I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
were from a huge thick bar of chocolate, broken into chunks that
varied in size, irregular, but usually 3-6 inches long and a few
inches wide. Probably about an inch thick, maybe a tad thicker. There
were saran wrapped and sold by weight.

Eventually, the store stopped carrying it. I found them once, several
years later, during the holiday season at a different grocery store.

I really liked them, but I have no idea what brand of chocolate it was
or if it still being sold that way anymore. Does any of this sound
familiar to anybody?

I live in the Seattle, WA area, but I would be willing to buy it
mailorder if I can find a place that sells it.

at Wed, 20 Oct 2004 07:37:17 GMT in <c631719f.0410192337.10dd5325
@posting.google.com>, (Meghan Noecker) wrote :

>I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
>were from a huge thick bar of chocolate, broken into chunks that
>varied in size, irregular, but usually 3-6 inches long and a few
>inches wide. Probably about an inch thick, maybe a tad thicker. There
>were saran wrapped and sold by weight.
>
>Eventually, the store stopped carrying it. I found them once, several
>years later, during the holiday season at a different grocery store.
>
>I really liked them, but I have no idea what brand of chocolate it was
>or if it still being sold that way anymore. Does any of this sound
>familiar to anybody?
>
>I live in the Seattle, WA area, but I would be willing to buy it
>mailorder if I can find a place that sells it.
>

Which grocery stores were carrying it? If I know this I can tell you which
brand it was.

IME, in Seattle, the Saran-wrapped chunks are usually Callebaut. The ones
that stores carry in bulk bins that are *not* Saran-wrapped are usually
Guittard.

If you are accurate and your chunks are truly about an inch thick, however,
that would be from the 1kg blocs rather than the larger blocs Guittard and
Callebaut produce, which are typically closer to 2 inches thick. The 1 kg
blocs sold in the grocery stores are usually either El Rey or Scharffen
Berger.

Did the break-up have any sort of markings on the flat sides (i.e. the ones
that weren't along the break marks but rather were part of the original
surface of the bar)? If so, identifying them is usually pretty easy.

Callebaut has one of 2 markings : either the words "Callebaut" in all-caps
Times-Roman-like lettering, or a circular logo with 3 curving arms
radiating from the center, looking a bit like a fancy wheel.

Guittard has various grooves that are difficult to recognise unless you
know what a full bar looks like. In that case, you start to recognise the
pieces rather readily. There is a deep, semithick groove (the border of the
bar), wide, flat grooves (parts of the lettering saying "Guittard", some
thin, script grooves (part of a legend that reads "Over A Century of
Quality" and a set of flat grooves with curved sides (part of the center
logo) Depending on where the particular chunk came from, you might see one
of these groove markings.

El Rey has either EL REY in large, blocky sans serif font, or El Rey in
their logo font (script)

Scharffen Berger has their logo right in the center (a stylised antelope)

There's also Merckens, which displays a pattern of grooves a bit like a
checkerboard (not exactly but in that kind of style) and Ghirardelli which
has a series of patterns that vary, much like Guittard. Ghirardelli blocs
are thinner than Guittard, though.

There are others but these aren't typically found in Seattle supermarkets.

Was the chocolate dark or milk? If dark, was it almost ebony black or more
of a dark, ruddy brown? If milk, was it a pale mocha colour or a darker
colour more like brown gravy?

With a slightly better description from you I can make a positive ID.

Meanwhile, who has what?

Larry's Market carries Guittard.

Various PCCs have various other brands. Fremont has Callebaut and some El
Rey. Green Lake has El Rey and Scharffen Berger. Some PCC stores have some
Guittard.

Whole Foods Market has Callebaut, El Rey, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba.

Metropolitan Market has Callebaut.

Cost Plus World Market has Ghirardelli.

Dilettante has Guittard. The Pike Place Market location usually has better
supply and is less frenetic.

DeLaurenti has Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and some Callebaut.

Since you're in Seattle, I can probably track down *any* chocolate you
might want without too much difficulty.
--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Wow! Everytime I have asked at stores, people look at me like I was
making it up. I didn't expect anybody to actually know of such a
thing.

>
> Which grocery stores were carrying it? If I know this I can tell you which
> brand it was.

The one I used to get it all the time was XL Sooper. It was a smaller
chain, and that store closed down many years ago. I know for sure that
i was buying it in 1987 and 1988.

Then I found it *once* at Fred Meyer. That was probably in the late
90s at Christmas time. I still shop there frequently, but I have never
seen it again.

>
> IME, in Seattle, the Saran-wrapped chunks are usually Callebaut.

It was saran wrapped. I don't know if it came in already wrapped or
was wrapped in the store. It had a store scale label.

>
> If you are accurate and your chunks are truly about an inch thick, however,
> that would be from the 1kg blocs rather than the larger blocs Guittard and
> Callebaut produce, which are typically closer to 2 inches thick. The 1 kg
> blocs sold in the grocery stores are usually either El Rey or Scharffen
> Berger.

I'm not really sure as it has been so long. It was at least an inch,
but it might have been as much as 2 inches. I used to knaw on it,
making it hard work to eat it, yet very satsifying.

>
> Did the break-up have any sort of markings on the flat sides (i.e. the ones
> that weren't along the break marks but rather were part of the original
> surface of the bar)? If so, identifying them is usually pretty easy.
>

I know there was an overall pattern to the bar, but not something I
could pick up from one chunk. Some larger pattern.


> Ghirardelli blocs
> are thinner than Guittard, though.

My sister thought it might be Ghiradelli, but I haven't found a small
candy bar that tasted the same.
>
> Was the chocolate dark or milk? If dark, was it almost ebony black or more
> of a dark, ruddy brown? If milk, was it a pale mocha colour or a darker
> colour more like brown gravy?
>

It was milk chocolate, and I think kinda pale. The closest taste I can
come up with is Hershey's.


> Larry's Market carries Guittard.
>
> Various PCCs have various other brands. Fremont has Callebaut and some El
> Rey. Green Lake has El Rey and Scharffen Berger. Some PCC stores have some
> Guittard.
>
> Whole Foods Market has Callebaut, El Rey, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba.
>
> Metropolitan Market has Callebaut.
>
> Cost Plus World Market has Ghirardelli.
>
> Dilettante has Guittard. The Pike Place Market location usually has better
> supply and is less frenetic.
>
> DeLaurenti has Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and some Callebaut.
>

Thanks. I will print this list and start checking out those stores. I
know where some of them are.

at Thu, 21 Oct 2004 07:37:50 GMT in
>,
(Meghan Noecker) wrote :

>Wow! Everytime I have asked at stores, people look at me like I was
>making it up. I didn't expect anybody to actually know of such a
>thing.
>
>>
>> Which grocery stores were carrying it? If I know this I can tell you
>> which brand it was.
>
>The one I used to get it all the time was XL Sooper. It was a smaller
>chain, and that store closed down many years ago. I know for sure that
>i was buying it in 1987 and 1988.
>
>Then I found it *once* at Fred Meyer. That was probably in the late
>90s at Christmas time. I still shop there frequently, but I have never
>seen it again.

If it was at Fred Meyer, a lower-price, budget-oriented chain, then almost
for sure it was a domestic brand. 1987-88 rules out Scharffen Berger
because they weren't in business yet. Besides, their target market is much
higher-end. So, most likely, it was one of the 3 domestic companies with
relatively widespread distribution - Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Merckens.
(There are others, but they don't show up very often)

>> IME, in Seattle, the Saran-wrapped chunks are usually Callebaut.
>
>It was saran wrapped. I don't know if it came in already wrapped or
>was wrapped in the store. It had a store scale label.

It would have been wrapped in the stores. None of the large chocolate
manufacturers use Saran Wrap on chocolate they produce in bloc form. Nor do
they break it up into blocks. That's something the store does. What I meant
is that I've noticed a curious pattern - most frequently, if they do Saran
Wrap the chunks, they are using Callebaut. Other break-up chocolates seem
for whatever reason more often to be sold loose in bulk bins or bags, or
sometimes wrapped in cellulose. (different, stiffer than Saran Wrap).

>> If you are accurate and your chunks are truly about an inch thick,
>> however, that would be from the 1kg blocs rather than the larger blocs
>> Guittard and Callebaut produce, which are typically closer to 2 inches
>> thick. The 1 kg blocs sold in the grocery stores are usually either El
>> Rey or Scharffen Berger.

We've ruled out both of these, because neither had US distribution in 1987-
88.

>
>I'm not really sure as it has been so long. It was at least an inch,
>but it might have been as much as 2 inches. I used to knaw on it,
>making it hard work to eat it, yet very satsifying.

If you had to knaw on it, it would have been the thicker, 2-inch blocs. The
thinner blocs have an axis sufficiently thin that you can bite right
through it.

That makes it unlikely it was Ghirardelli. Their blocs are thin enough to
bite through on the thin axis. So we are down to 2, Merckens and Guittard.

>>> Did the break-up have any sort of markings on the flat sides (i.e. the
>> ones that weren't along the break marks but rather were part of the
>> original surface of the bar)? If so, identifying them is usually
>> pretty easy.
>>
>I know there was an overall pattern to the bar, but not something I
>could pick up from one chunk. Some larger pattern.

Yeah, that describes the Guittard and Mercken's blocs pretty well.

>My sister thought it might be Ghiradelli, but I haven't found a small
>candy bar that tasted the same.

Lending credence to my suspicion above that it was *not* Ghirardelli.

>> Was the chocolate dark or milk? If dark, was it almost ebony black or
>> more of a dark, ruddy brown? If milk, was it a pale mocha colour or a
>> darker colour more like brown gravy?
>
>It was milk chocolate, and I think kinda pale. The closest taste I can
>come up with is Hershey's.

If it was pale, almost creamy in colour, more likely it was Merckens.
Neither Merckens nor Guittard tastes anything *like* Hershey's, nor, for
that matter, does just about any other milk chocolate, because Hershey's
has a *very* distinctive cooked-milk taste to it, the result of them using
liquid milk rather than powdered milk. The Guittard milk chocolate you're
most likely to find in supermarkets around here is Old Dutch, which is on
the darker side for a milk chocolate (because they use Dutch cocoa in it).
So I would lay odds on it being Merckens. I'd say the likelihood is about
70%. Merckens has 2 common formulations for milk chocolate: "Marquis" (the
more common) and "Zurich". It's understandable that you might have had
trouble finding it in Seattle recently because it's the least widely
distributed around here. Dilettante on Capitol Hill has had Merckens
chocolate every now and then but it's not their standard brand. Pike Place
Grocery has also had it. I don't know if they do now.

Merckens has virtually a hammerlock on the cake decorating supply business,
however, because in addition to chocolate, they also produce chocolate
compound coating (sometimes derisively called "vegelate"). Compound coating
replaces some or all of the cocoa butter with vegetable fat, usually palm
kernel oil. As a result, it has a greasy-pasty mouthfeel, which isn't
particularly appetizing, and the taste is rather sweetly chemical. It's
popular among many bakers because you don't have to temper it, but this is
about its only virtue - it's worse than chocolate in almost every way and
NOT good for straight eating. So be careful, when shopping for Merckens,
that you don't end up accidentally buying compound coating. Usually this
comes in discs, anyway, so it's unlikely you'll go too far astray.

A reliable on-line site for Merckens is http://www.bakerscandc.com. You can
get both types there, although brace yourself: you'll have to get the full
10-lb brick.

Several sources have the Marquis in more manageable 2-lb bars, such as
http://www.cookswares.com, and http://www.bakerscatalogue.com

If you want to pick it up in Seattle, you'll have to look around. I
certainly don't know of a store in Seattle which has *regular* stock.
Ballard's Central Market (corner of 15th Ave NW and NW Market Street) might
have had that brand in the bulk bins - I can't remember right off the top
of my head. As for the low Seattle availability, in truth, that's probably
because Guittard and Callebaut offer similar chocolates that are generally
better in flavour for comparable price. From Larry's, it's certainly no-
risk to try the Guittard because you can pick up a small chunk of it from
the bulk bins for a song (a 4-oz piece will be about $1.00) You can get
Callebaut just about as easily from any of the sources above. So if you
wanted to test the 3 chocolates side-by-side, you could do so and decide
which one you like best.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

> It would have been wrapped in the stores. None of the large chocolate
> manufacturers use Saran Wrap on chocolate they produce in bloc form. Nor do
> they break it up into blocks. That's something the store does. What I meant
> is that I've noticed a curious pattern - most frequently, if they do Saran
> Wrap the chunks, they are using Callebaut. Other break-up chocolates seem
> for whatever reason more often to be sold loose in bulk bins or bags, or
> sometimes wrapped in cellulose. (different, stiffer than Saran Wrap).
>

Definitely saran wrap style. I work in a deli department now, and it's
the same kind of overwrap. And I remember them being in a big barrel
at the store.


> If you had to knaw on it, it would have been the thicker, 2-inch blocs. The
> thinner blocs have an axis sufficiently thin that you can bite right
> through it.
> That makes it unlikely it was Ghirardelli. Their blocs are thin enough to
> bite through on the thin axis. So we are down to 2, Merckens and Guittard.
>

Good. Sounds like that helps narrow it down. Yes, I did a lot of
knawing in it. I could only break off small chunks from the corners.
It was very satisfying to work hard at eating it.

>
> If it was pale, almost creamy in colour, more likely it was Merckens.
> Neither Merckens nor Guittard tastes anything *like* Hershey's, nor,


This is the hard part - definiing the taste. Since I haven't had it
for so many years, it is hard to remember, but my favorite chocolate
now is Hershey's so that is probably why I identify with it. I did try
the large Hershy's kisses, and they don't taste that great to me,
though I love the individual bars, for melting in my mouth. I guess
knawing it on it is different.



>
> A reliable on-line site for Merckens is http://www.bakerscandc.com. You can
> get both types there, although brace yourself: you'll have to get the full
> 10-lb brick.
>
Thanks, that's not too bad actually. I was at some website yesterday,
I think the Ghiradelli, and it was almost $80 for a 10 lb bar I think.
$30 isn't too bad.


> If you want to pick it up in Seattle, you'll have to look around. I
> certainly don't know of a store in Seattle which has *regular* stock.
> Ballard's Central Market (corner of 15th Ave NW and NW Market Street) might
> have had that brand in the bulk bins - I can't remember right off the top
> of my head. As for the low Seattle availability, in truth, that's probably
> because Guittard and Callebaut offer similar chocolates that are generally
> better in flavour for comparable price. From Larry's, it's certainly no-
> risk to try the Guittard because you can pick up a small chunk of it from
> the bulk bins for a song (a 4-oz piece will be about $1.00) You can get
> Callebaut just about as easily from any of the sources above. So if you
> wanted to test the 3 chocolates side-by-side, you could do so and decide
> which one you like best.

Thanks. I will check them out. I don't know what it is, but I have
always missed that large chunk of chocolate to knaw on. Everytime the
holiday decorations come out, I start looking for the bins again,
hoping to find some broken chocolate.

at Fri, 22 Oct 2004 22:54:08 GMT in
>,
(Meghan Noecker) wrote :

>
>> If you had to knaw on it, it would have been the thicker, 2-inch
>> blocs. ...
>>
>Good. Sounds like that helps narrow it down. Yes, I did a lot of
>knawing in it. I could only break off small chunks from the corners.
>It was very satisfying to work hard at eating it.
>>...
>> If it was pale, almost creamy in colour, more likely it was Merckens.
>> Neither Merckens nor Guittard tastes anything *like* Hershey's, nor,
>
>This is the hard part - definiing the taste. Since I haven't had it
>for so many years, it is hard to remember, but my favorite chocolate
>now is Hershey's so that is probably why I identify with it...

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.

....
>> A reliable on-line site for Merckens is http://www.bakerscandc.com.
>> You can get both types there, although brace yourself: you'll have to
>> get the full 10-lb brick.
>>
>Thanks, that's not too bad actually. I was at some website yesterday,
>I think the Ghiradelli, and it was almost $80 for a 10 lb bar I think.
>$30 isn't too bad.

Then those sites are ripping you off. The big Ghirardelli blocs shouldn't
cost near $80.00, $40.00 being more typical, and from the right places you
can get it for $30.00

>> If you want to pick it up in Seattle, you'll have to look around....
>> From Larry's, it's certainly no- risk to try the Guittard because you
>> can pick up a small chunk of it from the bulk bins for a song (a 4-oz
>> piece will be about $1.00) You can get Callebaut just about as easily
>> from any of the sources above....
>
>Thanks. I will check them out. I don't know what it is, but I have
>always missed that large chunk of chocolate to knaw on. Everytime the
>holiday decorations come out, I start looking for the bins again,
>hoping to find some broken chocolate.

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'll confess, in the milk-chocolate category, that I
think Ghirardelli is better than either one, and it's easy to find a bloc,
and you *can* knaw it, but the format is such that it doesn't make it
*necessary* to knaw on it. Guittard from Larry's is probably the cheapest:
about $4.00/lb which is excellent value.

Again, I'll say that personally I prefer the Guittard bittersweet over the
milk chocolate (enough that I can list the Larry's bin number for that one
: #57747). Unless dark chocolate holds *no* appeal for you I believe this
is a chocolate you owe yourself to try because it is IMHO one of 2
chocolates vying for title of best chocolate in the world (the other one
being Amedei's Chuao which you can get in likewise knawable bloc format
from Chocosphere at - brace yourself for the price - $55 for a 1 kg (about
2 lbs) bloc.)

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

> It would have been wrapped in the stores. None of the large chocolate
> manufacturers use Saran Wrap on chocolate they produce in bloc form. Nor do
> they break it up into blocks. That's something the store does. What I meant
> is that I've noticed a curious pattern - most frequently, if they do Saran
> Wrap the chunks, they are using Callebaut. Other break-up chocolates seem
> for whatever reason more often to be sold loose in bulk bins or bags, or
> sometimes wrapped in cellulose. (different, stiffer than Saran Wrap).
>

Definitely saran wrap style. I work in a deli department now, and it's
the same kind of overwrap. And I remember them being in a big barrel
at the store.


> If you had to knaw on it, it would have been the thicker, 2-inch blocs. The
> thinner blocs have an axis sufficiently thin that you can bite right
> through it.
> That makes it unlikely it was Ghirardelli. Their blocs are thin enough to
> bite through on the thin axis. So we are down to 2, Merckens and Guittard.
>

Good. Sounds like that helps narrow it down. Yes, I did a lot of
knawing in it. I could only break off small chunks from the corners.
It was very satisfying to work hard at eating it.

>
> If it was pale, almost creamy in colour, more likely it was Merckens.
> Neither Merckens nor Guittard tastes anything *like* Hershey's, nor,


This is the hard part - definiing the taste. Since I haven't had it
for so many years, it is hard to remember, but my favorite chocolate
now is Hershey's so that is probably why I identify with it. I did try
the large Hershy's kisses, and they don't taste that great to me,
though I love the individual bars, for melting in my mouth. I guess
knawing it on it is different.



>
> A reliable on-line site for Merckens is http://www.bakerscandc.com. You can
> get both types there, although brace yourself: you'll have to get the full
> 10-lb brick.
>
Thanks, that's not too bad actually. I was at some website yesterday,
I think the Ghiradelli, and it was almost $80 for a 10 lb bar I think.
$30 isn't too bad.


> If you want to pick it up in Seattle, you'll have to look around. I
> certainly don't know of a store in Seattle which has *regular* stock.
> Ballard's Central Market (corner of 15th Ave NW and NW Market Street) might
> have had that brand in the bulk bins - I can't remember right off the top
> of my head. As for the low Seattle availability, in truth, that's probably
> because Guittard and Callebaut offer similar chocolates that are generally
> better in flavour for comparable price. From Larry's, it's certainly no-
> risk to try the Guittard because you can pick up a small chunk of it from
> the bulk bins for a song (a 4-oz piece will be about $1.00) You can get
> Callebaut just about as easily from any of the sources above. So if you
> wanted to test the 3 chocolates side-by-side, you could do so and decide
> which one you like best.

Thanks. I will check them out. I don't know what it is, but I have
always missed that large chunk of chocolate to knaw on. Everytime the
holiday decorations come out, I start looking for the bins again,
hoping to find some broken chocolate.

at Thu, 21 Oct 2004 07:37:50 GMT in
>,
(Meghan Noecker) wrote :

>Wow! Everytime I have asked at stores, people look at me like I was
>making it up. I didn't expect anybody to actually know of such a
>thing.
>
>>
>> Which grocery stores were carrying it? If I know this I can tell you
>> which brand it was.
>
>The one I used to get it all the time was XL Sooper. It was a smaller
>chain, and that store closed down many years ago. I know for sure that
>i was buying it in 1987 and 1988.
>
>Then I found it *once* at Fred Meyer. That was probably in the late
>90s at Christmas time. I still shop there frequently, but I have never
>seen it again.

If it was at Fred Meyer, a lower-price, budget-oriented chain, then almost
for sure it was a domestic brand. 1987-88 rules out Scharffen Berger
because they weren't in business yet. Besides, their target market is much
higher-end. So, most likely, it was one of the 3 domestic companies with
relatively widespread distribution - Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Merckens.
(There are others, but they don't show up very often)

>> IME, in Seattle, the Saran-wrapped chunks are usually Callebaut.
>
>It was saran wrapped. I don't know if it came in already wrapped or
>was wrapped in the store. It had a store scale label.

It would have been wrapped in the stores. None of the large chocolate
manufacturers use Saran Wrap on chocolate they produce in bloc form. Nor do
they break it up into blocks. That's something the store does. What I meant
is that I've noticed a curious pattern - most frequently, if they do Saran
Wrap the chunks, they are using Callebaut. Other break-up chocolates seem
for whatever reason more often to be sold loose in bulk bins or bags, or
sometimes wrapped in cellulose. (different, stiffer than Saran Wrap).

>> If you are accurate and your chunks are truly about an inch thick,
>> however, that would be from the 1kg blocs rather than the larger blocs
>> Guittard and Callebaut produce, which are typically closer to 2 inches
>> thick. The 1 kg blocs sold in the grocery stores are usually either El
>> Rey or Scharffen Berger.

We've ruled out both of these, because neither had US distribution in 1987-
88.

>
>I'm not really sure as it has been so long. It was at least an inch,
>but it might have been as much as 2 inches. I used to knaw on it,
>making it hard work to eat it, yet very satsifying.

If you had to knaw on it, it would have been the thicker, 2-inch blocs. The
thinner blocs have an axis sufficiently thin that you can bite right
through it.

That makes it unlikely it was Ghirardelli. Their blocs are thin enough to
bite through on the thin axis. So we are down to 2, Merckens and Guittard.

>>> Did the break-up have any sort of markings on the flat sides (i.e. the
>> ones that weren't along the break marks but rather were part of the
>> original surface of the bar)? If so, identifying them is usually
>> pretty easy.
>>
>I know there was an overall pattern to the bar, but not something I
>could pick up from one chunk. Some larger pattern.

Yeah, that describes the Guittard and Mercken's blocs pretty well.

>My sister thought it might be Ghiradelli, but I haven't found a small
>candy bar that tasted the same.

Lending credence to my suspicion above that it was *not* Ghirardelli.

>> Was the chocolate dark or milk? If dark, was it almost ebony black or
>> more of a dark, ruddy brown? If milk, was it a pale mocha colour or a
>> darker colour more like brown gravy?
>
>It was milk chocolate, and I think kinda pale. The closest taste I can
>come up with is Hershey's.

If it was pale, almost creamy in colour, more likely it was Merckens.
Neither Merckens nor Guittard tastes anything *like* Hershey's, nor, for
that matter, does just about any other milk chocolate, because Hershey's
has a *very* distinctive cooked-milk taste to it, the result of them using
liquid milk rather than powdered milk. The Guittard milk chocolate you're
most likely to find in supermarkets around here is Old Dutch, which is on
the darker side for a milk chocolate (because they use Dutch cocoa in it).
So I would lay odds on it being Merckens. I'd say the likelihood is about
70%. Merckens has 2 common formulations for milk chocolate: "Marquis" (the
more common) and "Zurich". It's understandable that you might have had
trouble finding it in Seattle recently because it's the least widely
distributed around here. Dilettante on Capitol Hill has had Merckens
chocolate every now and then but it's not their standard brand. Pike Place
Grocery has also had it. I don't know if they do now.

Merckens has virtually a hammerlock on the cake decorating supply business,
however, because in addition to chocolate, they also produce chocolate
compound coating (sometimes derisively called "vegelate"). Compound coating
replaces some or all of the cocoa butter with vegetable fat, usually palm
kernel oil. As a result, it has a greasy-pasty mouthfeel, which isn't
particularly appetizing, and the taste is rather sweetly chemical. It's
popular among many bakers because you don't have to temper it, but this is
about its only virtue - it's worse than chocolate in almost every way and
NOT good for straight eating. So be careful, when shopping for Merckens,
that you don't end up accidentally buying compound coating. Usually this
comes in discs, anyway, so it's unlikely you'll go too far astray.

A reliable on-line site for Merckens is http://www.bakerscandc.com. You can
get both types there, although brace yourself: you'll have to get the full
10-lb brick.

Several sources have the Marquis in more manageable 2-lb bars, such as
http://www.cookswares.com, and http://www.bakerscatalogue.com

If you want to pick it up in Seattle, you'll have to look around. I
certainly don't know of a store in Seattle which has *regular* stock.
Ballard's Central Market (corner of 15th Ave NW and NW Market Street) might
have had that brand in the bulk bins - I can't remember right off the top
of my head. As for the low Seattle availability, in truth, that's probably
because Guittard and Callebaut offer similar chocolates that are generally
better in flavour for comparable price. From Larry's, it's certainly no-
risk to try the Guittard because you can pick up a small chunk of it from
the bulk bins for a song (a 4-oz piece will be about $1.00) You can get
Callebaut just about as easily from any of the sources above. So if you
wanted to test the 3 chocolates side-by-side, you could do so and decide
which one you like best.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Wow! Everytime I have asked at stores, people look at me like I was
making it up. I didn't expect anybody to actually know of such a
thing.

>
> Which grocery stores were carrying it? If I know this I can tell you which
> brand it was.

The one I used to get it all the time was XL Sooper. It was a smaller
chain, and that store closed down many years ago. I know for sure that
i was buying it in 1987 and 1988.

Then I found it *once* at Fred Meyer. That was probably in the late
90s at Christmas time. I still shop there frequently, but I have never
seen it again.

>
> IME, in Seattle, the Saran-wrapped chunks are usually Callebaut.

It was saran wrapped. I don't know if it came in already wrapped or
was wrapped in the store. It had a store scale label.

>
> If you are accurate and your chunks are truly about an inch thick, however,
> that would be from the 1kg blocs rather than the larger blocs Guittard and
> Callebaut produce, which are typically closer to 2 inches thick. The 1 kg
> blocs sold in the grocery stores are usually either El Rey or Scharffen
> Berger.

I'm not really sure as it has been so long. It was at least an inch,
but it might have been as much as 2 inches. I used to knaw on it,
making it hard work to eat it, yet very satsifying.

>
> Did the break-up have any sort of markings on the flat sides (i.e. the ones
> that weren't along the break marks but rather were part of the original
> surface of the bar)? If so, identifying them is usually pretty easy.
>

I know there was an overall pattern to the bar, but not something I
could pick up from one chunk. Some larger pattern.


> Ghirardelli blocs
> are thinner than Guittard, though.

My sister thought it might be Ghiradelli, but I haven't found a small
candy bar that tasted the same.
>
> Was the chocolate dark or milk? If dark, was it almost ebony black or more
> of a dark, ruddy brown? If milk, was it a pale mocha colour or a darker
> colour more like brown gravy?
>

It was milk chocolate, and I think kinda pale. The closest taste I can
come up with is Hershey's.


> Larry's Market carries Guittard.
>
> Various PCCs have various other brands. Fremont has Callebaut and some El
> Rey. Green Lake has El Rey and Scharffen Berger. Some PCC stores have some
> Guittard.
>
> Whole Foods Market has Callebaut, El Rey, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba.
>
> Metropolitan Market has Callebaut.
>
> Cost Plus World Market has Ghirardelli.
>
> Dilettante has Guittard. The Pike Place Market location usually has better
> supply and is less frenetic.
>
> DeLaurenti has Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and some Callebaut.
>

Thanks. I will print this list and start checking out those stores. I
know where some of them are.

Meghan Noecker wrote:
> I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
> were from a huge thick bar of chocolate, broken into chunks that
> varied in size, irregular, but usually 3-6 inches long and a few
> inches wide. Probably about an inch thick, maybe a tad thicker. There
> were saran wrapped and sold by weight.
>
> Eventually, the store stopped carrying it. I found them once, several
> years later, during the holiday season at a different grocery store.
>
> I really liked them, but I have no idea what brand of chocolate it was
> or if it still being sold that way anymore. Does any of this sound
> familiar to anybody?
>
> I live in the Seattle, WA area, but I would be willing to buy it
> mailorder if I can find a place that sells it.

Chances are is was Callebaut. Lots of "gourmet" stores have been selling it
that way for ages.
--
Janet

Dear Artemesia! Poetry's a Sna/Bedlam has many Mansions:have a
ca/ Your Muse diverts you, makes the Reader sad:/ You think your
self inspir'd; He thinks you mad.


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at Wed, 20 Oct 2004 07:37:17 GMT in <c631719f.0410192337.10dd5325
@posting.google.com>, (Meghan Noecker) wrote :

>I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
>were from a huge thick bar of chocolate, broken into chunks that
>varied in size, irregular, but usually 3-6 inches long and a few
>inches wide. Probably about an inch thick, maybe a tad thicker. There
>were saran wrapped and sold by weight.
>
>Eventually, the store stopped carrying it. I found them once, several
>years later, during the holiday season at a different grocery store.
>
>I really liked them, but I have no idea what brand of chocolate it was
>or if it still being sold that way anymore. Does any of this sound
>familiar to anybody?
>
>I live in the Seattle, WA area, but I would be willing to buy it
>mailorder if I can find a place that sells it.
>

Which grocery stores were carrying it? If I know this I can tell you which
brand it was.

IME, in Seattle, the Saran-wrapped chunks are usually Callebaut. The ones
that stores carry in bulk bins that are *not* Saran-wrapped are usually
Guittard.

If you are accurate and your chunks are truly about an inch thick, however,
that would be from the 1kg blocs rather than the larger blocs Guittard and
Callebaut produce, which are typically closer to 2 inches thick. The 1 kg
blocs sold in the grocery stores are usually either El Rey or Scharffen
Berger.

Did the break-up have any sort of markings on the flat sides (i.e. the ones
that weren't along the break marks but rather were part of the original
surface of the bar)? If so, identifying them is usually pretty easy.

Callebaut has one of 2 markings : either the words "Callebaut" in all-caps
Times-Roman-like lettering, or a circular logo with 3 curving arms
radiating from the center, looking a bit like a fancy wheel.

Guittard has various grooves that are difficult to recognise unless you
know what a full bar looks like. In that case, you start to recognise the
pieces rather readily. There is a deep, semithick groove (the border of the
bar), wide, flat grooves (parts of the lettering saying "Guittard", some
thin, script grooves (part of a legend that reads "Over A Century of
Quality" and a set of flat grooves with curved sides (part of the center
logo) Depending on where the particular chunk came from, you might see one
of these groove markings.

El Rey has either EL REY in large, blocky sans serif font, or El Rey in
their logo font (script)

Scharffen Berger has their logo right in the center (a stylised antelope)

There's also Merckens, which displays a pattern of grooves a bit like a
checkerboard (not exactly but in that kind of style) and Ghirardelli which
has a series of patterns that vary, much like Guittard. Ghirardelli blocs
are thinner than Guittard, though.

There are others but these aren't typically found in Seattle supermarkets.

Was the chocolate dark or milk? If dark, was it almost ebony black or more
of a dark, ruddy brown? If milk, was it a pale mocha colour or a darker
colour more like brown gravy?

With a slightly better description from you I can make a positive ID.

Meanwhile, who has what?

Larry's Market carries Guittard.

Various PCCs have various other brands. Fremont has Callebaut and some El
Rey. Green Lake has El Rey and Scharffen Berger. Some PCC stores have some
Guittard.

Whole Foods Market has Callebaut, El Rey, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba.

Metropolitan Market has Callebaut.

Cost Plus World Market has Ghirardelli.

Dilettante has Guittard. The Pike Place Market location usually has better
supply and is less frenetic.

DeLaurenti has Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and some Callebaut.

Since you're in Seattle, I can probably track down *any* chocolate you
might want without too much difficulty.
--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Meghan Noecker wrote:
> I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
> were from a huge thick bar of chocolate, broken into chunks that
> varied in size, irregular, but usually 3-6 inches long and a few
> inches wide. Probably about an inch thick, maybe a tad thicker. There
> were saran wrapped and sold by weight.
>
> Eventually, the store stopped carrying it. I found them once, several
> years later, during the holiday season at a different grocery store.
>
> I really liked them, but I have no idea what brand of chocolate it was
> or if it still being sold that way anymore. Does any of this sound
> familiar to anybody?
>
> I live in the Seattle, WA area, but I would be willing to buy it
> mailorder if I can find a place that sells it.

Chances are is was Callebaut. Lots of "gourmet" stores have been selling it
that way for ages.
--
Janet

Dear Artemesia! Poetry's a Sna/Bedlam has many Mansions:have a
ca/ Your Muse diverts you, makes the Reader sad:/ You think your
self inspir'd; He thinks you mad.


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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>I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
>were from a huge thick bar

>were saran wrapped and sold by weight.

############
If you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joes near you ...they usually have
broken chuncks of Gheradelli (sp) very affordably priced. BK

>I used to buy chunks of chocolate at the local grocery store. They
>were from a huge thick bar

>were saran wrapped and sold by weight.

############
If you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joes near you ...they usually have
broken chuncks of Gheradelli (sp) very affordably priced. BK