Tag Archive: dark chocolate

Is Milk Chocolate Inferior to Dark Chocolate?

June 8, 2010

I was asked a question like this recently, "is milk chocolate considered inferior to dark chocolate?"

Inferior? No.

Not as “in”? Yes.
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Mother’s Day and Chocolate

May 4, 2010

Those two things, Mother's Day and Chocolate, just fit together nicely, don’t they?

Mother's Day is celebrated on different days and different months depending on which country you live in. In the United States, it is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May.

We can thank Anna Jarvis for this great day. She is the one credited for founding Mothers Day in the US.

How do you choose the perfect chocolate for Mom?
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The Price of Chocolate

April 26, 2010

I have friends who are often reluctant to spend 10 dollars or more for a 100 gram chocolate bar. I can understand that. They wonder if it is worth it.

Here’s the thing; in the chocolate world, you get what you pay for!

There is an obvious taste and quality difference between a $0.79 chocolate bar and one that costs $1.99. All my friends get that. Also, there is a significant distinction between one priced at $1.99 and one for $7.99. Most of my friends get that. Where I lose almost all of them is anything above the magic $8 mark. Are the flavor differences that occur in this price range really worth the extra dough, they ask?
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Chocolate Adventures in England – Thorntons

March 11, 2010

My little niece was baptized on Valentines Day, Feb. 14, 2010 in a small church near Covent Garden in London.

Previously I had been told the English didn’t celebrate Valentines Day much, but that’s not what I experienced. The chocolate shops and patisseries surrounding the church fully embraced the holiday with window displays decked out in red hearts, flower bouquets, and lots and lots of chocolate!

Most of the time I don’t buy chocolate truffles by the box and off the shelf because I don’t know how long ago those truffles were made. I prefer a really fresh, handmade truffle at the corner shop.
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Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Nibs

March 2, 2010

Cocoa (or Cacao) Nibs are made from cocoa beans after they get separated from their thin shells and roasted. The bulk of nibs produced are ground into chocolate liquor, either used as unsweetened baking chocolate or as the main ingredient of chocolate bars and candies.

Roasted cocoa nibs are not for everyone. They taste rather bitter because they are not sweetened. If you can get past the bitterness, you’ll find they do taste rich and chocolaty and have a crunch similar to nuts. In fact, nibs are often used to replace nuts in cookies and granola recipes.

Troubleshoot Chocolate Tempering

February 18, 2010

Recently I was asked about tempered chocolate that fails to keep a good shine and what can be done to fix that? (See comments on how to temper chocolate page.)

That's a really good question. Concerns about the streaking and the lack of shine make me think about how temperatures, crystal development and the appearance of chocolate are all connected.

Properly tempered chocolate is shiny and uniform in color. When chocolate has streaks and does not shine, it indicates that at some point in the production process, the chocolate solidified without being in a properly tempered state.
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Chocolate Adventures in England – Green & Black’s

February 15, 2010

Green and Black's Organic Chocolate. Have you seen these chocolate bars in the stores and pharmacies of your neighborhood? Green and Black's is definitely all over London! G&B is an English chocolate company started in 1991. The founders "set out to bring to the masses the world's first organic chocolate." You can visit them at www.greenandblacks.com.

The Green and Black's 70% Organic Dark Chocolate was the first on the scene. Since then, the product line has expanded to include more varieties of chocolate bars, baking chocolate, hot chocolate, and ice cream.

Yes - Ice Cream!
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Trader Joe’s Milk and Dark Chocolate

February 4, 2010

The bright purple wrapper of Trader Joe’s Organic Super Dark Chocolate and the equally bright pink packaging of Trader Joe’s Swiss Milk Chocolate certainly catch the attention of shoppers lining up in the check out lane. But what really got MY attention were the claims on the label.

The organic, 73% super dark chocolate bar reads “this bar is not for the faint of heart.” The Swiss milk says “incomparable flavor!”
Hmmm. Sounds like challenges I can’t ignore!

In order to collect as much data as possible, I took the bars to the office and shared the tasting experience with my work mates.
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Healthy Chocolate

January 26, 2010

According to the USDA website, www.usda.gov, chocolate and cocoa powder contain “hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids…..antioxidants are thought to be effective in helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke.”

How do anti-oxidants help us? “Anti”-oxidants counteract the negative effects of oxidation on our bodies. Oxidation damages cells and tissues. What is oxidation, you ask?
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Spectacular Chocolate and Coffee Pairing

January 22, 2010

I was recently introduced to of Seattle Reign a coffee from North Star Fine Coffees. This morning I sipped a delicious brew of the coffee and quietly ate my chocolate donut, trying to get some work done.

At one point I was rolling the two around my mouth at the same time, coffee and chocolate, chocolate and coffee... Then I experienced a new flavor emerge as I swallowed.

This got me thinking about chocolate and coffee pairings!
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