serene wrote:
>> Greg > wrote:
>>
>>> What's currently your favorite type of chocolate (for primarily
>>> consuming, not so much for cooking with) and please say why, be it
>>> something that's commercially mass produced, or a more expensive
>>> gourmet variety you love, despite it costing more, or something you
>>> might even make yourself. Of course if you have more than one to
>>> name, no problem.
>>
>> I can take chocolate or leave it. *shrug*
>>
Nice to know there is another one out there. :-)

Debbie

"Dee Randall" > said:

> "Damsel" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Since I can rarely afford the better chocolates, I prefer Dove, as well.
> > It's inexpensive, yet smoooooooooooth. I buy a bar of the dark chocolate
> > maybe once or twice a year. I never buy the bags of individually wrapped
> > pieces anymore, though. I went nuts and scarfed down a whole bag once.
> > Thought I was gonna die. That stuff is *not* for people with high blood
> > pressure and/or who aren't accustomed to a lot of caffeine.
>
> Carol, I've found that some dark chocolate in bars do NOT agree with me. I
> get really hyper. It is hard for me to control the amount I eat also; that
> is probably the main reason they do not agree with me, both stomach wise,
> and hyper-wise.

I thought my head was going to explode. If I hadn't been so sick, I'd have
gone to the ER. That's not a joke, either.

Carol

On Mon 01 Aug 2005 10:31:08p, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Wayne Boatwright > wrote in
> :
>
>> On Mon 01 Aug 2005 04:15:41a, Margaret Suran wrote in
>> rec.food.cooking:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Vilco wrote:
>>>> Mi e' parso che OmManiPadmeOmelet abbia scritto:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Lindt Lindors or truffles.
>>>>>Simply because they are sinfully smooth and delicious! :-)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yess! The best mainstream product.
>>>> --
>>>> Vilco
>>>> Think Pink , Drink Rose'
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> I seldom eat chocolate, but when I do, I like Guittard's L'Harmonie
>>> 64% Bittersweet. It is difficult to find in New York City.
>>>
>>> I keep Ghiradelli's Double Chocolate Chips and bars on hand for
>>> baking, but I find it rather sweet for eating.
>>
>> I used to love going to the little chocolate shope in the Plaza Hotel.
>> They had a ownderful variety of European chocolates, as well as a
>> variety of different European truffles flown in fresh. It was almost
>> as much fun picking them out as eating them.
>>
>
> Oh Wayne, just admit it. You'd eat any kind of chocolate, same as me.
> Being a chocoholic is not an easy profession
>
> Michael
>

OK, I admit it! But when at the Plaza, I'll take the imported truffles!
:-)

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974


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at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 02:21:33 GMT in <1122862892.969747.124660
@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, (Greg) wrote :

>What's currently your favorite type of chocolate (for primarily
>consuming, not so much for cooking with) and please say why...

Lots of answers below. First, I'll tackle some of the other questions
brought up:

et>,
(Marc) wrote :

>I second the Hershey's very unusal flavor for milk chocolate. Would
>love to know why it's so different.

Virtually all chocolate manufacturers use powdered milk to make milk
chocolate. This is the better choice because it integrates better with
chocolate and has been processed at a lower temperature. But Hershey's is
unusual in using liquid milk. In their process, they first have to condense
it down far enough that it will actually mix in with the chocolate (liquid
milk and chocolate won't mix as is), and this involves cooking the milk.
Thus Hershey's chocolate has a pronounced cooked-milk taste because of this
process that they have to do first.

at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 22:26:12 GMT in <968te15v433qpuveb5k9cdrtavdkodl5r4@
4ax.com>, (Damsel) wrote :

>OmManiPadmeOmelet > said:
>
>> I prefer "Dove" over "Hershey" and it's also widely available. :-d
>
>Since I can rarely afford the better chocolates, I prefer Dove, as well.
>It's inexpensive, yet smoooooooooooth.

If you like the smooth texture, there's an even smoother chocolate: Hachez.
It will just blow you away with its consistency. Better flavour, too.

> I buy a bar of the dark chocolate
>maybe once or twice a year. I never buy the bags of individually wrapped
>pieces anymore, though. I went nuts and scarfed down a whole bag once.
>Thought I was gonna die. That stuff is *not* for people with high blood
>pressure and/or who aren't accustomed to a lot of caffeine

Aha, so you've experienced the full effects of chocolate high and
withdrawal. Yes indeed, chocolate does have adverse effects if you eat too
much. If you think that sort of reaction is bad with Dove, try with a
really strong chocolate like Cluizel Noir Infini! It doesn't take much of
this and you'll be spinning into orbit. The usual reaction with chocolate
is first to feel good, then hyper-energised and great ("Chocuphoria"), then
simply hyper, sinking into spacey and paranoid, and finally into dizzy,
sick, depressed, and terribly afraid ("Acute Chocolack") A lot of people
dismiss chocolate's powerful effects as a drug but they are very real, and
it's not just the caffeine, either.

>I seldom eat chocolate, but when I do, I like Guittard's L'Harmonie
>64% Bittersweet. It is difficult to find in New York City.
>...

http://www.chocosphere.com. This is the source for just about any quality
chocolate you care to name.

at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 15:46:20 GMT in <1122911180.124543.93280
@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, (Goro) wrote :

>We have a Callebaut store here in Scottsdale, AZ. I llike that very
>much.

Be aware that there's *Bernard* Callebaut, a confectioner based in North
America making *chocolates* - i.e. generally some sort of flavoured center
coated in chocolate - and *Barry* Callebaut, a large company based in
Belgium that is primarily a bulk *chocolate* manufacturer - i.e. the pure
solid chocolate itself, in bloc, bar, pastille, and various other forms.
Barry Callebaut is to Europe what Hershey's is to the USA, an industrial
giant producing a dizzying array of different chocolate formulations.
Meanwhile Bernard Callebaut for the most part buys the chocolate he uses
from - indeed - Barry Callebaut, but focusses on creating things with
chocolate as opposed to making the chocolate itself. I'm fairly certain
that if you have a "Callebaut" store it's Bernard Callebaut because Barry
Callebaut is a wholesale manufacturer with little interest in maintaining a
retail storefront as such. But the "Callebaut" most people are familiar
with in the sense of the chocolate they eat is Barry Callebaut. In fact,
it's a pretty good bet that if a chocolatier advertises "Belgian"
chocolate, it is in fact Barry Callebaut.

>And if I'm in the need for a chocolate hit like no other, i have a shot
>of CHocolate Vitale:
>http://chocolatvitale.com/store.html

Not particularly strong stuff, IMHO. The real chocolate hit, I think, is
Cluizel's Noir Infini, unsweetened chocolate designed for straight eating.

at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 16:27:53 GMT in <1122913673.255882.314390
@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, (Dean G.) wrote :

>I like Valrhona Le Noir Amer 71%. One tiny piece of a bar gives more
>chocolate flavor than most others do from a whole bar. Fight the
>temptation to chew it up and just let it melt in you mouth.

Most strong 70%-class chocolates will deliver high intensities. Noir Amer
is a good choice, but in fact Valrhona's Guanaja 70% is even stronger and
with a better flavour (at least IMHO). If, however, it's pure strength you
seek, there are stronger 70%-class chocolates. El Rey Gran Saman is one
such ultrapowerful entry. And, if you want to up the intensity even
further, Lindt 85% is widely available, perhaps the best 85% chocolate on
the market, and of course super-strong. Finally, at the top of the power
curve is the aforementioned Noir Infini 99% from Michel Cluizel, which is
not only unimaginable in its intensity but also a great chocolate in every
way.

at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 22:31:40 GMT in >,
(Dee Randall) wrote :

>Thanks for this article. Re my Giradelli chocolate 70% I bought at
>TJ's, is this edible on its own? I'm reading to open some - can't
>control myself. Or is this type of chocolate only for sauces, etc.
>Dee Dee

Absolutely you can eat it on its own. There is no such thing as a chocolate
you should use only for sauces, etc, or to put it more broadly, there isn't
a sharp distinction between "eating chocolate" and "cooking chocolate" Any
chocolate you can use for the one you can use for the other. In fact, a
chocolate that is unpleasant to eat straight will yield equally poor
results used in cooking. The best example of this is Baker's chocolate
which tastes bad eaten on its own, not because it's "baking chocolate", but
simply because it's bad chocolate, period. Ghirardelli meanwhile is good
chocolate and although some of their bars and blocs may carry a tag that
says "chocolate for baking" - it's also great for eating. You'll find that
the 70% has a very fruity flavour, grapes, cherries, even watermelon in the
components, and also a slight coffee background. It's not the strongest of
the 70% chocolates, but it's still quite good.

And finally, my own favourites. Most of these will be familiar to those
who've read my posts before.

Probably my favourite overall, and the best 70%-class chocolate, is Amedei
Chuao. This is one of the most powerful 70%'s out there, and with a very
distinctive flavour, molasses and blueberries being the dominant notes.
It's big and bold and keeps exciting with each new tasting. The only
disadvantage is the frightening price tag: $9.00 for 50g, or $55.00 if,
like me, you like it enough to get the more economical 1 kg bloc.

Actually, there's a co-favourite: Guittard Gourmet Bittersweet. It's not
exactly true to call it a tie, because this chocolate and Amedei's are so
different that it's like apples and oranges. Nobody will ever credit it
with the same level of sophistication and complexity as Amedei Chuao, but
it's got incredible basic chocolate flavour, unusual strength for its
percentage (63%) and no bitterness. It's also cheap ($50 for a 10-lb bloc).
If Chuao represents the ultimate Michelin 3-star French restaurant, Gourmet
Bittersweet would be analogous to the ultimate 5-napkin Texas barbecue.

Michel Cluizel is my favourite chocolatier overall and also wins outright 2
sub-categories, best unsweetened for the aforementioned Noir Infini, and
best milk chocolate, for 1er Cru de Plantation Mangaro Lait 50%. It's hard
to go wrong with Cluizel - his chocolate is invariably a paragon of
balance, of careful roasting, of superb bean selection. His approach is
perfectionistic and he tends to spend more time than most chocolatiers
studying and refining a new chocolate before bringing it to market. The 2
chocolates I just talked about are among his best, but his crowning
achievement is 1er Cru de Plantation Los Ancones 67%. This is a stunning
chocolate, complex and powerful, with flavour components reminiscent of
strawberries, prunes, aromatic woods - it covers the spectrum. There also
seems to be an unusually unanimous consensus among all who try it that this
is an awe-inspiring chocolate, so that, on average, it might be the best
chocolate in the world.

Buying organic chocolate gives you more ethically and environmentally
defendable choices and there is one such organic chocolate that would be a
must-buy even without the certification: Domori Chacao Absolute. This is a
chocolate that is simply great by any standard, organic or not, and
deserves a place among the most elite chocolates on the market. The cocoa
used comes from the Dominican Republic, like Cluizel's Los Ancones, and
it's got a lot of the same flavour components. Domori, actually, is another
company with many, many interesting chocolates - notably Porcelana and
Puertomar. Chacao is in short supply right now and thus hard to find, but
soon Chocosphere should have decent availability.

--
Alex Rast

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

(Alex Rast) said:
>
> at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 22:26:12 GMT in <968te15v433qpuveb5k9cdrtavdkodl5r4@
> 4ax.com>, (Damsel) wrote :
>
> >OmManiPadmeOmelet > said:
> >
> >> I prefer "Dove" over "Hershey" and it's also widely available. :-d
> >
> >Since I can rarely afford the better chocolates, I prefer Dove, as well.
> >It's inexpensive, yet smoooooooooooth.
>
> If you like the smooth texture, there's an even smoother chocolate: Hachez.
> It will just blow you away with its consistency. Better flavour, too.

Damn you, Alex! Damn you all to hell! LOL! I have a browser open with a
search for Hatchez on Froogle. I'll let you know how I like it.

> > I buy a bar of the dark chocolate
> >maybe once or twice a year. I never buy the bags of individually wrapped
> >pieces anymore, though. I went nuts and scarfed down a whole bag once.
> >Thought I was gonna die. That stuff is *not* for people with high blood
> >pressure and/or who aren't accustomed to a lot of caffeine
>
> Aha, so you've experienced the full effects of chocolate high and
> withdrawal. Yes indeed, chocolate does have adverse effects if you eat too
> much. If you think that sort of reaction is bad with Dove, try with a
> really strong chocolate like Cluizel Noir Infini! It doesn't take much of
> this and you'll be spinning into orbit. The usual reaction with chocolate
> is first to feel good, then hyper-energised and great ("Chocuphoria"), then
> simply hyper, sinking into spacey and paranoid, and finally into dizzy,
> sick, depressed, and terribly afraid ("Acute Chocolack") A lot of people
> dismiss chocolate's powerful effects as a drug but they are very real, and
> it's not just the caffeine, either.

It was absolutely horrible. Since then, I've become very cautious with
chocolate, especially since I've started eating the higher percentage
stuff.

Thanks for sharing your expertise! If I'm gonna eat chocolate, and eat it
sparingly, I may as well spring for some of the good stuff, huh? <G>

Carol

"Damsel" > wrote in message
...
> (Alex Rast) said:
>>
>> at Mon, 01 Aug 2005 22:26:12 GMT in <968te15v433qpuveb5k9cdrtavdkodl5r4@
>> 4ax.com>, (Damsel) wrote :
>>
>> >OmManiPadmeOmelet > said:
>> >
>> >> I prefer "Dove" over "Hershey" and it's also widely available. :-d
>> >
>> >Since I can rarely afford the better chocolates, I prefer Dove, as well.
>> >It's inexpensive, yet smoooooooooooth.
>>
>> If you like the smooth texture, there's an even smoother chocolate:
>> Hachez.
>> It will just blow you away with its consistency. Better flavour, too.
>
> Damn you, Alex! Damn you all to hell! LOL! I have a browser open with a
> search for Hatchez on Froogle. I'll let you know how I like it.
>
>> > I buy a bar of the dark chocolate
>> >maybe once or twice a year. I never buy the bags of individually
>> >wrapped
>> >pieces anymore, though. I went nuts and scarfed down a whole bag once.
>> >Thought I was gonna die. That stuff is *not* for people with high blood
>> >pressure and/or who aren't accustomed to a lot of caffeine
>>
>> Aha, so you've experienced the full effects of chocolate high and
>> withdrawal. Yes indeed, chocolate does have adverse effects if you eat
>> too
>> much. If you think that sort of reaction is bad with Dove, try with a
>> really strong chocolate like Cluizel Noir Infini! It doesn't take much of
>> this and you'll be spinning into orbit. The usual reaction with chocolate
>> is first to feel good, then hyper-energised and great ("Chocuphoria"),
>> then
>> simply hyper, sinking into spacey and paranoid, and finally into dizzy,
>> sick, depressed, and terribly afraid ("Acute Chocolack") A lot of people
>> dismiss chocolate's powerful effects as a drug but they are very real,
>> and
>> it's not just the caffeine, either.
>
> It was absolutely horrible. Since then, I've become very cautious with
> chocolate, especially since I've started eating the higher percentage
> stuff.
>
> Thanks for sharing your expertise! If I'm gonna eat chocolate, and eat it
> sparingly, I may as well spring for some of the good stuff, huh? <G>
>
> Carol

That's the attitude I have about chocolate (bars) and wine. I try to buy as
good as I can afford, but if it is a little too expensive, I just have less
of it. I am lucky (as far as the expense goes) that I have with just a
little of either chocolate or wine, a reaction as Alex describes in his
paragraph above. I wonder sometimes if they add a little coacoa (sp) leaves
spit in the chocolate -- tee hee - I've seen the leaf-chewing workers on TV.
Dee Dee

At BirchRun, Michigan, at the outlet shopping center, there is a
Pepperidge Farm outlet store. They sell deeply discounted boxes of
Godiva chocolates.

On Tue, 2 Aug 2005 11:03:06 -0400, Sharon Chilson wrote:
>
> At BirchRun, Michigan, at the outlet shopping center, there is a
> Pepperidge Farm outlet store. They sell deeply discounted boxes of
> Godiva chocolates.

Sell? Buy and Godiva don't make it into the same sentence for me.

> I used to love going to the little chocolate shope in the Plaza Hotel.
> They had a ownderful variety of European chocolates, as well as a variety
> of different European truffles flown in fresh. It was almost as much fun
> picking them out as eating them.

I love that shop. Thier champagne truffles are heaven.

I'll take a Lindt white chocoalte truffle any day though as far as
easily available chocolate goes.

at Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:43:15 GMT in
>,
(Damsel) wrote :

(Alex Rast) said:
....
>>
>> If you like the smooth texture, there's an even smoother chocolate:
>> Hachez. It will just blow you away with its consistency. Better
>> flavour, too.
>
>Damn you, Alex! Damn you all to hell! LOL! I have a browser open with
>a search for Hatchez on Froogle. I'll let you know how I like it.
>

If you spelled it like that, you might have difficulties. The correct
spelling is Hachez. No need to search near and far - just buy from
Chocosphe

http://www.chocosphere.com/Html/Products/hachez.html

--
Alex Rast

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

(Alex Rast) said:

> at Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:43:15 GMT in
> >,
> (Damsel) wrote :
>
> (Alex Rast) said:
> ...
> >>
> >> If you like the smooth texture, there's an even smoother chocolate:
> >> Hachez. It will just blow you away with its consistency. Better
> >> flavour, too.
> >
> >Damn you, Alex! Damn you all to hell! LOL! I have a browser open with
> >a search for Hatchez on Froogle. I'll let you know how I like it.
>
> If you spelled it like that, you might have difficulties. The correct
> spelling is Hachez.

I copy and paste better than I type. The search was done by C&P. <G>

>No need to search near and far - just buy from Chocosphe
>
> http://www.chocosphere.com/Html/Products/hachez.html

THIS IS CALLED ENABLING!!!!!!!!!!

Carol, grinnin'

Greg wrote:

> What's currently your favorite type of chocolate (for primarily
> consuming, not so much for cooking with) and please say why, be it
> something that's commercially mass produced, or a more expensive
> gourmet variety you love, despite it costing more, or something you
> might even make yourself. Of course if you have more than one to
> name, no problem.
>
Eeeeek. That is a difficult question to answer. I like
chocolates with lots of different notes, and a good mouthfeel,
somewhat creamy not hard and waxy.

I keep thinking I have found my ultimate (e.g., Maglio's
"Africa" or El Rey's Apamate), but then I find others. I
recently found Cluisel's Noir 60%. It had a very nice mouth
feel, but was a bit weak in flavor and lacked the notes I
like. (I hope I can find the higher % around here sometime.)
Cote d'Or used to make a REALLY good chocolate back in the
mid 70s or so--gold label, I think. Then after I nagged to
get the darker chocolate here, I discovered that was not as
good. Of course, then the gold label version became unavailable.

I am looking forward to reading other people's answers.
Chocolate is, after all, a health food. <g>

--
Jean B.

MareCat wrote:

> "Joseph Littleshoes" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Greg wrote:
>>
>>
>>>What's currently your favorite type of chocolate (for primarily
>>>consuming, not so much for cooking with) and please say why, be it
>>>something that's commercially mass produced, or a more expensive
>>>gourmet variety you love, despite it costing more, or something you
>>>might even make yourself. Of course if you have more than one to
>>>name, no problem.
>>
>>Mexican "Abulita" (litlle grandmother) brand chocolate. Ibara is a
>>very
>>poor Spanish version.
>
>
> Abuelita is my favorite Mexican chocolate. Makes yummy Mexican hot
> chocolate.
>
> Other faves are Lindt (especially their 70% cocoa and milk chocolate
> raspberry filled bars), Dove dark, Perugina's dark, Fannie May Trinidads
> (http://tinyurl.com/c9cyx - my dad's from Chicago, and these are a
> childhood fave of mine; of course now I have to order 'em online to get
> my fix), and Milky Way dark.
>
> Mary
>
>
I don't like the mouthfeel of the Lindt dark chocolate bars at
all. :-( Their new little truffles, the ones dredged in
coaca are very good, better than the ones with the chocolate
shells.

--
Jean B.

Dee Randall wrote:
>
> Thanks for this article. Re my Giradelli chocolate 70% I bought at TJ's, is
> this edible on its own? I'm reading to open some - can't control myself.
> Or is this type of chocolate only for sauces, etc.
> Dee Dee
>
Try it and find out--not something that can be dictated. That
is in my usual range (70-ish percent).

--
Jean B.

Damsel wrote:

> "Dee Randall" > said:
>
>
>>"Damsel" > wrote in message
. ..
>>
>>>Since I can rarely afford the better chocolates, I prefer Dove, as well.
>>>It's inexpensive, yet smoooooooooooth. I buy a bar of the dark chocolate
>>>maybe once or twice a year. I never buy the bags of individually wrapped
>>>pieces anymore, though. I went nuts and scarfed down a whole bag once.
>>>Thought I was gonna die. That stuff is *not* for people with high blood
>>>pressure and/or who aren't accustomed to a lot of caffeine.
>>
>>Carol, I've found that some dark chocolate in bars do NOT agree with me. I
>>get really hyper. It is hard for me to control the amount I eat also; that
>>is probably the main reason they do not agree with me, both stomach wise,
>>and hyper-wise.
>
>
> I thought my head was going to explode. If I hadn't been so sick, I'd have
> gone to the ER. That's not a joke, either.
>
> Carol

Oh Carol, did I ever post here about my chocolate fondue
experience? The upshot is that I was soooo sick--like being
drunk and then very hung over the next day (and no booze
involved). Serious OD. Now my daughter will eat this on New
Year's Eve, and I have something else. It was SO unpleasant.

--
Jean B.

"Jean B." > wrote in message
...
> Dee Randall wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for this article. Re my Giradelli chocolate 70% I bought at TJ's,
>> is this edible on its own? I'm reading to open some - can't control
>> myself. Or is this type of chocolate only for sauces, etc.
>> Dee Dee
>>
> Try it and find out--not something that can be dictated. That is in my
> usual range (70-ish percent).
>
> --
> Jean B.

Yes, I tried it last night. It was as good as any candy bar I usually buy.
Dee Dee

at Wed, 03 Aug 2005 15:29:08 GMT in >,
(Jean B.) wrote :

....
>
>I keep thinking I have found my ultimate (e.g., Maglio's
>"Africa" or El Rey's Apamate), but then I find others. I
>recently found Cluisel's Noir 60%. It had a very nice mouth
>feel, but was a bit weak in flavor and lacked the notes I
>like. (I hope I can find the higher % around here sometime.)
> Cote d'Or used to make a REALLY good chocolate back in the
>mid 70s or so--gold label, I think.

Your preferences suggest that you like a very earthy flavour overall,
probably also with a dark roast. Earthy flavours suggest either Ocumare or
Ecuador Arriba beans, but also to a certain extent Ivory Coast Forastero. A
lot of people tend to like the latter because it's the chocolate flavour
they're used to, given the Ivory Coast's predominance among cocoa-producing
countries, and it's the cacao of choice in cheap chocolate, but with slave
labour practices being reported, not to mention civil unrest, it's better
avoided. In any case, you mention bars decidedly not from there, so it
doesn't really matter anyway.

For dark-roast flavour, the best company is Pralus. He is the master of
dark roasting and produces a wide array of chocolates of various origins.
Although I might at first shot recommend his Venezuela or Colombia, what
you should do instead is buy the "Pyramide des Tropiques" which will let
you try most of his different varietals, and in realistic sizes (you get
50g of each chocolate).

For Ecuador Arriba, Slitti produces the ultimate exemplar in Tropicale 90%.
If this percentage is a bit stiff for you, try Guittard's Ecuador at 65%.
And for Ocumare, go for Domori. Domori actually produces 2 different
varietals - Ocumare 67 (Puertofino) and Ocumare 61 (Puertomar). The general
consensus has been that the Puertomar is the better bar, but I think you'll
prefer the Puertofino which is earthier in flavour.

All of these chocolates have excellent texture, btw. Domori is on a par
with Cluizel - that is to say, among the very best, smoothest, creamiest
textures in the industry. Pralus and Guittard are also very smooth and it
would only be if you did a side-by-side with a Domori or Cluizel that you
might notice a textural difference.

--
Alex Rast

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

"Jean B." > said:

> Oh Carol, did I ever post here about my chocolate fondue
> experience? The upshot is that I was soooo sick--like being
> drunk and then very hung over the next day (and no booze
> involved). Serious OD. Now my daughter will eat this on New
> Year's Eve, and I have something else. It was SO unpleasant.

I don't recall, Jean. I think my chocolate OD affected my memory.
Seriously, I don't recall. But I know I would never want to go through
that again - ever.

Carol

(Greg) wrote:
> What's currently your favorite type of chocolate (for primarily
> consuming, not so much for cooking with) and please say why, be it
> something that's commercially mass produced, or a more expensive
> gourmet variety you love, despite it costing more, or something you
> might even make yourself. Of course if you have more than one to
> name, no problem.

I'd rather eat a little bit of good chocolate than a whole lot of bad
chocolate, so... typically I go for a dark 70%, from somewhere fair
trade. Green and Blacks is one brand that comes to mind.

I also have an interest in stuff from the Original Hawaiian Chocolate
Factory, since they're located in the same county as I am, and grow
their own beans.

And I've had some stuff from zChocolat, certain flavors of which I
seem to remember really liking (mostly the dark ones).

All are, of course, linked from my site!

-Dan

--
http://ChocoLocate.com/ - The Chocolate Lovers' Page, established 1994.

Alex Rast wrote:

> at Wed, 03 Aug 2005 15:29:08 GMT in >,
> (Jean B.) wrote :
>
> ...
>
>>I keep thinking I have found my ultimate (e.g., Maglio's
>>"Africa" or El Rey's Apamate), but then I find others. I
>>recently found Cluisel's Noir 60%. It had a very nice mouth
>>feel, but was a bit weak in flavor and lacked the notes I
>>like. (I hope I can find the higher % around here sometime.)
>> Cote d'Or used to make a REALLY good chocolate back in the
>>mid 70s or so--gold label, I think.
>
>
> Your preferences suggest that you like a very earthy flavour overall,
> probably also with a dark roast. Earthy flavours suggest either Ocumare or
> Ecuador Arriba beans, but also to a certain extent Ivory Coast Forastero. A
> lot of people tend to like the latter because it's the chocolate flavour
> they're used to, given the Ivory Coast's predominance among cocoa-producing
> countries, and it's the cacao of choice in cheap chocolate, but with slave
> labour practices being reported, not to mention civil unrest, it's better
> avoided. In any case, you mention bars decidedly not from there, so it
> doesn't really matter anyway.
>
> For dark-roast flavour, the best company is Pralus. He is the master of
> dark roasting and produces a wide array of chocolates of various origins.
> Although I might at first shot recommend his Venezuela or Colombia, what
> you should do instead is buy the "Pyramide des Tropiques" which will let
> you try most of his different varietals, and in realistic sizes (you get
> 50g of each chocolate).
>
> For Ecuador Arriba, Slitti produces the ultimate exemplar in Tropicale 90%.
> If this percentage is a bit stiff for you, try Guittard's Ecuador at 65%.
> And for Ocumare, go for Domori. Domori actually produces 2 different
> varietals - Ocumare 67 (Puertofino) and Ocumare 61 (Puertomar). The general
> consensus has been that the Puertomar is the better bar, but I think you'll
> prefer the Puertofino which is earthier in flavour.
>
> All of these chocolates have excellent texture, btw. Domori is on a par
> with Cluizel - that is to say, among the very best, smoothest, creamiest
> textures in the industry. Pralus and Guittard are also very smooth and it
> would only be if you did a side-by-side with a Domori or Cluizel that you
> might notice a textural difference.
>
Oooooh. Thank you (I think). I see I am going to have to get
into ordering chocolate online, and I'd better wait until it
cools down to do that. In the meantime, it is fun to try all
the new chocolates that show up locally. I always enjoy
reading your prose on chocolate (especially) and will print a
copy of this to take to my gourmet source, which does stock
soem different chocolates.

Sorry for the late response....

--
Jean B.

Damsel wrote:

> "Jean B." > said:
>>Oh Carol, did I ever post here about my chocolate fondue
>>experience? The upshot is that I was soooo sick--like being
>>drunk and then very hung over the next day (and no booze
>>involved). Serious OD. Now my daughter will eat this on New
>>Year's Eve, and I have something else. It was SO unpleasant.
>
>
> I don't recall, Jean. I think my chocolate OD affected my memory.
> Seriously, I don't recall. But I know I would never want to go through
> that again - ever.
>
> Carol

Yeah, maybe related. I also have NO desire to ever do that
again. I forget what I had while my daughter enjoyed the
chocolate fondue. Luckily, there are a lot of other things
one can enjoy that don't have the same effect.

--
Jean B.