Wednesday, 10 November 2010
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All Chocolate Is NOT Created Equal
Oh, don't get me wrong! I LOVE me some M&Ms and the occasional Mounds or Snickers bar is hardly off-putting, but when it comes down to it, I will say it again. ALL CHOCOLATE IS NOT CREATED EQUAL!I have, over the years, come to view myself as a chocolate snob. I like it dark - very dark. I prefer 65% to 80% cacao. I like it smooth - very smooth. And the taste has to continue through the whole palette. Hershey's Special Dark just isn't going to cut it anymore.
Chocolate is not just a snack to me. It's an experience. It's magic works best if taken just before bedtime or with a glass of wine and a long hot bubble bath. If you choose well, it has soothing qualities and can take your mind off a very tedious day. I would even go as far as to say it can momentarily erase your troubles without the after-effects of alcohol.
If you choose well, you won't gain a pound. Good chocolate is best in small doses, eaten slowly, each bite fully appreciated. Medical rumor has it that chocolate has a positive effect on mental well-being and it is touted by sexperts as an aphrodisiac. What more could a person ask for really?
I'd like to mention a few of my favorites in different categories.
First, the AVERAGE chocolates. If you don't have immediate access or a huge wad of cash sitting around, but you have a need for an instant chocolate fix, these ones will do.
- Skor - mmmmmm, toffee
- Mounds - combo with dark chocolate and sweet coconut is very satisfying (unless you hate coconut)
- M&Ms - plain, peanut or coconut
- Reese's Peanut Butter cups
Slightly ABOVE AVERAGE chocolates:
- After 8 mints
- Andes mints
- Hershey's symphony Bar
What I stock my nightstand with:
- Lindt Dark Chocolate Intense Mint Bar
- Lindt Dark Chocolate Orange bar
- Lindt Dark Chocolate Roasted Almond
- Lindt Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt
- Lindt Dark Chocolate with Intense Pear and Almonds
Can you tell I have quite a liking for Lindt? To me it has everything I've described above. I can eat 2 small squares and be satisfied for the evening. The pleasure that dances on my tongue hasn't been replicated with any other chocolate.
Others worth mentioning:
- Lindt Truffle Balls
- Godiva Dark Chocolate covered strawberries
- Giradelli chocolate peanut butter candies
Finally, I'd like to end with the fact that I don't think white chocolate even deserves to be called chocolate. It may contain cocoa butter, but that's about all it has in common with REAL chocolate. Can we just call it white sweet stuff? That would make me feel a whole lot friendlier to the impostor that it is!
I'd love to hear what kind of chocolate other people like? What am I missing out there that I should try?
And did I mention I'll be at the Chocolate Show in New York City this weekend? I wouldn't miss it for the world!
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About the Author
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- From: chelleannette@xanga
- About Me: I'm an almost 40 mother of three teenagers, two crazy fat dogs and one husband. I live in and love New York City. In the last five years or so I've taken up French, shooting for eventual fluency and possibly picking up one day with the man after the kids are gone and moving it all to France. I also learned how to play tennis in the last few years and have, consequently become obsessed with the sport and acquired the delusion of playing on the WTA seniors tour or in a grand slam (Watch out Serena!) Living passionately, I want to see, smell, taste and feel the world through relationships, travel, food and whatever else life throws at me. Still waiting to discover what I want to be when I grow up!
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Comments (47)
Lindt Dark Chocolate Orange bar sounds great!
For me, chocolate is one of the five major food groups. If you keep me away from chocolate for too long, it's not a pretty sight.
Your opinion on white chocolate is actually close to what why the FDA didn't acknowledge white chocolate as a chocolate product until 2002. To the FDA, if it didn't have any cocoa solids in it, you couldn't legally call it chocolate. I actually wrote an entry about it some time ago, If you're interested, here's the link:
http://chocolatescifi.xanga.com/671641853/standards/
What's my favorite chocolate? Yes.
favorite kind of chocolate is dark chocolate. I won't say it always has to be extremely dark but I don't really like sweet chocolate as much as I used to, which is probably a very good thing. It has been proven that dark chocolate can have many health benefits in moderation. Milk chocolate is good if I'm craving something sweeter, but I don't like white chocolate.
I looove Lindt truffles! And Dove European milky chocolate is pretty amazing.
Lately I've been craving Reese's cups. xD
Lindt is my daily standby...I eat it just as you describe two squares a day. I happen to like the 85% and 90% bars the best, but the intense orange and sea salt are very very nice,
Others I really like...Escazu, Endangered species chimpanzee, panther and bat bars, Dagoba Xocolatl bar and conocado,
When I say 'chocolate' I mean chocolate straight up, the other stuff is candy made with chocolate and it can be so very delightful, but it's not the same as chocolate. Candy is mostly sugar, and satisfies my sweet tooth, but when I want chocolate, it needs to be dark and not very sweet.
there's a chocolate show????
Lindt with Sea Salt is good. Dove is a cheap and good one as is Cadbury esp the minieggs sooo yummy.
Chocolate <33333
Mozart balls, bars, etc.(Mozartkugel) Typically the ones with Pistachio marzipan are the best. Hilarious how everyone buys Lindt now that you can find it in any ghetto grocery...It has gone drastically downhill from the early 90s.
I love that white stuff ;)
Tolberone. Definately Tolberone (: Their white chocolate is fantastic.
Mhmmmm sounds good.
Why isn't Belgian chocolate on this list? (like Guylian?) :'(
Lindt Dark 90% cocoa!
mmmm chocolate
I really suggest you try Chocolat Moderne. I don't think they are going to be at the Chocolate Show this weekend, but they sell their bars at most of the Whole Foods Stores in NYC. They make a chocolate toffee bar that's to die for.
Try and find Theo's Chocolates. They're usually found in Whole Foods. Their 72% is a really good one, but they do have an 80%+ that you might also enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDXS6LAxip8
Godiva is the best hands down. Unless of course you're in Europe... visit Switzerland, Germany, Begium, or Sweden... their chocolate stores are superb! =D
I like chocolate from small candy stores that make it on-site instead of it being made in a factory and being trucked in. It just tastes fresher to me.
chocolove.... hands down the most mouthwatering chocolate i eat.
cadbury and some bars of chocolate from Belgium! Yummy <3
I don't like white chocolate, either. Dark chocolate for the win! Ferrero Rocher and Belgian Guylian seashell chocolates are also pretty yummy!
All chocolate is definitely not created equal! I looove dark chocolate. It's usually my preference.
With the holiday season coming up, a favorite of mine is the Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark. Yum!
Cadbury chocolate! yum