no time.

ChocolateBet: June 12, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Nosh This
Bacon Salted Caramel(s)
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: .9 oz. (25.47 g.) (estimate for 2 pieces)
Calories: 135 calories (estimate)
Cost: $14 - box of 8 caramels ($4 for 2)
Purchased from: Nosh This, in San Francisco, CA

Dark chocolate coated bacon caramels, topped with a very light sprinkle of grey sea salt. What's not to like? If you're a bacon fan, or fan of savory flavors, give these Nosh This Bacon Salted Caramels a try.

It's difficult to balance dark chocolate with bacon. While bacon has it's own strong smokey, salty taste and chewy crisp texture, dark chocolate can dominate/overwhelm other flavor notes. Many chocolate chefs have gone with a deep milk (52-60% cacao) with bacon for this reason. I liked that these caramels were not overpoweringly sweet and the dark chocolate seemed to work in this case. Nosh This Founder and Chef, Kai Kronfield, has used a short list of high-quality ingredients like real cream, butter and sugar (and no corn syrup) certainly, which resulted in a better taste experience for me as well.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Bacon Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: June 11, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Nosh This
Bacon Crack
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.00 for 1 piece/package; I bought 3 for $11.00
Purchased from: Nosh This, in San Francisco, CA

When I heard that someone had invented a dessert product called "Bacon Crack," dipped in chocolate no less, it attracted my attention. This week was Day #1 of Chocolate and Bacon Theme Week. I will continue with Chocolate and Mediterranean Theme Week (part 2) next week. But, today, Nosh This -- a San Francisco-based company that offers at least three chocolates with bacon in them -- gets the spotlight.

The piece of Bacon Crack that I bit into was an elegant rectangle of sweet and savory goodness, with flecks of (yes, real) bacon embedded throughout a crunchy almond toffee filling.

Founder, chef, and chief baconeer at Nosh This, Kai Kronfield, is continuing to create new offerings, and also contributes to "all bacon dinners" that are held in the San Francisco area. I will be sampling Nosh This salt caramels later this month.

ChocolateBet: June 10, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:


1.) Achdut Ltd./Achva
Marble Sesame Halva
Good
Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.) / 16 oz. (1 lb.) (454 g.) total container
Calories: 83.4 calories
Cost: $3.49 total container
Purchased from: Crossroads Market, in Palo Alto, CA


2.) The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
Chocolate Sesame Bar
Good +
Weight: .95 oz. (27 g.) total bar
Calories: 130 calories for 1 bar
Cost: $2.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Lucky (supermarket) Marina Village, Alameda, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Mediterranean Theme Week. And I enjoyed two products that mixed chocolate and sesame seeds.

The first, was an Israeli Halva from Achdut, Ltd.: Achva Marble Sesame Halva -- a swirled blend of plain/vanilla and chocolate halva, shaped into a dense loaf and packaged in a 1 pound plastic tub. I cut a small slice to try. This grainy, sweet, nut-seed flavored paste looks like it might have come from a dessert or warm, dry climate.


In fact, the tiny sesame seed comes from a flowering plant that moved into Egypt, Turkey, and other Mediterranean countries many centuries ago, from "the Indian sub-continent or Spice Islands," according to what I read online. (Sesame seeds are grown in the U.S., primarily in Arizona and Texas.) The seeds were apparently used initially for oil or wine, and later for food and flavoring. The simple combination of sesame seeds and honey evolved into to modern day halva(s).


Today's second chocolate and sesame item was gluten free bar from The Hain Celestial Group, fortified "with vitamins, minerals and prebiotics to support digestion." The bar also contained chocolate chips and cocoa powder; brown rice syrup; flax seeds; and roasted peanuts -- resulting in a rich, glossy and chewy rendition of a seed bar laced with chocolate.