at Sun, 24 Oct 2004 07:40:09 GMT in
>,
(Meghan Noecker) wrote :

>> Out of curiosity, what chocolates have you tried that you can recall,
>> and how much have you liked each one? With this information I can
>> probably also recommend other new chocolates for you to try, some of
>> which you may like better than your current favourites.
>>
>
>I have always liked Hershey's....
>
>Nestle's is okay, but only when I am in the mood for it. ...
>
>I love the Godiva dark chocolate. ...
>
>I've never liked the candies much, like Whitman's or other boxed
>candies. I will eat the plain chocolate or the caramel, but I'd rather
>just eat a candy bar.
>
>There used to be a holiday chocolate that was shaped like train cars.
>I have no idea the brand, but I loved those. ...
>
>Oh, another really good one is the kind they use in the Harry Potter
>chocolate frogs. ...

Sorry, I should have been a little more clear. By "chocolates" I meant only
the raw, pure chocolate (either milk or dark) in bar or bloc form.

There is a definite difference between a *chocolate* bar and a *candy* bar.
A chocolate bar contains nothing but chocolate - it's just a pure slab. A
candy bar is some sort of confection, which may include chocolate (although
it doesn't have to), shaped into bar form. For instance, a 3 Musketeers or
a Kit Kat is a candy bar. But a plain Hershey's milk chocolate is a
chocolate bar.

And boxed chocolates are again, chocolate *confections*. They're not just
pure chocolate - indeed, whatever the filling or coating or whatever that
they have is half of the point of the taste sensation.

Chocolate confections are much more problematic to rate or recommend
because they're unique to each manufacturer. Each one makes different items
with different characteristics, and you can't fairly compare them side-by-
side because it's apples and oranges. For instance, how would you compare a
Snickers to a Reese's Peanut Butter cup? You can't - they're too different.
Similarly, it's pointless to compare a dark chocolate truffle against a
fondant because again, there's no point of common reference.

>It's strange. I love chocolate. I always have, but I am picky about it
>as well. Last year, I was given 6 boxes of chocolate candies for
>Christmas. I gave away almost all of it....

It sounds as if you've encountered just what I talked about - the fact that
what you might like in chocolate confections is extremely relative. But
with plain chocolate, it's much easier to make a definite decision.
Furthermore, most serious chocoholics prefer pure chocolate bars anyway.
There's more chocolate enjoyment density per gram. People who buy
confections as opposed to chocolate bars generally either want to have a
"treat" in a more abstract way - i.e. that it's chocolate isn't necessarily
central - or they're buying/receiving as a gift, wherein a chocolate bar
might seem too pedestrian.

>And when I do chocolate milk (I won't drink pain milk), I use extra
>syrup. It must be very dark brown. No tan white milk for me. Same with
>hot chocolate....

That's not the way to do chocolate milk at all. Don't use syrup. Instead,
follow the following procedure. Mix cocoa and sugar in a ratio of 2 to 1 (2
parts cocoa to 1 part sugar. Now, slowly start stirring in milk until the
mix is just thinner than a slurry (you must do this slowly or the cocoa
will clump up). Drink.

You can apply the same procedure for hot chocolate, by creating a paste
with just enough cold milk added to the cocoa/sugar to paste it, then
adding the rest of the milk you're going to add as hot milk. But better
still here is to make a ganache by grating good bittersweet chocolate and
adding scalded (just below boiling) cream to it in a ratio of 1:1, then
adding again, only just enough hot milk to bring it past the slurry point.
If you use half and half, in fact, you can go all the way : just pour your
hot half and half over grated bittersweet chocolate.

Finally, there's the ultimate hot chocolate experience - simply melt some
good chocolate, pour into a cup, and drink. I like to do this in espresso
demitasse cups.

BTW, if you don't want to spend the time to create your own ganache (as
described above) you can get a great one from Dilettante
(http://www.dilettante.com) by buying their bittersweet Ephemere Sauce. It
comes in jars and is as thick as peanut butter when you spoon it out. It's
worth noting, on the "rarely buying from espresso stands" problem, that
there are at least 2 Seattle coffee shops who use Ephemere Sauce as their
standard for making mocha, hot chocolate, etc : Caffe D'Arte (who IMHO also
make unequivocally the best espresso in Seattle), and Lighthouse Roasters.
If you get a hot chocolate or mocha from them, it will be excellent. While
I almost invariably get a double espresso instead of a chocolate drink,
every now and then I go for a triple short double chocolate breve mocha,
which is *my* idea of how a mocha should be. Lighthouse Roasters' version
of this is awe-inspiring. Caffe D'Arte is just *generally* awe-inspiring
all round.

>
>I know for sure that I hate Palmers....

Unsurprising. Much of their "chocolate" is vegelate, meaning that they use
vegetable fat such as palm kernel oil in place of cocoa butter. The taste
and texture are thus appalling.

>And I don't like white chocolate at all....

Most white chocolate is pretty bad, with one very notable exception : El
Rey. Not that I'm going to suggest you'd like it as much as a good
chocolate, but tasting El Rey's white chocolate will completely reshape
your notions of how good white chocolate can be. It's the only white
chocolate worth buying for any application, ever.

> I don't like Nestle chocolate
>chip cookies, but I love Pilsbury. And Pilsbury brownies are the
>absolute best....

You need to try more home-made brownies and cookies! Virtually all of the
commercial brands are worthless.

...
>> If the principal attraction is the knawability as opposed to a
>> specific set of flavour characteristics, then there's no need to tear
>> your hair out looking for Merckens. Just get the Guittard or Callebaut
>> chocolates in break-up from any of the local suppliers, and you'll be
>> happy. Both are quite good chocolate.
>
>I will definitely try them out. I will glady try the easiest and
>cheapest versions first, and if that's good enough, then why work
>harder or pay more?
>

Be aware that with more dollars, the difference in quality can be amazing -
and make you more than willing to pay more for the experience. And you may
find, after getting used to them, that what was "good enough" before
doesn't even seem acceptable after. There's not an absolute, linear
correlation between price and quality, i.e. a higher price tag doesn't
automatically mean a better chocolate, but as the prices lean higher, the
quality does tend to improve. In relative terms, for instance, Godiva isn't
even particularly expensive (nor particularly high-quality)! Top-notch bars
tend to be about $5.00/100g at retail.

All of that said, based on the chocolates you have listed (Hershey's,
Nestle, Godiva, and (presumably) Merckens, it's clear that you like
chocolate that's strongly sweet. You like the coconutty flavour that is the
signature of beans from the Ivory Coast. You're not very fond of fruity
flavours, or at least so it would appear (e.g. you weren't thrilled with
Nestle or Ghirardelli dark)

This would make the chocolate I'd predict to be your favourite Poulain 1848
Dessert 64%. You will probably have to find this online. Poulain is a
French subsidiary of Cadbury's - their distribution in the US isn't
especially large.

Next, with the advantage of being available in Seattle (e.g. I have seen it
at Whole Foods Market, is Cafe Tasse Noir 59%. It doesn't have the
coconutty signature, but it is an excellent semisweet, as opposed to
bittersweet, chocolate, and it doesn't taste fruity. You can always get
this from http://www.chocosphere.com if you strike out locally.

If you want to go for broke, the best Ivory Coast chocolate is Bonnat's
Cote D'Ivoire, which you can get from DeLaurenti downtown. You have to be
careful because the Bonnat wrappers look identical, for several different
types, and you need to look for the name "Cote D'Ivoire" in the lower
right.

Be aware that much chocolate in the Ivory Coast is produced under
conditions of appalling slave labour. This makes it questionable from a POV
of ethics, especially if the manufacturer can't guarantee their specific
source.


--
Alex Rast

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