peterr@utcsrgv.UUCP (Peter Rowley) (11/07/83)
For my tastes, N. American chocolate has far too much sugar and not nearly enough cream, though this may be due to my British heritage. One of the great quality-of-life improvers of the last 5 years of my life has been the "Zero" chocolate bar, made in Belgium. It is either dark or milk chocolate (dark is best) covering a core of a cocoa/coconut fat mix that melts very easily (has to be kept cool). About 60-80 cents in Toronto. Very bad to eat often, but once a month is alright. Fortunately, they are not readily available. Terry's of York (UK) also makes great chocolate. Fortunately, it's expensive and I never buy it for myself.
rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (11/16/83)
I must wholeheartedly agree with Peter Rowley's comments on the nature of American vs. European chocolate. Me, I'm a truffles fanatic, but I'll settle for *real* bittersweet (or extra dry) chocolate in a pinch. (Sandra Boynton, greeting card designer and world's foremost authority on chocolate, said in her book "Chocolate, The Consuming Passion" that "truffles are the ultimate chocolate experience" or something like that.) Almost all American chocolate is designed for consumers of breakfast cereals: full of flashy names and designs and loaded with sugar. (Even the supposedly superior chocolate from Godiva is guilty of this.) For me, the only mass marketed chocolate really worth pursuing is Tobler (especially extra dry), Perugina (their coffee creams and truffles are beyond description), and Ghirardelli, which believe it or not is an American chocolate (alas, available only in the immediate San Francisco area). If you want real truffles, you have to go to Switzerland (or Italy), or a place that imports them, but the best chocolate truffles made in America are also from the San Francisco area. Chocolate Heaven (on Pier 39) sells these incredible truffles, coated with dark chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder, and filled with truffle fillings made with kahlua/amaretto/grand-marnier/chocolate/espresso/mocha/etc. (Is anyone else out there having phenylethylamine-theobromide withdrawal attacks at this very moment?) Please don't flame at me about how "Mama Glutz's Fresh Home Made Chocolates from West Useless, North Dakota" are the best in the land. Usually, these are gooey disgusting "candies" with nuts and caramel (YECCH!) and who knows what else. If you thought I've been dogmatic in other newsgroups, just try flaming at me about my tastes in chocolate. Are there any other serious chocolate connoisseurs (chocoholics) on the net with equally snobbish opinions on what the chocolate experience was meant to be? (Truffles, bittersweet chocolate, chocolate cheesecake, fudge brownies, chocolate chip cookies with many large bittersweet chips, and chocolate mousse in order of preference. Did I leave anything out???) Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
jhc@hou5a.UUCP (11/16/83)
American Godiva chocolates are but pale imitations of the real things. Unfortunately, the 'real things' are only available in Belgium and Holland. As far as I recall, American Godiva is owned by Campbell's Soup. Real Godiva are fabulous. If anyone is ever in Brussels, the Leonidas shops do superb chocolates (same types as Godiva) at about one-third the price. Jonathan Clark [houx*|ariel|vax135|eagle]!hou5a!jhc
maker@dartvax.UUCP (Steve Maker) (11/18/83)
Ever had a chocolate-tasting? Friends and I have compared bitter-sweet chocolates (the purest stuff one can eat) for quality and sensual impact. In my opinion, Lindt makes the best of the ones I've been able to try, with Tobler Tradition not far behind. Godiva is indeed junk; they seem to have perfumed the product, perhaps to give pseudo-snob appeal. It ruins the chocolate, though. Lindt (Excellence and Surfin) gets the nod for absolutely pure chocolate taste, without heavy overtones common in others (I think from excess vanilla/vanillin), which include Perugina and Cote D'Or. Other chocolates in the tasting were (I'm sure I've forgotten some): Ghirardelli (available here in NH), Moreau, Maillard, Bendrick's Sporting and Military, Feodora, Suchard Bittra, and: (don't laugh, we were trying for complete coverage) Baker's, Nestle's Semisweet, Hershey's special dark. If there is interest, I can post tasting results and notes to the net. Has anyone else ranked many varieties of semi-sweets? And a final question: Is that heavy non-chocolate taste observed in some chocolates, notably Perugina and Cote D'Or, in fact vanilla/vanillin? It is so strong that we decided to rank chocolates having it in their own group, since we often found it attractive, but not purely CHOCOLATE! I feel a craving right now, Steve Maker (..decvax!dartvax!maker)