[Sca-cooks] OOP: best chocolate search

Fri May 23 05:28:30 PDT 2008

So far as regular chocolate is concerned, I'm very fond of See's (or however
you spell it!!) from the San Francisco area (hoping that husband who is out
there even as we speak will remember to bring me some!!).  It's really
wonderful stuff, and now available in other parts of the country.  However,
one bar that is my all-time, be-all favorite comes from
Cadbury...Bourneville.  For those of you who live in the UK, it's generally
available there, but in the US, the only place I've found it is once a year
at our local Celtic Festival...one of the Scottish merchants usually has a
supply.  And, though I haven't tried it, I suspect you can order it online.
It is a dark chocolate that is so rich that only three or four small squares
are sufficient to fill my chocolate "tooth."  Good stuff!

Kiri

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 3:52 AM, Ian Kusz <sprucebranch at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
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