BS: What is the best chocolate?

Subject: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:41 AM

The most available best chocolate here imo is Dove.
See's chocolate candies claims to be the best chocolate in the world.
The most expensive and cheapest chocolate are numerous.
For the cheapest I vote for Hersheys.
the worst imo is Cadburys.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:45 AM

Someone gave me a Hershey bar once. I tried a bit, to see what the fuss was about.

Never again.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:51 AM

The flourless chocolate torte from a bakery in Lexington, VA, is the best chocolate I have ever had in my mouth.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:53 AM

The whole town of Hershey smells like chocolate from the silos at the factory. God knows what they do to it after that Jos.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:56 AM

Lindt is better than anything I've tasted. For cocoa powder, Droste. I got some when I was on a tour of Europe (I can't even remember what country - Switzerland? Austria?) and any recipe that wants to to add a pat of butter on your hot cocoa is perfect!

Hershey's is not awesome, but when you're desperate, it's chocolate.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:58 AM

And Don, I believe you can buy some Lindt at supermarket check-outs. You're welcome.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 10:59 AM

Its true Virginia has the better bakeries than MD.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 11:05 AM

I think the best adds butter and the worst adds wax.
Do Chocolatiers have a Phd?:^/

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 11:25 AM

Raw coaco looks like garlic

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 12:01 PM

”Hershey's is not awesome, but when you're desperate, it's chocolate.”

The first part’s correct, the second part is nonsense - it’s not ‘chocolate’, it’s ‘shit’.

As always, the standard disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 01:46 PM

I've never tasted shit, so I can't make the comparison. I'll take your word for it.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 01:53 PM

I too was once given a bar of Hershey's and, frankly, had I had my eyes shut I might have doubted that it was chocolate at all. Horrible stuff. Maybe it just didn't travel well.

I'm not a fan of those very bitter dark chocolates, the sorts with 70%+ cocoa solids. I find them to be as enjoyable as taking medicine. Neither can I bear chocolate that's got weird additives such as chilli or ginger or rum. I find fruit and nut types, or just nut, very agreeable. Milk chocolate of around 40% cocoa solids can be very nice. Green and Blacks do a nice one. There's one with almond bits in it from that source that I'm particularly fond of. Cadbury's recently brought one out called Dark Milk, which is excellent. Any yank telling me that Cadbury's is rubbish is just having a laugh. Ordinary Cadbury's Milk is not too unpleasant, a bit too sweet and bland, but if it's all I've got I'll scoff it enthusiastically. And anything chocolatey that comes out of a tin of Quality Street will do me. Especially the purple job.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 01:59 PM

LOL! I’m very relieved to hear it! Neither have I, but I’ve smelled it and, if you’ve smelled it, I’m guessing its taste doesn’t take a great deal of imagination.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 02:02 PM

I love Green & Black’s 85% Cocoa chocolate. After fourteen years of being a diabetic and eating no other kind of chocolate, anything less than 85% just tastes of nothing but sugar to me - ‘orrid!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 02:13 PM

Terry's chocolate gingers with a glass of fine malt was my favourite but I don't think you can get them anymore :-(

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 02:21 PM

I was once given a box of dark chocolate truffles called Monty Bojangles.
They were gorgeous, but when I look for them online all I find is things in lots of different flavours with embarrassingly stupid names.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 02:48 PM

Love Green & Black's.

Don, I don't know if you misread my post, but nobody makes chocolate with butter. Cocoa butter, but not butter butter. I think the amount of cocoa butter is what makes it soft and silky, and I figure Hershey's doesn't have much at all.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 03:26 PM

I'll out myself now and declare that I find Terry's Chocolate Orange to be a total abomination. Whoever thought of combining chocolate with orange wants their bumps feeling...And never, ever, offer me a McVities Jaffa Cake....

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 03:37 PM

Talking of tasting like shit, I remember a famous wine writer scoffing at the euphemistic way in which some aficionados described the aroma and taste of pinot noir wines as "farmyardy." What they really meant, said he, was that the aroma and taste was redolent of shit, the sort of taste you might have got as a tiny child as you sucked your finger that had just been up your own bum. He chided any of his readers who might indignantly claim that they didn't know what he was talking about, and then went on to say that it wasn't exactly an unpleasant attribute of the wine in any case...

Did I know what he meant? Not telling you...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 05:38 PM

I don't know recipees but silky is nice. I think a childhood memory can make a Brit fond of Cadburys. I would bury the cad.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 05:41 PM

YMMV?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 05:50 PM

Milk, milk, lemonade, round the corner, chocolate's made...

I can't vouch for how good it tastes,
but it's true...

There's a designer hand made chocolate shop round the corner,
not too far from our street...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 05:57 PM

btw.. I'm still quite fond of mint aero..

..going to have the last one in the fridge/house,
right now the wife's gone to bed...

.. if it's still there...???

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 06:18 PM

The best tactic is to have a large and variable supply in the house. Filch, top up, filch, top up double... Then she'll never know whether you've filched a bar after she's gone to bed. I can attest to the efficacy of this policy...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 07:32 PM

YMMV - Mrrzy, I typed it into Google, and got this, from the Oxford dictionary.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 07:41 PM

When I was in charge of the gourmet shelf in a grocery store almost 60 years ago, I developed a taste for Cadbury's Shortcake Snacks.. ate them like... ummm... candy.
When I moved East 40 years ago, they were hard to find. Finally, some Brits began coming to the Getaway and stayed with us several times.
As a gift one brought me some Cadburys. I savored those for weeks.

   I do like other types of chocolate ... especially good Belgian- and I don't mind the 60-70% type. At this time of the year, various stores begin offering 'sales' on Lindt and a couple other of those individually wrapped treats. COSTCO always has the best prices.
   I can't afford the really good stuff often, but every now & then I splurge...

    The problem is, Cadbury USA is now owned by Hershey, and there IS a DIFFERENCE..*sigh*

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Dec 20 - 08:54 PM

After I posted, I couldn't get chocolate out of my mind, and I remembered I had some remnants of a jar of homemade chocolate fudge sauce a friend made for me. I got a small spoonful of good *Hagen Daz* ice cream and a very small amount of the fudge sauce and used the spoon to eat the ice cream and lick tiny dabs of sauce as I went... YUM!

   I do have to admit that I grew up in Kansas and when I was young, Hershey's was about the only thing we knew. I **recognize** the taste, and can tolerate it when I encounter it. It's not nearly as good as.... the good stuff... but nasty? Nawww....

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 02:54 AM

”YMMV - Mrrzy, I typed it into Google, and got this, from the Oxford dictionary.”

Yep, that’s it - ‘IMHO, YMMV’ = ‘In My Humble Opinion, Your Mileage May Vary’. I’m astonished that two Americans didn’t know it - it’s (apparently) a US expression and frequently-used on the several US music forums i lurk around. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 04:49 AM

... the worst imo is Cadburys

I bought a bar of Cadbury's chocolate in the States and it was absolutely dreadful. The wrapper looked pretty much the same but it wasn't at all like the Cadbury's chocolate that I buy in the UK. Clearly different recipes for different markets, so naming your favourite chocolate may depend on where you live.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 05:07 AM

Any Belgian chocs are amazing!!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 05:16 AM

Tescos used to sell bars of their own brand dark chocoate with crunchy mint pieces. Unfortunately they stopped having it on the shelves about 3 or 4 years ago. I've not found anything as good since (happily researching though).

B&M had some bars that looked like Aero chocolate bars that left you with a tasteless fatty residue in the mouth. Not worth saving the money by not getting the real thing.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 05:22 AM

Doug said: "Clearly different recipes for different markets, so naming your favourite chocolate may depend on where you live."

I find that the Belgian chocolate in Belgium is better than the Belgian chocolate I get given for Christmas by well-meaning relatives in England.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 05:44 AM

The best chocolates I had were in a sort of sample box that contained chocolates of different strengths and from different growing areas. The best chocolate was one over 80% made from Venezuelan beans. It had a slightly fruity taste and was very melt in your mouth.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 05:50 AM

My 60-second in-depth google research revealed that Hershey holds the franchise for making Cadbury's chocolate in the US, allegedly following the same recipes. In view of the almost-universal opinion that the American Cadbury's tastes terrible, I can only conclude that the yanks use milk from chlorinated cows.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: gillymor
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 06:31 AM

When I was a kid I loved Hershey bars with almonds, now if I eat chocolate it's Ghiradelli Intense Dark 72% or Green & Black 70% and sometimes a torte from P.F. Chang's which I'm told they contract from a local bakery but they won't say which one.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 06:41 AM

haha Chlorinated, radiated and mad infected cows? I see why a competitor would use inferior ingrediants like milk powder when licensed to make a competing brand. I thought Europe kept the good stuff and shipped the crap, but no we make the crap even cheaper?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:00 AM

Backwoodsman, I knew what it meant. I thought it would be helpful if I 1) told Mrrzy about Google, and 2) provided an informative link. Back in MY day, the search engine was AltaVista. Wonder what ever happened to THAT.

The first time I tried Ghirardelli, I wondered what the hype was about. Too waxy for my taste. I do love the Belgian chocolates. You ever get those little sea shell-shaped truffle things with the harder marbled chocolate coating outside? Love!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:09 AM

Phew, that’s a relief! I was beginning to think you’re a fake ‘Murrican - glad you’re for real!

What became of Altavista.com...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:15 AM

This year I am trying https://www.sees.com/chocolate/assortments

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: gillymor
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:15 AM

I like the waxiness but I also like the drier texture of G&B. We have a local chocolatier called Norman Love who makes incredible truffles in a variety of flavors.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:15 AM

Do you mean those Guylian jobbies? The ones that are different sea shell shapes but which are in fact all the same? Not for me, thanks! And just because the word "Belgian" is on the wrapper doesn't mean it's good. There's a lot of over-sweet Belgian muck on the market...

A bag of Cadbury's chocolate eclairs is a thing of great beauty, though such things tighten the trouser belt. A year or two ago we could get Cadbury's Tiffin bars from the Cadbury's outlet shop at Atlantic Village near us, but, sadly, it's closed down.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:23 AM

That was to Jeri...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 09:45 AM

Thank you for not just telling me to look it up, which I could have.

Attended a nutraceutical [their term] conference once that had a fascinating talk on chocolate, and how it got to Europe and what various places did, which was figure out that choc was a great preservative. So everybody including the US later got into putting whatever they had surpluses of into chocolate. In Switzerland, for example, it was nuts, and with Hersheys, milk that had gone off.

I am not kidding.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 10:48 AM

"those Guylian jobbies? The ones that are different sea shell shapes but which are in fact all the same"

Those are often the ones my well-meaning relatives give me. I usually find an occasion to pass them on to someone I don't mind offending, and usually they at least seem to be delighted.
I have had other supposedly Belgian chocolates that were merely disappointing rather than something to be got rid of.

Something else I find very disappointing is white chocolate. They have taken out everything I like about chocolate, leaving a kind of 'candy' that I really don't want to eat. Another unwanted gift to be passed on to the next unsuspecting aunt or in-law.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 01:05 PM

I didn't know until today I was looking for Norman Love.

White chocolate is like white dogshit. It may have the right shape but not the aroma.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: gillymor
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 03:01 PM

I guess you were 'looking for Norman Love in all the wrong places.'

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Dec 20 - 07:45 PM

I think the love of great chocolate is a Normal Love shared by all.
I never met someone who was a chocolate hater. Chocolate graters yes but haters , no.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 03:49 AM

The old synapses kicked in and I remembered that as a teen at school I used to get a can of fizzy orange and a bar of chocolate from the local shop for lunch. An early chocolate orange? (Sorry Steve!)

Years later, in college, my favourite combination was 4 pints of Tetley's bitter and 10 Silk Cut for lunch but that was just to get out of economics :-)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 03:56 AM

Consuming a can of orange and a choccy bar separately is a whole nother matter, Dave. Nowt wrong with it!

I was more a Park Drive untipped chap meself...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 05:15 AM

Anyone remember Fry's Five Boys? Solid chocolate bar in five segments, each with the face of the same boy embossed on it but with different expressions signifying his growing anticipation of getting the chocolate. The expressions (L-R) supposedly represented Desperation, Pacification, Expectation, Acclamation, Realization (not my spelling). The faces were taken from photos of a real boy taken in 1885. They were pretty scary! Unavailable since 1976...

Speaking of Fry's, I lament the disappearance of the boxes of Turkish Delight chocs you used to be able to get. They were my go-to for fussy Mrs Steve's birthday, anniversary and Christmas. She's a terror for rapidly devouring all the best picks from a box of chocs, leaving only the mushy and relatively disgusting strawberry (etc.) creme types for the rest of us. But Turkish delights always kept her happy.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 05:40 AM

Yes, I remembered Five Boys a few posts ago when Steve mentioned Tiffin bars.
As for the Turkish delight you get in chocolate assortments - solid lumps of jelly - have you ever had Turkish delight from Turkey? It's light as air and really truly 'delight'ful?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 05:51 AM

They may be solid lumps of jelly to you and me, Jos, but I'd have to let you take that up with Mrs Steve. Not an entirely recommendable course of action, I suggest...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 05:56 AM

Mrs G loved Fry's Turkish Delight - Full of Eastern promise :-)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:01 AM

I have been known to devour a large box of Maltesers at one sitting, sucking until the middles go soft and always living in hope of getting one of those chewy ones. Anything fewer than three at a time is not a serious mouthful. I can confirm that they do not, in fact, have less fattening centres...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:10 AM

I'm no aficionado of most of Lidl's fare, but they do sell little bags of chocolate-covered almonds with a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder that are an absolute masterpiece. The chocolate is the real thing, thick and solid, and you get more chocolate than almond, the perfect balance in m'humble. While you're in there, pick up a £6.99 bottle of their Wine Tour Nero d'Avola. That'll wash your turkey down a treat.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:41 AM

One Christmas my sister sent me some dark chocolate coated coffee beans.
I don't know where she got them but they were very good.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 07:35 AM

Wow, when it comes to chocolate you guys have never sounded more English and foreign to my ear.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 07:43 AM

When I was seriously anemic (which they never found a cause for!) I had a craving for coffee beans. I discovered the chocolate covered ones and loved them. Never had them since!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 11:40 AM

Trder Joe's has aisles of delicious chocolate-covered things. Their dark choc almonds with sea salt are insanely good.l, as are their dark choc almond butter cups.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: gillymor
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 12:03 PM

Amen to TJ's dark chocolate almonds, also the 3 packs of Belgian Dark 72% mini-bars you find at a kiosk near check out, heckuva buy at 2 bucks.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 12:43 PM

McNulty's Tea and Coffee in Greenwich Village carries really good dark chocolate covered espresso beans. Very rich flavor.
I have found that a good criterion for good dark chocolate is that I can eat one square of it at night and feel satisfied.
My local Shop Rite carries a good quality block dark chocolate, no stated brand. I shave it as a topping for various things, including ice cream.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Raedwulf
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 01:05 PM

The best chocolate, surely, is the chocolate you like best? ;-)

Beyond that, I'm a fan of Green & Black, including several of their various flavoured ones. But I'm also fond of Roses / Quality Street / Milk Tray. I suppose my focus is really "Do I like this?" rather than "Is this chocolate?", a question that seems to afflict lawmakers & aficionados. I gather that on the continent, a lot of what we call chocolate e.g. Dairy Milk couldn't be labelled as such (not enough cocoa solids). Doesn't stop me enjoying it!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Dec 20 - 06:07 AM

I'm a massive fan of Rolos, Munchies and Crunchie bars. There. I'm outed...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 13 Dec 20 - 07:27 AM

When I was very small, when there were still sweet rations, now and then my father would bring home a big slab of Weber's chocolate. He would cut off a small piece for each of us, to make it last. I can still remember the taste. Mr Weber was a Swiss chocolatier who had opened a factory in Bristol in 1914. In the 1940s the factory was taken over by an engineering company to make parts for guns and cannons, but they still managed to make some chocolate and continued producing chocolate until 1964.

Once rationing ended, my favourite was Crunchie. Maybe I should buy some now, to take me back, but I don't want to be disappointed like I was when I tried Tizer.

I never liked Mars bars though - even eating a small piece makes me feel tired and weary.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 13 Dec 20 - 11:34 AM

Anyone remember the very suggestive Cadbury's flake adverts or the scantily clad ladies offering you a taste of paradise?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 13 Dec 20 - 12:20 PM

Down boy!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 14 Dec 20 - 10:43 AM

I spotted this in the NYT a few minutes ago:


2. Spread a sheet of waxed or parchment paper on a baking sheet. Have a bowl of ice water handy. Use a spoon or spoons, or melon-baller, to scoop mounds about ¾ inches in diameter. Roll lightly between your palms to make nice spheres and place them on paper. Occasionally moisten the spoon and your hands with ice water to keep the chocolate from sticking. Chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

3. Break white chocolate in pieces and melt in the top of a double-boiler or place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 50 percent power, stirring every 15 seconds. Allow chocolate to cool at room temperature to around 90 degrees, stirring from time to time. Drop chilled truffles one at a time into melted chocolate, quickly lifting them out with a small fork or a professional wire dipping loop, allowing excess to drip off. Arrange on baking sheet and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 14 Dec 20 - 11:55 AM

Is there something missing there? Like what it is that the mounds should be scooped from?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: sian, west wales
Date: 14 Dec 20 - 09:06 PM

Peace by Chocolate is a good chocolate from New Brunswick and has quite a lovely 'back story'.

sian

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 04:01 PM

Also weirdly this place.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 04:54 PM

I wonder if Tony’s Chocolonely tastes any good?
Certainly they seem to be trying to have the best ethics.

"Teun (Tony) van de Keuken started investigating the use of slavery in the cocoa industry ,,,, was shocked to discover that most of the chocolate on supermarket shelves was made from cocoa harvested by slaves — and worse still, by child slaves. He decided to take action. First he approached some of the world’s largest chocolate makers, but they ignored him.

So he rolled up his sleeves and started to raise awareness of the issue."

"The very first Fairtrade Tony’s Chocolonely bars hit the supermarket shelves in 2005. In 2006 the company became legit by registering with the Chamber of Commerce.
We’ve been flying high ever since, but our number one priority has always remained the same. We want to eradicate slavery from the global chocolate industry."


https://tonyschocolonely.com/uk/en/frequently-asked-questions

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 07:32 PM

Here's a link from the NYT for chocolate bombs.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/at-home/hot-chocolate-bombs-recipe.html?action=click&algo=bandit-all-surfaces&block=trending_

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 10:41 AM

Thats new to me.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mr Red
Date: 23 Dec 20 - 07:57 AM

According to QI, American chocolate has a particular added hint of a flavour of barf. And As I found in NZ with sausages made with mutton - the market has habituated to a taste and competing products (pork) have to mimic certain aspects to compete. Failure to do so brands the item wrong as well as different, and the result is niche. Since Cabury's became American they started manufacturing in East Europe the taste has changed. For the worse.

A good example is TicTac - masquerading as mints, in reality American with a distinct additional flavour that isn't "mint". Not long ago Polo mints started tasting the same, and soon we saw "original" Polos. UK sales clearly took a hit because the taste was different, ie wrong.

FWIW the best chocolate, according to the GF, is more than 75% cocoa. And never any added flavours. That's her Xmas present sorted!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 23 Dec 20 - 08:08 AM

"the market has habituated to a taste"

I suspect that this is not always the case. Manufacturers may proudly claim that they have reduced the salt in their cakes, biscuits etc. without their customers noticing the difference. But how many, like me, take one bite of a cake or biscuit and sprinkle salt on the rest in order to eat it - and then never buy that variety again?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Dec 20 - 09:20 AM

High salt levels in ready-prepared shop-bought food help to disguise the fact that poor-quality ingredients have been used. Reducing the salt without improving the ingredients gives you the effect you describe. When you prepare your own food at home from scratch using the best ingredients you can find, it's often surprising how little salt you need to add.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 23 Dec 20 - 04:53 PM

While I did not like either the cake or the cream from my Bûche, I am still eating the delish ganache off its outsides.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mr Red
Date: 24 Dec 20 - 01:22 AM

I suspect that this is not always the case.

My very point. You like the product with salt, so it is not the product you always (ie habituated) remember. So you return the product to the taste you like.

There was a time when Coca-Cola decided to substitute a particular sweetener because it was cheaper. Without telling the consumer.
Apparently, without telling Coca-Cola, the consumer (in large numbers) switched to Pepsi. The original recipe was restored pretty quickly.

Regardless of any merit, the market is for the product. If it sells in large numbers, that is the taste the market expects. Pepsi is pretty much the same as Coca-Cola - at least I assume. I never drink phosphoric acid. Well, only once by accident, and that was a mistaken mouthful. I haven't habituated to Cola. Never like Dandelion & Burdock either.

While I did not like either the cake or the cream from my Bûche - taste is inextricably tied to texture, colour and associations. A third Bûche hard to swallow?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 Dec 20 - 11:35 AM

The cake was tough, dry, and not chocolatey enough, and the cream both too Frangelico-y [I know, I know] *and* there wasn't enough of it [and no, the irony of *that* is not lost on me either]. Finished the ganache today.

I have found my mom's recipe for black-bottomed ice cream pie, which includes a layer of a chocolate sauce that solidifies to a fudgy consistency when cooled and is The. Best. Chocolate. Sauce for ice cream evvvver.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 05:12 AM

I’m with Doug on Cadbury’s : UK- produced Cadbury’s is fine, but it is made in other countries under franchise (not just in the US) and these “look-alikes ” are horrible, hugely disappointing, nothing like the real thing.
Yes, another vote for Fry’s Five Boys, Tiffin and Turkish Delight. Cadbury’s now do a big Tiffin bar, and I really like the one they do with bits of Daim in it.
And what about Galaxy? Smoother and slightly more waxy than Cadbury’s but very edible, including their caramel-filled bar.
Marks & Spencer do good truffles too.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 06:09 AM

Daim?

In the U.K., it used to be ‘Dime’, didn’t it? I must have eaten hundreds of Dime bars.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: gillymor
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 06:18 AM

Mr. Red wrote: "Pepsi is pretty much the same as Coca-Cola - at least I assume. I never drink phosphoric acid."
I guess you have no way of knowing how far off the mark that statement is, take it from a reformed coke (-a cola) junkie who's tapered off to one a week.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 06:53 AM

From the website "https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/09/16/seven-chocolate-bars-that-changed-their-names-marathon-snickers/" :

"The Daim chocolate bar has had a long and storied history since it was introduced by Swedish confectioners Marabou.

Originally, in Scadanvia that bar was known as Dajm while in the UK, it was a Dime bar.

However, to create a standardised brand, the bar was renamed Daim in 1990 but it took the UK until 2005 to ditch the Dime name."


Maybe 'Dime' was chosen to sound American, meaning a 10-cent bar.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 07:04 AM

I haven't drunk coca-cola or pepsi since "Cuba libre"s (rum 'n' coke) in the 1960s.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 11:27 AM

Thanks for clarifying the Dime/Daim dilemma, Jos. I knew it was of Swedish origin.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 11:37 AM

Gnomedotter #2 made me some animal-product free ginger fudge for Christmas. It was lovely. Making a truism of what the best chocolate is - Mine! :-D

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mr Red
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 06:28 PM

I guess you have no way of knowing how far off the mark that statement is

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeell - it rather depends on whether you are inside the genre or outside. If you were an aficionado overdosing on the product, any small difference would burn ya sensibilities. That habituation word again.

If you are on the outside, broad brush stroke approach is more than sufficient, thankyou very much. Clue's in the names - Cola. They want you to think there is commonality.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 08:11 PM

I stopped drinking coke and lost 20 lbs. The more you zero out carbs the more one can lose but lately I'm on a chocolate diet.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 08:24 PM

I've always regarded all those cola drinks of whatever ilk as over-sweetened, tooth-etching swill.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mr Red
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 06:45 AM

According to Stephen Fry, on QI, who could not tell a lie:

The teeth etching thing is less of a worry than, say crisps (chips), because the liquid is gone in an instant, whereas the potato starch is likely to stick to your teeth. Given the QI contorted postulations designed to obfuscate, is that the case?

So maybe crisps first and phosphoric acid to remove the lingering starch after. Though not for me.

But I bet chocolate would stick around longer.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 07:00 AM

Potato starch is hardly likely to hurt your teeth, though I've often managed to assault my gums with sharp crispy edges. If bits of crisp stick in your teeth, salivary amylase will slowly convert some of it to a disaccharide sugar but one which will be very diluted and far less harmful than the sudden rush of sucrose provided by a sweet drink feeding the acid-producing bacteria in your mouth, the ones that do the real damage. There's data that reveals a very sudden drop in pH in the mouth when a sugary drink, or just syrup, is consumed. It doesn't take long, and the argument that sugary liquids are less harmful because they're soon gone doesn't hold up. It doesn't help that almost all sugary drinks are also markedly acidic to begin with. Stick to dry wine is my advice. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 07:09 PM

Having recovered mom's chocolate sauce recipe, I have actually purchased vanilla ice cream.

I will report back.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 07:56 PM

Sorry I lost track of this thread. Yes. Steve, I meant the Guylian jobbies. I haven't had any for a number of year, though. I sill love Lindt the best. I bought some of those "Merci" chocolates before Christmas, and though they were pretty good.
I tend to not buy the good stuff because...uh... because I eat it. I hardly ever bake cookies because being the only person here, I eat them. Every now and then, it's worth making a batch, but too often, and I need to buy bigger clothes.
Vanilla ice cream and hot fudge...also in the category of "too good".

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 12:41 AM

does no one beside me love Mexican style hot chocolate? There is a supermarket brand called Abuelita. It comes in segmented disks, 8 segments per disk. I find that 3 segments prepared with soy milk substituted for moo juice gives me the flavor I want. The best way to get it to dissolve is to grate or shave it into the hot liquid. Of course, a shot of good rum makes it even better. Sometimes I thicken it a bit with molasses.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 07:44 AM

Just dribbled over re-reading some of this! Yes, Jos, (10.12.20), the Monty Bojangles are superlatively good!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 08:12 AM

I eventually found the right Monty Bojangles among the stupid names, but had real difficulty forcing myself to buy something called Choccy Scoffy - a name that would embarrass a self-respecting two-year-old.
It was worth it though.
(But I have still not been able to bring myself to buy some delicious-looking pastries in the supermarket, which go by the name of "yum-yums".)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: gillymor
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 09:45 AM

Barnacle, in years past a friend of ours from Michoacan brought us Mexican hot chocolate along with hogshead tamales around the holidays. I hope that tradition continues when this pandemic is over.
I have a new favorite chocolate bar that might interest marijuana users. Heights Dark Chocolate with 100 mg. of thc in 5 mg. sections and it tastes as good or better than anything I've found in the supermarket.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mr Red
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 10:13 AM

"Potato starch is hardly likely to hurt your teeth,"

It ain't the potato per se, it is the bacteria that feed on it that was postulated as the concern. Crisps, being rather, er, what word should I use, er crisp - they can find there way into crevices where them pesky bacteriums live.

For once I did actually accept the above fact from QI as being moderately appropriate. They once came up with the old chestnut about the level of caffeine in tea and coffee and failed to point-out that instant coffee has about 1/2 the caffeine. Which tells me what kind of coffee them Lundun QI elves drink all day long (innit?).

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 10:41 AM

"... what kind of coffee them Lundun QI elves drink all day long ..."

That brought to mind something I realised recently, regarding discussions about whether to put the milk in first or last when making a cup of tea. This began when people made tea with loose tea leaves in a teapot, then when it had brewed they poured the tea into delicate porcelain teacups. Putting milk in the cup first meant it was less likely to crack when the hot tea was poured in.
This morning someone described making a cup of tea by putting a teabag, milk and a sweetener into a mug and then adding boiling water (ughh!).
Putting a teabag in a mug is now considered normal, it seems. I do use a mug, but I make the tea first, using loose tea leaves in a teapot.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 11:16 AM

And that was 99: which is when you put that sensuous Cadbury's Milk Flake into a cornet ice-cream!
100!

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mr Red
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 05:49 AM

delicate porcelain teacups

Maybe that myth came from "bone china"** which is not the same as porcelain. Porcelain is pretty robust, whereas cheaper bone china uses a lot of calcium to flux the body so it almost a glass. The average person would not make the distinction. And pouring straight from the kettle onto tea bags would be a much bigger shock IMNSHO.

The exception I would possibly make is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithophane which in order to make light and shade for images, it is necessarily very thin in places. I did once own a cup with a picture shining through the bottom.

** origin of the "bone" in "Rag & Bone Men"

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 06:41 AM

"The average person would not make the distinction."

OK, I own up: I am an average person, as far as porcelain is concerned.

And I think you are right about boiling water poured straight from a kettle onto a teabag. But the same goes for tea leaves (or teabags) in a teapot. I have sometimes found cracks developing in teapots, but metal teapots, even silver ones, are not as comforting.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 07:15 AM

To bring this back from coffee and tea to chocolate, what about drinking chocolate: there are several ready made powders - 'just add boiling water', 'just add hot milk' etc. - with results that vary enormously. And then there is the rich chocolate you get in Spain to dip your churros in.
Any recommendations?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 07:18 AM

Two teapoons of Tesco's cheap hot chocolate plus one of decaf coffee plus one of brown sugar makes a very comforting Mocca to drink in cold weather.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 07:30 AM

... plus one of decaf coffee ...


I'll pass on that one, thank you. I don't do pretend.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 Jan 21 - 09:57 AM

I have a recipe for one chocolate chip cookie. I make it in the toaster oven. I tend to wrap the dough in a ball around a square of excellent semisweet choc and it makes a flat cookie that has a middle layer of chocolate.

Batches? I remember batches. So then, batches are. This is now.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 02 Jan 21 - 11:03 PM

bcw, tried your mocha suggestion. Proportions seem to need fiddling depending on ingredient brands.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Jan 21 - 07:20 AM

Decaf is one of those dirty words such as low-fat and alcohol-free...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 03 Jan 21 - 07:55 AM

I get palpitations if I have too much "real" coffee. Oddly I am not affected by caffeine from other sources, so it looks like it is not so clear cut what is causibg the problem. Decaf coffee does not have whatever it is that affects me.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 03 Jan 21 - 12:25 PM

”Decaf is one of those dirty words such as low-fat and alcohol-free...”

Not if you have health-issues which require you to control or completely avoid the consumption of caffeine, fat, and alcohol. Then those ‘dirty words’ become your only viable options...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 12:41 PM

I am extremely emotionally sensitive to caffeine and have had to give up even decaf coffee and -tea. Choc is still ok [crossing fingers, toes, and eyes] but during the years I could still drink'm, decaf coffee and -tea saved my sanity.

I still have *dreams* about coffee. Sometimes it is wonderful, aah, so marvy, sorry to wake up. Sometimes it is a nightmare of terror of caffeine-induced rage, and is horrible.

Oddly enough I did not start having the coffee dreams till after having to give up decaf tea, which was at least a decade after having to give up decaf coffee. But tea, which I had always drunk to soothe before having to give up coffee, kept its soothing properties, for a while, so I could use it as a morning drink to wake up without flying off the handle. For a while.

Now I am reduced to what in English is called herbal tea [ooh redundant?] and in French tisane, or pisse-mémé (granny pee). I hate chamomile but have found a version of French Verveine that I like.

Anybody remember Postum?

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 01:09 PM

I try to have some "real" coffee every day so that I am still atuned to it. When I had none for a fortnight I had problems when I had a cup.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 02:27 PM

I am also supposed to be on decaff everything for medical reasons: as my average intake before this edict was 2 cups of tea and one of coffee per day, I can't say I've really missed it, and am happy enough with the decaff alternatives or just doing without: although cutting our caff has made no perceptible difference to my condition!!
Back on chocolate: I was given a box of Moser-Roth salted caramel truffles (sold by Aldi stores in the UK) for Christmas: they are the bees knees in chocolate. I know there is some caffeine in chocolate, but a lot less than in coffee or tea.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 04:44 PM

I just had some chocolate mint Madaliens, yum.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 06:26 PM

Well, John, I honestly can't understand anyone needing to avoid alcohol or caffeine wanting to drink the stripped substitutes, but that's just me, so don't shoot. It's a bit like wanting to eat those Linda McCartney veggie "sausages" or those "lamb" chops (that are the same actual shape and colour as real lamb chops but which are made of some woven, flavoured fungus or something). I didn't start drinking coffee until I was 60 (on holiday in Venice, where I found that a decent cup of tea could not be obtained), but was rapidly converted. I have a bean-to-cup coffee machine and I make our coffee strong from Lavazza Red Label beans, which I keep in an airtight tin in the fridge. I will not consume instant coffee (pure biz), cafetière coffee or anything at all made from powdery stuff of any kind, so I can't think that decaf would do it for me.

Every now and then my morning coffee gives me a temporary headache (as can sex), and can make me feel a bit hot, but the benefits totally outweigh those short-lived inconveniences. To me, a mug of real coffee is a bastion of civilisation. Coffee does not make me stay awake either. I can easily take two big ones per day, but just the one is the norm. Four or five mugs of tea per day, however. No probs there, though I've learned to avoid late-night chocolate binges. I can still taste it next morning, and I suspect that, were I to inadvertently breathe in Mrs Steve's direction in bed, my secret indulgence would be betrayed, with unspeakable consequences...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: robomatic
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 07:02 PM

There has long been a great perception of distaste from those on the British side of the pond for American chocolate, which is processed differently.

There is this


Personally, I enjoy a wide range of chocolate, from the best chocolates I ever ate, while bicycling through Belgium and priced by the gram, to the utterly cheap but delightful hollow chocolate bunny rabbits for sale right after Easter.

The worst chockys I ate recently were Russell Stover candies from last Valentine's Day. So bad I took the trouble to return 'em and write a letter to the manufacturer.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Jan 21 - 09:29 AM

Chocolate is so personal that I wonder if it's like Brussels sprouts and DNA-related.
Hershey's tastes waxy to me (or did nearly 60 years ago when I last tasted it). I'm a fan of most Lidl stuff - haven't come across those almonds, which sound delicious, but love their hazelnut milk chocolate, also the dark 70% version.
I *think* we had Terry's chocolate orange this Christmas, but am not certain - something similar was handed to me and I ate it.
Steve, I'm told that there's a wall in the Coca-Cola headquarters with taster taps for the Coke sold in different countries; the Irish one is revoltingly sweet compared to some other countries, apparently. They send versions of their syrup to different countries where they'reconstituted into fizzy drink.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Neil D
Date: 11 Jan 21 - 09:12 PM

Lindt

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jeri
Date: 11 Jan 21 - 09:27 PM

Haha - after I posted about Lindt earlier, I had to go buy some balls. And I ate them.

Russell Stover us yuck, Hershey's is yuck, Reese's peanut butter cups is ok because of the peanut butter, and the chocolate on the outside of a Butterfinger bar is pretty damned good. I don't know that it's "American" chocolate that's bad, or just the crap American chocolate. (Anybody remember "Ice Cubes"? Heaven!)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 13 Jan 21 - 08:00 PM

Just found the drum of “Heroes” that I bought back in November in case we were going visiting anyone at Christmas (chance would be a fine thing!) British Cadbury’s ( which, as already stated, is the only Cadbury’s worth eating) and no nuts! Great! I’m not allergic to nuts, just don’t like ‘em. All very nice, but rationing myself to 2 or 3 per day.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Jan 21 - 08:16 PM

I'm fond of chocolate truffles, regular or mint. Smooth and decadent.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Jan 21 - 08:23 PM

It's a right bugger is a box of Heroes, Tattie. I'm trying to work through one after Mrs Steve has hit the sack, but she has a memory for what's left in the box like an elephant...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: robomatic
Date: 13 Jan 21 - 09:33 PM

Russian chocolate used to be excellent back in the Soviet era. Most recently I've been given some 'Poriski' bars which are not very good. They seem to be an attempt to emulate the aero bar.

Someone was given a Lindt bar flavored with red hot pepper. They immediately regifted it to me and it was delicious.

Red hot cocoa is also good.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Jan 21 - 08:36 AM

Lavazza red label is a new discovery for me but it was via the ground stuff. I use it in both a drip type machine and a cafetière. I don't use instant either but have found that at a pinch the Lavazza one is OK as long as I put milk in. Which I don't with 'real' coffee.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Jan 21 - 10:18 AM

I drank decaf because I like the taste of coffee, but could not process the caffeine. But not being able to have caffeine should not keep me from enjoying the taste of something I adored. But then, it did. To my dismay. Which is why I still have coffee dreams.

Much chocolate is improved by the addition of some coffee. Sigh. I had a bite of flourless choc cake I did not make myself and was up, vibrating, till 4am. Checked later and yup, coffee. No rage, though, so my mental health is stabler than it was.

Am thinking of trying decaf coffee one morning. Maybe the rage part is gone...

Because I *do* remember Postum. Uck.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Jan 21 - 07:09 AM

I use the Red Label beans. Once I've opened the bag I put the beans in an airtight tin in the fridge. Some people recommend keeping them in the freezer. I reckon that such stringency is at least as vital for ready-ground coffee. I have a redundant grinder (not the far superior burr type, unfortunately). You can have it for free (p&p £199.99) but it's really more suitable for crushed nuts...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Jan 21 - 07:44 AM

I discovered making pancakes with belgian waffle mix tastes like cake.
Adding fresh strawberries is delicious. I tried adding dark chocolate cocoa and it made fluffy fried chocolate cake.
I use a bit of sour cream instead of all milk otherwise I follow the directions. Adding mandaran oranges to the chocolate 'cake' is up to you.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 15 Jan 21 - 07:57 AM

It's good to hear that you are enjoying those pancakes, Donuel.
As for me, I wouldn't want my pancakes to taste of cake, or of chocolate.
(If I wanted to eat something that tasted of fried cake, I would fry some cake.)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Thompson
Date: 15 Jan 21 - 11:12 AM

If you like rich dark choclates, try the Jeff de Bruges range whenever you're in France or Belgium.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Jan 21 - 05:42 PM

Every night, if we've been good [which we always have] Lady Hillary and I have a square of Ghirardelli chocolate, of the dark, dark type. One beauty of rich tasting foods is that you don't need a lot to appreciate them.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: vectis
Date: 17 Jan 21 - 03:39 PM

Swiss chocolate such as Lindt has always been very good but I reckon that Whittakers is as good, if not better.

Cadbury departed from New Zealand a year or so ago but not before the new owners had changed the recipes and made the product into inedible shite so good riddance.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: John P
Date: 19 Jan 21 - 07:55 PM

The only good chocolate is fair trade. Otherwise, there's a really good chance that it was harvested child slaves. There are more than two million child slaves in the chocolate industry in Africa. Nestle, Lindt, Mars, and Godiva all use slave children.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: JHW
Date: 22 Jan 21 - 06:03 AM

I was sent mostly dark chocs for Xmas. No milk, hazelnuts instead. I like dark choc and I like hazelnuts. Fine but is there chocolate not produced by child labour/slavery? No mention on my pack.
Heard some time ago that some firms make most available chocolate in bulk and others use that to make individual chocs. Child slavery don't know.

Cadbury seems just to be a brand now. Maufacturer is someone else.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Jos
Date: 22 Jan 21 - 11:00 AM

If you buy organic it should be fair trade as well.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 06:50 AM

JHW 'is there chocolate not produced by child labour/slavery?'

Apparently : Tony’s Chocolonely.

see
thread.cfm?threadid=168988#4083626

I've had a bar of plain which was perfectly good but didn't excite me particularly.
The plain with sea salt and almonds is really good.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 07:49 PM

When a fit of the munchies hit me a year or two ago,
in a convenience store,
I bought and tasted the brand of chocolate candy
that I remember from my childhood.

It was like chewing a combination of wax and glue,
with more syrup than chocolate.
Never again.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Jan 21 - 04:34 AM

In Home Bargains yesterday as they do the best value split logs for the fire anywhere and saw that they had Cadbury's Old Jamaica so I bought 3 bars. Daughters have eaten 2 already. I hid the third and had a piece. It was lovely :-)

They didn't have any logs though so I will have to go back. Maybe they will still have some Old Jamaica too :-D

Subject: RE: BS: What is the best chocolate?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 03 Mar 21 - 07:35 AM

French cooking choc is way better than American. We used to eat it in baguette, with butter, for midmorning snack.