The Chocolate Trader: Dark Chocolate with Olive Oil and Sea Salt
August 22, 2017
Here’s a little Milwaukee, Wisconsin history. In 1916, Joseph and Lottie Helminiak, founded Quality Candy Shoppes on Mitchell street in Milwaukee. Over the next 100 years, the company has grown, been through some changes, and became well known in Wisconsin.
In the 1960’s, Quality Candy bought Buddy Squirrel, a nut roasting and gourmet popcorn company, also located in Milwaukee. It became Quality Candy/Buddy Squirrel. Later, it was purchased and renamed Buddy Squirrel, LLC.
I grew up in the Milwaukee area and remember, fondly, the trips with my Dad to pick up Buddy Squirrel cheese popcorn and eat it while we watched a movie. Quality Candy was the place we’d buy chocolate covered fairy food (sponge candy) for Grandma’s birthday and assorted chocolates for Mom on Mother’s Day.
Olive Oil in Chocolate?
This chocolate is non-GMO verified with a simple ingredient list; chocolate liquor, sugar, olive oil, cocoa butter, sea salt, soy lecithin, and vanilla.
This is not my grandmother’s chocolate candy!
The chocolate is very rich. The cocoa notes are intense with the sea salt and vanilla adding a nice flavor burst as it melts in your mouth. The finish is a lingering deep roasted flavor, not bitter or harsh.
The olive oil contributes very little to the flavor, but it does impact the texture tremendously. Although the chocolate has a hard snap when you bite into it, once the melting begins, it’s different than a 100% cocoa butter chocolate. Its hard to describe, but it feels thicker and creamier and stays in your mouth a little longer, too. For a brief moment near the end, it feels like a melt-away but more viscous.
The sweetness level is where it should be for a 70%. There’s no hint of honey or butter as sometimes is the case with a rich chocolate with a thick texture (yes, I’m talking about the natural terroir of a dark chocolate without any added dairy ingredients). The flavor is not complex. There is a simple, steady chocolate flavor throughout.
I rather enjoyed this chocolate. It comes in small bite-sized pieces. Just the right size for dessert after lunch. And after supper. And after breakfast. And after an afternoon snack...
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How do you make olive oil infused dark chocolate?
Please tell me where I can buy this product. I bought one package at Christmas in
Home Goods and have not seen them since. It was the best chocolate I have ever tasted and can not find it anywhere. Their website says that it is available at Amazon but they have not had the product for some time.
There are two grocery stores in my area that sell (sold) them. I don’t know if they do anymore. One was Woodman’s Market and the other one was Meijer.
it would be nice to know the amount added of olive oil.