Hageland Limited Selection "Ecuador" 43% Milk Chocolate

By erika on 8/24/10 2:41pm
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At first blush I assumed that this Hageland brand of chocolate was about as authentic as Haagen-Dasz, which is to say, not very.  This impression was only borne out by the website, where I could find absolutely no information about the company itself.  

They have a lot of information about how chocolate is made IN GENERAL, but nothing about the company, its facilities, or its location aside from "Belgium."  The Contact Us page lists an address in Hayward, CA.


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Lindt Lindor Truffles Milk Chocolate

By erika on 8/23/10 3:49pm
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This is another chocolate with sort of a confusing name.  It's a chocolate bar with a subtitle: technically it's "Milk Chocllate With A Smooth Filling."  I don't know why they didn't just call it "The Lindor Truffle Bar."

Lindt is considered a somewhat down-market chocolate bar manufacturer by hard core chocolate fans.  In the same way that pet food snobs like myself look down on the Iams brand (particularly after they downgraded the formula and started selling it in grocery stores).  But as with Iams, the truth is that Lindt bars are a lot better than the other mass market options you'll find in the grocery store.  


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Chocolate Covered Insects - Mmmmmmm

By colormejosh on 8/19/10 8:46pm
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I love our London friends - they can really make an impression - for instance the story "Chocolate bugs fly off the shelves at Fortnum & Mason" is a real hoot and can really tell us something about the business over there at Fortnum & Mason - but I suppose that is beside the point. Chocolate and insects both have a rich history, and occasionally pop up together in the media - this is likely due to our society and how this is an oddity in our culture.

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Endangered Species Chocolate: Milk Chocolate with Cherries

By erika on 7/26/10 2:53pm
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This is the first milk chocolate Endangered Species Chocolate bar I have tried, and I approached it with some trepidation.  

I'm not a big fan of milk chocolate bars as a rule.  I tend to associate them with bland, waxy, mass market "candy" like Hershey bars.  Or I find them to be overly sweet, as I do many of the Cadbury milk chocolate bars.

The technical differences between "dark chocolate" and "milk chocolate" kind of depend on who you're talking to, and what country they are in.  As a general rule, dark chocolate is cocoa plus fat and sugar.  Milk chocolate is cocoa plus fat and sugar, AND milk.  Take a perfectly good batch of dark chocolate, add some milk, and there's your milk chocolate.


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Endangered Species: Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans

By erika on 7/20/10 3:22pm
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HI I LIKE THIS CHOCOLATE IT HAS GROUND UP ESPRESSO BEANS IN IT, IT IS REALLY GOOD, REALLY REALLY.  

*cough*

Sorry, it's just that every time I eat one of the little squares of chocolate, I get KIND OF excited.  Is it the caffeine?  I'm not sure how much caffeine is in it.  Some, surely, since it contains (as mentioned) ground espresso beans.

This bar, "the tiger bar," is my favorite Endangered Species Chocolate so far.  And not just because tigers are kewl.  (The tiger facts inside the wrapper mention that the markings on a tiger's face are unique, like human fingerprints.  Which I already knew, because I have seen every nature documentary ever made.)  Each pillow-shaped square has a semi-matte finish, and is stamped with the Endangered Species Chocolate symbol of a leafy branch.


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Endangered Species Chocolate: Dark Chocolate With Hazelnut Toffee

By erika on 7/12/10 3:28pm
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Endangered Species Chocolate is another one of the very small handful of Fair Trade chocolate companies here in America.  They have a pretty extensive line of chocolates, and I have resolved to work my way through their product line.  It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!  Think of the children!  Etc.

This one has a rhinoceros on the label.  I have learned that the label doesn't mean that your purchase specifically supports that species. 

Which honestly was a relief, because at one point ages ago I remember standing in the aisle trying to decide which I liked better: otters or manatees?  It was too difficult a choice, flavor or species.  I'm glad to learn that it's just the packaging!


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Green & Black's Ginger Dark Chocolate

By erika on 7/5/10 2:26pm
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I'm learning that the Green & Black's line of chocolate is pretty much unassailable in every way.  Their chocolates are made with organic ingredients, ethically sourced using fair trade to prevent human suffering and slavery, many of their bars are vegan-friendly, and best of all they are delicious.  

Green & Black's is one of the few fair trade chocolates which is available in America.  (Although several mass market chocolate manufacturers like Cadbury and Mars have gone fair trade in the UK, the American versions of their bars are not fair trade.)  They deserve your money for that reason alone, since the atrocities committed in the name of non-fair trade cocoa beans are truly horrific.


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Fourth of July Treats

By sarajean on 7/2/10 12:17am
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When it comes to everyone’s favorite part of every holiday, food usually tops the list. July 4 is like any other holiday in terms of people coming together, celebrating their country’s birth, and cooking up some delicious flavors. Any Fourth of July celebration dinner would be incomplete, however, without some delicious desserts. Here are some simple yet delicious treats you might want to whip up this weekend.

Red, White, and Blue Trail Mix: Dip some pretzels in white chocolate and serve with raspberries and blueberries for a sweet, juicy treat everyone can enjoy with their hands.

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Scientists Discover what Women Have Known for Centuries: Chocolate is an Anti-Depressant

By lisala on 6/15/10 11:22pm
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Australia's Black Dog Institute, a non-profit educational and research institute with interest and expertise in the treatment and diagnosis of depression and bipolar disorder, has, via a study of 3,000 people, made a revolutionary discovery. Sort of. Of those in the study (all of whom demonstrated various symptoms associated with depression) 45% craved chocolate. The fact that women all over the world have known about chocolate staving off some of the symptoms of depression since some time in the mid-eighteenth century in no way diminishes the value of the study. Particularly because of that 45% who craved chocolate, 60% found that chocolate improved their mood if they indulged while depressed (that's 27% of the overall study participants, for those eating chocolate at home).

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Tomorrow is Fudge Day

By sarajean on 6/15/10 3:28pm
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Do we really need an excuse to eat more fudge in our lives? Maybe we should all just take down those Chik-Fil-A signs that say “Eat Mor Chikin” and replace them with “Eat More Fudge.” Wouldn’t we all be so much happier as a result? I think the pounds gained would probably be about the same, so no adverse health benefits there. Whether you can only stand a bit at a time, or you could enjoy the richness of fudge all day, every day, June 16 is definitely a day to indulge.

In honor of National Fudge Day, you can take part by…

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