Fruition - Camino Verde Crunch bar - June 10, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fruition Chocolate
Camino Verde Crunch bar
Good +
Weight: 1.055 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 158 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Camino Verde Crunch dark bar from Fruition Chocolate (Shokan, NY) was crafted with cacao beans from Balao, a city located in the Guayas Province, on the west coast of Ecuador.

The "Crunch" in the Camino Verde Crunch bar came from stone-ground cacao. Particle sizes in this bar were even and smooth and slightly crunchy, with no "grit," making this stone-ground chocolate a delight to eat.

This was a fairly robust dark bar at 75% cacao content. While the bar's packaging suggested I might detect hints of eucalyptus and malt, I didn't really pick up on these flavor notes. 

Original Beans - Esmeraldas Milk bar - June 9, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Original Beans
Esmeraldas Milk 42% bar
Good ++
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 399 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Bienvenidos al primer dia de Chocolate y Ecuador semana. (Welcome to the first day of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week!)

Today's bar was made from cacao beans that hailed from the Pacific Rainforest in the Esmeraldas Province of northwestern Ecuador.

The Esmeraldas Milk 42% bar from Original Beans (Amsterdam, Netherlands) was actually made in Switzerland, a country where they know a thing or two about conching chocolate until it's rich, creamy and smooth. (In this case, the cocoa mass (ground cacao beans), was conched for 16 hours.)

When I first broke off a piece of this bar, I could smell the aroma of freshly roasted cacao beans. What followed was a velvety smooth bar with complex almost burnt caramel flavor, slightly bitter but well balanced with other flavor notes. I didn't taste a lot of bright red fruit, but there were "summer fruit" notes in this bar. All in all this flavorful, Certified Organic, Gluten Free and Vegan milk chocolate bar was remarkably easy to finish.

Original Beans, the company, also helps to replant trees and encourage sustainable practices.

Moonstruck - Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Toffee bar - June 8, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Moonstruck Chocolate Co.
Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Toffee bar
Good
Weight: .75 oz. (21.25 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sigona's Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week. I added a bonus day to this week, due to the variety of chocolate items that contain butter.

One of the reasons I like toffee, caramel, and chocolate-covered caramel turtle/terrapin items -- all of which have been featured this past week -- is the butter. It adds a certain richness and balance, and a hint of salt helps to accentuate certain flavors in chocolate -- as long as there is not too much sugar and salt.

The Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Toffee bar from Moonstruck Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR) was made with 31% milk chocolate, so it was relatively sweet. Tiny bits of embedded toffee gave the bar a slight, soft crunch. Despite the toffee, sea salt, almonds, sugar and other ingredients, I could, happily, still make out a faint hint of butter, my favorite part. The bar was stamped with the message: "Share if you dare."

I also paired pieces of this bar with Jeni's Browned Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream, and topped this sundae with fresh pecan halves. This combination was a bit rich for a hot day outside, but the sundae was in a very small glass. Small-sized and shotglass desserts are always easier to justify, if you feel you need to do so.

Lula's Chocolates - Milk Chocolate Turtles - June 7, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lula's Chocolates
Milk Chocolate Turtles
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 package of 2 turtles
Calories: 450 calories (estimate) in total package, 2 turtles
Cost: $5.75 for 1 package
Purchased from: More Than Caviar, Monterey, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

Sometimes even a small amount of butter can make a big difference in flavor or texture. This was certainly the case for these rich-tasting milk chocolate covered caramel and pecan turtles from Lula's Chocolates (Monterey, CA).

The turtles also tasted quite fresh -- likely due to my buying them at "More Than Caviar" (Monterey, CA), a small shop located a short distance, across town, from where Lula's produces their line of caramels and chocolates, including butter cremes, turtles, toffees and rocky road chocolates.

Thank you to the folks at More Than Caviar for their helpful information about Lula's Chocolates, and Russian chocolates.

Alprose - Chocolate fondue - June 6, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alprose
Swiss Baking Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 10.5 oz. (300 g.) total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving of fondue
Cost: $4.99 (estimate, sale price)
Purchased from: Safeway, Menlo Park, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

I melted half of this large (10.5 oz., 300 g.) baking chocolate bar from Alprose (Castano-Lugano, Switzerland) with a generous hunk of butter, and 1 tablespoon of cacao-infused olive oil to make a creamy dark fondue.


This fondue traveled well in a glass jar (with screw-top lid) for a trip to Monterey. We picked up some local fresh strawberries, and when dipped into this chocolate, the combination made for a simple, but elegant and flavorful dessert classic.

Kohler - Original Buttery Terrapins - June 5, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Kohler Co.
Original Buttery Terrapins
Very Good
Weight: 1.7 oz. (48 g.) / 3.4 oz. (96 g.) in total box of 4 pieces
Calories: 260 calories for 2 pieces
Cost: $11.99 for a box of 4 pieces
Purchased from: Kohler Co. (online)

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

These rich, buttery terrapins from Kohler Co. (Kohler, WI) did not disappoint. Layers of fresh* tasting, quality ingredients -- chocolate, pecans and buttery caramel were visible with each bite.

Kohler produces a line of terrapins (chocolate turtles) that includes today's Original Buttery, as well as Blackstrap, Java and Cranberry flavors.

*Fresh is key when it comes to caramels.

Lucerne Foods - Gluten Free Brownies - June 4, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Lucerne Foods Inc.
Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie Mix
OK + - Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 16 oz. (454 g.) total box of mix
Calories: 130 calories for 1 brownie
Cost: $3.99 for 1 box of mix
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

These Eating Right Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies from Lucerne Foods, Inc. (Pleasanton, CA) were relatively chocolatey and attractive looking. Made from a mix, I added fresh eggs and butter (a little extra butter actually).

Early versions of commercially available gluten-free cakes and brownies ran the risk of being slightly dry and crumbly. These brownies hung together well -- almost unnaturally well, while still retaining a somewhat moist, slightly spongy texture. It may have been the touch of xanthan gum, a binder used in gluten-free baked goods.

I debated whether to add some buttercream frosting to this batch of brownies, and decided against it. Too much sugar. However, spreading a little salted butter across the top was not out of the question.