BS: What is the best chocolate?

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!