[Sca-cooks] OOP: best chocolate search

[Ian Kusz]

Have you tried Boehm chocolates?  they have some truffle/licquer
chocolates....I'm told (by a fan) that they're the best chocolate she's
tasted....

On Thu, May 15, 2008 at 7:03 AM, debbie pond <pursey42 at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> I concur with your review of the Black Pearl Bar.  There really wasn't
> enough of anything to taste, and it was a bit disappointing.  On the other
> hand, I really enjoyed the Mo's Bacon Bar.  I had the good fortune to be
> able to make a s'more over the campfire with it which was absolutely
> delicious!
> Yamina> ------------------------------> > Message: 4> Date: Wed, 14 May
> 2008 11:54:56 -0700> From: Lilinah <lilinah at earthlink.net>> Subject:
> [Sca-cooks] OOP: Vosges Haut-Chocolat, again> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> Message-ID: <a06110400c450d23ab4bb@[4.243.179.108]>> Content-Type:
> text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"> > This has absolutely
> nothing to do with historical cooking, except > that of the early 21st C.> >
> As most on this list probably recall, i like dark chocolate, and i > like
> spicy food. Besides the infamous - and now truly improved - > Tofurkey, I've
> reported on various ice creams and chocolate bars, > including one
> containing bits of real bacon - Mo's Bacon Bar, another > of Vosges's exotic
> bars that is good - but i wanted more bacon :-)> > So i could not resist
> temptation when i saw yet another intriguing > Vosges Haut-Chocolat "exotic
> candy bar" (says so on the package), The > Black Pearl Bar: dark chocolate
> with black sesame seeds, ginger, + > wa
>  sabi.> > Anyway, i forked over the big bucks - these Vosges babies cost in
> the > vicinity of 7 smackeronis! - and waited in eager anticipation until i
> > got home to savor the flavors.> > A bit o' background: Vosges is based in
> Chicago> http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/> They have shown up on lists of
> the best ice cream in the US: they got > a nod for their Red Fire Ice Cream:
> dark chocolate ice cream with > Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies, Ceylon
> cinnamon, but i think the > flavors are not well balanced. I'm fonder of
> their Naga Ice Cream, > custard ice cream with yellow Indian curry and
> coconut (mmm-mmm-mmm) > and their Pandan Ice Cream, dark chocolate flavored
> with pandan - a > leaf used in South East Asia the way we use vanilla, but
> it tastes > nothing like it. I haven't yet tried their 4th flavor,
> Wattleseed Ice > Cream, dark chocolate with Australian wattleseed + roasted
> macadamia > nuts, but probably will this summer...> > Anyway, back home, I
> finally sat down, opened
>  the light cardboard > wrapper with the sophisticated graphics, used a
> scissors to snip open > the silver-coated plastic encasing the precious
> product. Vosges > protects their precious chocolate bars well. Among their
> OTHER > flavors are:> - Barcelona: deep milk chocolate with hickory smoked
> almonds + Fleur > de Sel grey sea salt> - Calindia: Venezuelan dark
> chocolate with cardamom, organic walnuts > + dried plums> - Creole: Sao
> Thome bittersweet chocolate with espresso, cocoa nibs, > + New Orleans
> chicory> - Gianduja: deep milk chocolate with almonds + caramelized hazelnut
> paste> - Goji: deep milk chocolate with Tibetan goji berries + pink
> Himalayan salt> - Macha: deep milk chocolate with Japanese macha green tea>
> - Mo's Bacon Bar: deep milk chocolate with Applewood smoked bacon + >
> Alderwood smoked salt> - Naga: deep milk chocolate with sweet Indian curry +
> coconut> - Oaxaca: Tanzanian bittersweet chocolate with Oaxacan guajillo & >
> pasilla chillies> - d'Oliva: Venezuelan w
>  hite chocolate with Kalamata olives> - Red Fire: dark chocolate with
> Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies + > Ceylon cinnamon> - Woolloomooloo: deep
> milk chocolate with roasted & salted macadamia > nuts, coconut, + hemp
> seeds> > Now, i'm not trying to push this stuff - there are LOTS of unusual
> > chocolate bars out there (Dagoba Organic Chocolates, for example - > Star
> Wars fans will recognize the name), and Vosges is not > necessarily my
> favorite, but i wanted to give some idea of what > they're up to... I've
> only tried maybe 4 out of their 12 flavors (i > haven't noticed the olive
> flavored white chocolate bar in my local > market). And while i think
> Hershey's is vile, Vosges "milk chocolate" > is REAL chocolate (41%) with
> milk in it (it's good!) - it has flavor, > depth, and good mouth feel.
> Unlike a chemist's compound of fats, > sugars, and dairy product with a
> little chocolate somewhere in the > factory when they made it... Hershey's
> seems greasy and waxy and not > terribly
>  chocolatey to me, but i guess it defines "chocolate" for > millions of
> Americans. Sigh. What a shame.> > Anyway, back to the Black Pearl: I broke
> off a modest chunk of this > dark, very firm, 55% cocoa mass bar, and placed
> it on my tongue. Good > chocolate, but not much else... Maybe there was more
> savory goodness > concentrated elsewhere in the bar, i thought. I broke off
> another > piece. Not much difference.> > Ho-hum. A tragic waste. The dark
> chocolate is good, and i > occasionally noticed black sesame seeds - I love
> the earthy flavor of > black sesame seeds: the lavender-grey colored black
> sesame seed > gelato from local gelateria Naia - which includes a dash of
> dark > roasted sesame oil - is one of my favorites! But i could barely taste
> > the ginger or wasabi in this Vosges bar. There's the occasional and > very
> mild hint of one or the other, but in my opinion, not enough of > either,
> and not enough black sesame seeds for my taste. I don't think > i've burned
> out my ta
>  ste buds or olfactory nerve. It was just too > "subtle" for me, and i
> never think of wasabi as subtle - i've bought > wasabi-coated peas,
> mayonnaise with wasabi, mustard with wasabi... in > restaurants i've had
> wasabi mashed potatoes (a marriage made in > Paradise!), not to mention the
> usual with sushi.> > So, to conclude: The quality of this bar is high, but
> for those > looking for a tongue tingling thrill, the Black Pearl bar just >
> doesn't deliver. My recommendation? Save your shekels.> > Yours in
> disappointed gastronomy,> -- > Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)> the persona
> formerly known as Anahita> > My LibraryThing>
> http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lilinah> > P.S.:> my spell checker
> suggested "genitalia" for the unknown word > "gelateria". Good thing i don't
> have it set to correct automatically!> > > ------------------------------
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-- 
Ian of Oertha