Let's Talk Pro-Chocolate: Real Kinds We Like, How We Eat/Use Them

AnnPT77 wrote: »

springlering62 wrote: »

As I see it, the problem with nuts in chocolate is that they leave less room for more chocolate. 🤔

So ya buy 2 bars. I don't see a problem. Plus there's that thing about not metabolizing all the calories in nuts, and they do taste pretty good, IMO.

I like almonds (especially salted ones) in chocolate, not sure how I'd like the salted cashews mtaratoot mentioned. I have mixed feelings about cashews in some other contexts, too.

Here's a minority report: I don't like hazelnuts in chocolate at. all. Nutella is just gross. Way too many of the "imported" "Belgian" chocolates have hazelnuts, too. Uck. (I like hazelnuts OK in some other contexts.)

Additional nostalgic digression: Years back, I once invented a cookie recipe that had a not-too-sweet but pretty plain slightly-risen cookie base (between crisp and cake-y) topped with sliced brazil nuts, and - when they came out of the oven and cooled a little - a heavy drizzle of chocolate ganache. Yum.

Brazil nuts are excellent with chocolate, but I could easily eat enough of them to selenium-overdose myself.

...and apparently one only needs one Brazil nut to fill that need (nutrition wise...not psychologically speaking though😉).

That cashew chocolate bar? I thought it would be larger chunks of cashews. They were tiny tiny specs all throughout. Not a whole lot of salt either.

I had to shake my head because one serving is 1/3 of a bar. The bar has eight squares. Someone at Theo has bad math. Or more likely, the bar used to be four ounces, not three, and the serving size might have been a quarter of a bar. Same serving size - one ounce. It just would be actually possible to make one or two servings. As the bar is built, if you really want to be ~accurate~ with your servings, because no way could even an expert like me break up the remaining two squares into three equal parts, is to eat all three servings.

I will try some other bar next time. Might be a while. The cacao nibs were a nice addition to my yogurt and oats this morning.

At least in the US, we can now claim that some chocolate is now health food -

https://fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-announces-qualified-health-claim-cocoa-flavanols-high-flavanol-cocoa-powder-and-reduced-risk

@AnnPT77

I think it would be pretty hard to say about actual bitterness units in cocoa powder, especially in coffee which already has a slight bitterness. The thing about IPA that isn't a thing in black coffee is there actually is still a whole lot of sweet in there. This is especially true for the high gravity ones; lots of residual non-fermentable sugar. That's one reason you NEED the bitterness - it would otherwise be cloyingly sweet. Black coffee with some cocoa powder ain't got no sweetness in it. Kind of like me in the morning BEFORE my caffeinated coffee..... I bet if I added some honey or brown sugar to my chocolate decaf, or even some milk or cream, it would cut right through the bitterness. Already the Dutch process takes away some of the bitterness.

And then there's the fact that there is caffeine in cocoa, so I really should just have it with my morning coffee unless I just want to be a troublemaker all night. Hey - it's Saturday. Maybe I'll go make some trouble!

I have actually recently considered buying some kind of creamer to add to coffee for special occasions, but I really do like it black if I make a good cup. I stopped using half-and-half quite a while ago and moved to a coconut based creamer that Trader Joe's sells. It's actually pretty good. My hygienist tells me that if I drink "polluted" coffee, it takes longer to clean the scuz off my teeth when I go for a visit. That's not the only reason I stopped adding stuff to my coffee. I like to save the calories for other things. But it still is nice to have a more pleasant time sitting in that "comfy chair."

Editing to add: There was a slurry of cocoa on the bottom of the cup. I had to get a spoon to scoop it up and enjoy it "to the last... drop?"

I had a fine & raw “truffle chunky” bar for dessert. (I am still trying to gain back some weight). It was dark, a bit bitter and delicious. Handmade in brooklyn according to the packaging … 40 g. 210 cal. But v. Expensive ($6.95 at my tiny gourmet farm grocery). It is a truffle bar - not filled — just really dense bitter cocoa sweetened with agave. Softer in texture than a chocolate bar. It took forever to eat. So very satisfying for the calories and I suppose the price too. (It is one serving and I ate it as one serving but it took about an hour for something just slightly larger than a halloween mini candy bar).

Late to the party, but regarding nuts in chocolate....

Since I started counting calories, I designated nuts as "not worth the calories". I don't dislike nuts, but certainly don't like them enough to use up the high density calories they cost me.

So, I tend to avoid nuts in my chocolate, as it bumps up the calorie count without giving me any added pleasure.

I tend to not like a lot of "stuff" in my chocolate anyways, as I really like the taste of chocolate itself and feel like it gets crowded out.

I do love a little sea salt in it, and I think I'd really like the coffee bark pictured above, though.

MsCzar wrote: »

I tried adding cocoa nibs to my whole bean coffee before grinding. Using an old-timey stove-top percolator, I was hoping for a deep mocha kick but honestly, it didn't seem to add much flavor. Maybe it was the brand - Anthony's via Amazon. The nibs seemed to be monumentally flavour deficient.

I am not sure cacao nibs are soluble in water. I think if you want their flavor, you have to get cacao powder (different from cocoa powder as @AnnPT77 explained earlier). You'll need to whisk it in and probably keep stirring to keep it in suspension. If I had kept stirring my coffee yesterday with cocoa powder (Dutch process, not cacao powder), the flavor would have stayed more consistent, but then I wouldn't have had that chocolate layer on the bottom to enjoy at the end of the cup.

They are naught to write home about when eaten plain, so perhaps they are of dubious age and quality.

P.S. cacao - darn you auto-correct!

Today's third coffee has a little bit of caffeinated beans left from the first two cups plus enough decaf to make a nice cup.

I decided to make Candy Coffee. A large spoon of Dutch process cocoa powder, a very small spoon of dark brown sugar, and a half teaspoon of high quality vanilla extract. Quite a sweet treat for a mid-day Sunday lazy time dealing with tax forms and the like. I will keep stirring it to keep the cocoa in suspension, and I bet it will be empty before it gets cold.

Enjoying with some dark rye apricot-laden sourdough rye that my friend left for me yesterday. Can you say extravagant? I just did.

@AnnPT77 I'm all about primable. I've hiked UP and down the Amazon Trail, many, many times. I like that I can send my Amistakes back without a charge. I'm made a million of those. Thanks for the links.