I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
But here's the funny thing, to me anyway:

We made some chocolate chip cookies last week, and I nibbled the
chips (Hershey's Mini Chips) before the baking. Is it just me, or
are they the same exact thing as Special Dark? Not important,
no -- but it would be nice to know that I could chop up a Special
Dark bar in a baking emergency and have it taste the same...

--
Jani in WA

"Little Malice" > wrote in message
...
>I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
> milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
> the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
> But here's the funny thing, to me anyway:
>
> We made some chocolate chip cookies last week, and I nibbled the
> chips (Hershey's Mini Chips) before the baking. Is it just me, or
> are they the same exact thing as Special Dark? Not important,
> no -- but it would be nice to know that I could chop up a Special
> Dark bar in a baking emergency and have it taste the same...
>

I think they are the same. They sure taste the same. I love dark
chocolate, it will spoil you for milk chocolate.

On Nov 13, 5:45 pm, "cybercat" > wrote:
> "Little Malice" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> >I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
> > milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
> > the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
> > But here's the funny thing, to me anyway:
>
> > We made some chocolate chip cookies last week, and I nibbled the
> > chips (Hershey's Mini Chips) before the baking. Is it just me, or
> > are they the same exact thing as Special Dark? Not important,
> > no -- but it would be nice to know that I could chop up a Special
> > Dark bar in a baking emergency and have it taste the same...
>
> I think they are the same. They sure taste the same. I love dark
> chocolate, it will spoil you for milk chocolate.

I like it all, though I only buy dark. I'll happily eat milk
chocolate. Of course, now all I can have is that maltitol sweetened
stuff.

--Bryan

On Nov 13, 6:08 pm, (Little Malice) wrote:
> I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
> milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
> the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
> But here's the funny thing, to me anyway:
> Jani in WA

Welcome to the club!

I had a similar experience a few years ago. As others have stated,
Lindt 70% is excellent. Hershey itself makes a separately branded
line called Cacao Reserve, which is mostly dark chocolate with a few
exceptions. They make a 65% bar with something called "Cacao Nibs"
that is another favorite of mine. The nibs are, I think, larger
particles of cacao bean that aren't ground and emulsified--they're a
bit harder than than the crisp rice in a Krackle bar.

I've tried several other bars, as well. I've been disappointed with
Scharffen-Berger (now a Hershey subsidiary)--it was too sweet and had
flavors that were either off or too sophisticated for this peasant to
appreciate. Ghirardelli 72%, which someone else mentioned, wasn't
that great for me--it might have been a bad sample, but it was sort of
hard and didn't melt as well. If you have a Target nearby, they
continually cycle through new brands of "premium" chocolate (but their
own brand, Choxie, is pretty but low quality, like a lot of Target's
own products). Costco stores sell sample packs of higher quality bars
during the Christmas season and they're usually well priced.

Try different stuff--it's inexpensive enough that even if you get one
you don't like, you'll be more than rewarded by finding one you love
even more.

By the way, Hershey is trying to get some of the dark chocolate
antioxidant halo on their powdered cocoa by marketing a "Special Dark"
cocoa. That seems a little silly to me--dark chocolate refers to the
percentage of cocoa solids relative to cocoa liquor, butterfat, sugar,
and other ingredients. It seems silly to claim that one product made
from pure cocoa solids is darker than another.

Gomer

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:53:36 GMT, "Randy Johnson" >
wrote:

>
>On 13-Nov-2007, (Little Malice) wrote:
>
>> I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
>> milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
>> the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
>
>I gave out Hershey's mini's for halloween, among other things, and had just
>one left over, so I ate it the next day. It was dark chocolate and I have
>to agree with you - I always thought I disliked dark chocolate, but I liked
>this one. Too bad there was only one.

Now you folks that are just really discovering dark chocolate, go and
get some really good dark chocolate, like Valhrona, or Lindt, or
Callebut. You will be totally amazed. And if you can find it, get
some with 70% cocoa.

Christine

One time on Usenet, Christine Dabney > said:
> On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:53:36 GMT, "Randy Johnson" >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >On 13-Nov-2007, (Little Malice) wrote:
> >
> >> I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
> >> milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
> >> the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
> >
> >I gave out Hershey's mini's for halloween, among other things, and had just
> >one left over, so I ate it the next day. It was dark chocolate and I have
> >to agree with you - I always thought I disliked dark chocolate, but I liked
> >this one. Too bad there was only one.
>
> Now you folks that are just really discovering dark chocolate, go and
> get some really good dark chocolate, like Valhrona, or Lindt, or
> Callebut. You will be totally amazed. And if you can find it, get
> some with 70% cocoa.

I've had the Lindt dark chocolate truffle balls before -- they're just
Heavenly!

--
Jani in WA

One time on Usenet, "Randy Johnson" > said:
> On 13-Nov-2007, (Little Malice) wrote:
>
> > I discovered a few weeks ago, that after 40+ years of being a
> > milk chocolate fan, I now love Hershey's Special Dark. It's got
> > the good parts of chocolate with fewer calories and sugar. Yay!
>
> I gave out Hershey's mini's for halloween, among other things, and had just
> one left over, so I ate it the next day. It was dark chocolate and I have
> to agree with you - I always thought I disliked dark chocolate, but I liked
> this one. Too bad there was only one.

I started buying the miniatures in bulk at my local Top Foods. I take
them to work and keep the candy dish on my desk filled. People like to
congregate by my desk. I wonder why? ;-)

> OK; now, wait for it, wait for it - time for Bobo Bonomo to chime in with
> "that's crap...that's crap..."

Heh...

--
Jani in WA