Chocolate University Online Blog » candy bars

Montezuma’s Creative Chocolates

Bryn Kirk — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:48:30 +0000

I can’t imagine getting bored with chocolate. There has never been a time in chocolate history as full of imagination and creativity with chocolate as there is now.

One of the leaders successfully bringing new and innovative flavor combinations to chocolate is Montezuma’s.

You may already know that I am a huge fan of dark chocolate and orange. Chocolate and orange is so yesterday! My new favorite is Dark chocolate with Orange and Geranium.

I think Montezuma’s co-founder Helen Pattinson sums it up when she says, “If you try only one bar from our range, I would recommend this best selling little number.”

The Dark Chocolate with Orange and Geranium has a rich, intense 73% minimum chocolate, adding citrus and floral notes in perfect harmony. I was skeptical at first about having such a strong floral flavor, but since I enjoy other floral flavors with chocolate as lavender and chamomile, I thought I’d give it an open mind.

Thank goodness I did!

Speaking of having an open mind, there are other glorious chocolate discoveries at their website www.montezumas.co.uk.

For the milk chocolate lover, you must try the Milk Chocolate Chilli & Lime. It is as incredible as it is unlikely. Just right amount of heat from the chili lingers at the back of throat after the chocolate and lime have melted away.

No, ordinary is not part of Montezuma’s world. Go and enjoy something extra-ordinary!

Chocolate Pills and Cocoa Pasta

Bryn Kirk — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:55:02 +0000

I recently read about a new product launch from Spanish chocolates manufacturer, Pancracio. They offer several unique chocolate items but perhaps they have come up with their most unique one yet – Chocolate Pills.

This product claims all kinds of health benefits without the added sugar and fat of eating chocolate.

The pill contains 90% cocoa. It is called “one a day” – Uno Al Dia.

Personally, I’d rather eat chocolate once a day and enjoy both the flavor benefits as well as any health benefits!

Of course my curiosity drove me to visit their website, www.pancracio.com, where I discovered one of Pancracio’s specialties is the Turron.

Turrones are mostly unfamiliar to most people living in the U.S. They are typically nougat confections made of honey, sugar, egg whites, toasted almonds or other nuts, and shaped into a rectangular tablet. Pancracio has a varied selection of Turrones, enrobed in milk, dark and white chocolates.

Another interesting product is their Cocoa Pasta. It is a Fusilli pasta containing cocoa. The pasta is not sweet and I bet it is delicious served with a spicy chicken mole.

Out with the New, in with the Old?

Bryn Kirk — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:50:57 +0000

In Devon England, Willie’s World Class Chocolate makes their chocolate the old fashioned way – the one hundred year-old way.

According to their website, www.williescacao.com, the equipment used to make their chocolate bars are antiques from the early 1900’s.

Each package of their Delectable bars claims that antique machinery brings out the subtle and unique flavors of cocoa beans better than modern equipment which is designed to be fast and efficient.

To find out if the age of a roaster really makes a discernable difference, I bought two of Willie’s chocolate bars.

First I tasted the 69% Java Dark Chocolate. I enjoyed the soft caramel notes and delicate chocolate impact. Unfortunately, the chocolate was course which diminished my enjoyment a bit.

Next, the Peruvian San Martin 70% Dark Chocolate. It was very good, with fruity notes and a bold chocolate aftertaste.

At the end of day, I still don’t know if the antiques contributed all that much to the flavor development of the chocolates. Without making the same recipe twice, once with the antiques and once with modern equipment, there’s really no way to know for sure.

But it doesn’t really matter. Good chocolate rarely has to be questioned.

Confessions of a Chocoholic

Bryn Kirk — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:11:32 +0000

I recently taught a chocolate and wine tasting seminar. We tasted delicious, hand-made chocolates from local chocolate shops. Afterward, one of the attendees took me aside and made a confession…

She said I did a great job pointing out the reasons to fall in love with gourmet chocolate, but that sometimes she just wants a big handful of M&Ms. She wondered if something was wrong with her.

Perhaps there are many things wrong with her, but I don’t think craving M&M’s is one of them! A large part of enjoying chocolate involves memories of our early chocolate experiences. Children as young as age 9-11 start to prefer chocolate over other candy.

(Some of my early chocolate memories don’t involve Hershey bars or M&M’s so maybe that is why I don’t reach for them when I have a chocolate craving. My Dad introduced me to Marshall Field’s Frango™ Mints and Dark Chocolate Covered Orange Peel at an early age. Thank you, Dad!)

If you crave mass-produced candy bars you are not alone. The top ten most popular chocolate bars in the U.S. (based on sales in US Dollars) are:

1. Snickers
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
3. Kit Kat
4. Butterfinger
5. Milky Way
6. 3 Musketeers
7. Baby Ruth
8. M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies
9. Oh Henry
10. Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar

Snickers tops the list with over 2 BILLION dollars in global annual sales!

Sometimes our past favorites are not made anymore. Do you remember any of these candy bars?

Bar None
Caravelle Bar
Chocolate Babies
Chocolate Cow
Chocolite
Forever Yours
Rally Bar
Marathon
Mars Bar
Milkshake Candy Bar
Nestle Alpine White Bar
PBMax Candy Bar
Peanut Butter No Jelly Bar
Seven-Up Bar
Willie Wonka Oompas

I will always recommend you choose fine premium chocolate over the vending machine candy bar. But, if you need a trip down memory lane, I say go for it. And after you have satisfied that urge, promise me you’ll take a moment and enjoy a fresh chocolate truffle or a rich butter cream.

What’s Your Favorite Chocolate Bar?

Jeffrey Kirk — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:15:32 +0000

One of the neat things about a blog is that it can be interactive. People can make comments to articles; asking questions, expanding on the information provided, or taking the thoughts in another direction. This helps to enrich the value of the blog for all readers.

To help you get some practice responding to blog articles, I have posted this simple question: What is Your Favorite Chocolate Bar?

Go ahead and comment below! Tell us what chocolate you like best and, if you’re up to it, tell us why. Let’s get some discussion going on this. (Please note that your comment will not appear instantly. To manage blog-spam all comments are held in a queue for approval.)

I’ll even start the discussion…

My favorite chocolate bar comes from Lindt. I prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate so the Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Bar is my bar of choice. Sometimes I like even more intense chocolate flavor so the Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa Bar wins out. Both are really smooth chocolates with great flavor. The 85% is not as sweet (therefore more bitter) than the 70%, but sometimes it’s just the flavor I’m looking for.

Generally, if I’m going out to buy some chocolate one of these two bars wins out.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite candy bar? Maybe it’s the one you would eat every day if you could. Maybe it’s something you remember from your childhood. Come on share your perspective…