Perugina Dark Chocolate Limoncello
October 26, 2015
The Perugina sweetshop began in 1907, in Perugia Italy making sugared almonds.
In 1922, one of the co-founders, Luisa Spagnoli created a confection wrapped in a love note. She called it Baci, the Italian word for kisses. Baci confections are dark chocolate covered gianduia (a creamy chocolate hazelnut center) sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts and topped with a whole hazelnut. They are still wrapped in notes of affection, love and friendship.
Perugina makes more than the famous Baci candy, they also make a variety of chocolate bars.
I recently picked one up at my local grocery store called Dark Chocolate Limoncello. This bar is made of a sweet dark chocolate with lemon flavored “crisps”.
The percentage of cacao is not listed on the label but if I had to guess I would put it somewhere around 45 -48%. The color is a deep dark brown and the aroma is a mixture of lemon and cocoa.
I’m not sure what the lemon “crisps” are made of but they crunch in the mouth like lemon candy. The bar has a hard snap to it, so the texture forms a nice combination of brittle candy and firm chocolate.
The first flavor notes are sweet and honey, quickly followed by strong cocoa with a bit of vanilla and spice. The lemon becomes intense in the middle and then slowly gives way to a chocolaty finish.
The flavor profile was noticeably precise. Each flavor attribute seemed engineered to be released at just the right moment. I don’t come across this type of profile very often in my chocolate tastings. This is neither good nor bad, it’s just a method of crafting your chocolate.
I’d have to taste more Perugina chocolate to determine if this is a signature profile of the company or a happy accident. (If anyone from Perugina is reading, I would love to sample a few more bars!)
You can buy individual bars at Amazon.
Enjoy!
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