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

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Replies

  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,704 Member
    edited August 2024
    I’m in love. 😋

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  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,704 Member
    Pretty good. Always on the lookout for an extra dark chocolate..

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  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,004 Member
    One of my New Year’s resolutions; to try a different type of chocolate every week. 😀

    And not just different flavours of Lindt’s dark chocolate - as that would be easy.

    I prefer dark choc over sweet milk chocolate but I’m willing to suffer in my quest to meet my resolution. I’ll report back!

    You’ve never been to the Lindt factory outlet, have you.

    OMG. 😱😱😱😱

    Dragonfruit. Strawberry and black pepper.

    It’s like World of Coke here, where at the end you get to try flavors from around the world. But in chocolate outlet store form.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,743 Member
    One of my New Year’s resolutions; to try a different type of chocolate every week. 😀

    And not just different flavours of Lindt’s dark chocolate - as that would be easy.

    I prefer dark choc over sweet milk chocolate but I’m willing to suffer in my quest to meet my resolution. I’ll report back!

    You’ve never been to the Lindt factory outlet, have you.

    OMG. 😱😱😱😱

    Dragonfruit. Strawberry and black pepper.

    It’s like World of Coke here, where at the end you get to try flavors from around the world. But in chocolate outlet store form.
    Ohhh wow - where is that? I need to go!!
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,004 Member
    One of my New Year’s resolutions; to try a different type of chocolate every week. 😀

    And not just different flavours of Lindt’s dark chocolate - as that would be easy.

    I prefer dark choc over sweet milk chocolate but I’m willing to suffer in my quest to meet my resolution. I’ll report back!

    You’ve never been to the Lindt factory outlet, have you.

    OMG. 😱😱😱😱

    Dragonfruit. Strawberry and black pepper.

    It’s like World of Coke here, where at the end you get to try flavors from around the world. But in chocolate outlet store form.
    Ohhh wow - where is that? I need to go!!

    There’s several in continental Europe. The one we went to was about a mile or two outside Aachen Centrum. If you happen to go to Aachen, the cathedral is magnificent. Tiled head to toe in gilded mosaic. Like walking into a jewelry box. And the Treasury is simply astonishing. First time I’ve ever been in a building where the entire building was a vault. Bring an extra bag or carry-on for the Lindt outlet.
    Btw we went to the Lindt outlet in Stuttgart and it was nothing like the wild selection in Aachen, which is attached to the plant.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,190 Member
    I wasn't sure whether to put this on the produce thread or the chocolate thread, because it's both. And for some who are in those threads as their mainstream direction, they might object to this. (That's not a diss. It's an admission that I know my tastes can be . . . atypical.)

    I bought these at Costco yesterday, have eaten a few, and found them quite delightful. They aren't very sweet at all, which - in this context - is a feature to me, not a bug. Often chocolate-coated fruits have the fruits all sugared-up to taste harmonious with the chocolate. Sometimes - often - they don't even taste like the fruit. Here, they seem to have kept the chocolate very dark, not so sweet, to make the chocolate IMO about the same sweetness as the figs. It even seems like decent chocolate. I like it. They're not big, but jeez . . . 23 calories per piece?!? I'm in. :yum:

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    Apologies for the glare and bag-curvature in the photos: This was the best snap I could get with my phone.

    I admit I'm LOL-ing a little about the paleo certification. I'm sure paleolithic people had chocolate covered ground figs. ;)
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,454 Member
    These were awesome Ann! I think I got a good 8 bags last year (I initially started to type 6 but I bought two at least twice and three at least once so there's no way I didn't buy at least 8!)... but I don't recall seeing them this side of back to school. I wonder if they're back!
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,004 Member
    I heard a radio interview with a local chocolatier talking about the five different kinds of chocolate: dark, milk, white, red and gold.

    He says no one does red or gold in the US but it’s common in Europe.

    You can bet what’s going on my To-Do list for when we go.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,975 Member
    edited February 8
    Gold is new to me. I know about red (ruby) chocolate but its rare and hard to find in regular shops, mostly for professional kitchens and in specialist shops. And I'm in Belgium, chocolate country!.

    I think your local chocolatier is overstating things a little saying they're 'common' 🙃
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,743 Member
    I’ve just bought some ruby chocolate to make my truffles. I’ve never tried it before, it has a lovely gloss and snap and a slightly piquant flavour. I used it to coat some 70% single origin truffles and it was yummy. Will be experimenting more!
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,004 Member
    @Lietchi Red supposedly has raspberry notes, gold has caramel notes.

    One of my best travel memories is being at the market in Brugge the week before Easter and sampling all the Easter candies. I especially liked the little sugar “fried eggs”. So different than the USA. Made us feel bland and Hershey’s boring.

    I’m hoping to get to a different Lindt factory in the next few weeks and see if I can grab some more crazy flavors. The dragonfruit was good, as was the strawberry pepper. But the white chocolate yogurt lime was over the moon.

    I not bringing a bundle of Milka Maxx Triolade back this time. I need to put post-it notes saying that inside my suitcase.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,454 Member
    edited February 8
    I'm a contrarian. I've got to say that the three times I tried ruby.... It did nothing for my little light bulbs. Admittedly I didn't get particularly super high end ruby or anything. I think one was the president choice "imported from France" bar version, and the other two were purdy's and peace by chocolate.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,004 Member
    But you got to try them. What is life without new experiences, and, potentially, the next wonderful chocolate just beyond the horizon? 😇


    Good grief, now I’m craving chocolate.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,975 Member
    @springlering62 not having a sense of smell, my experience of food is different from most people (I'm guessing), but I did like the ruby chocolate, tasted fruity!
    As a proper Belgian, I can't condone Lindt 😆 Callebaut, that's the one for me (for pure chocolate, pellets for cooking for example) and they are the ones that developed ruby chocolate!
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,743 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    @springlering62 not having a sense of smell, my experience of food is different from most people (I'm guessing), but I did like the ruby chocolate, tasted fruity!
    As a proper Belgian, I can't condone Lindt 😆 Callebaut, that's the one for me (for pure chocolate, pellets for cooking for example) and they are the ones that developed ruby chocolate!

    Callebaut is what I use to make my truffles - didn’t realise it was Belgian but it is amazing 🤤
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,190 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    @springlering62 not having a sense of smell, my experience of food is different from most people (I'm guessing), but I did like the ruby chocolate, tasted fruity!
    As a proper Belgian, I can't condone Lindt 😆 Callebaut, that's the one for me (for pure chocolate, pellets for cooking for example) and they are the ones that developed ruby chocolate!

    I didn't realize that was going on for you, too, @Lietchi. I seem to have anosmia from the recent head injury, trying olfactory training to see if it may help.

    I haven't had ruby or gold chocolate, don't even recall hearing of them, but I'm intrigued.

    As an aside, a local craft brew pub is having a chocolate/beer pairing tasting event tomorrow, with chocolates from a good shop in our greater metro, Fabiano's. I ran into one of the owners in the farmers market bread line Wednesday, and she said they'd be sampling a range of beers with chocolate, not just the stouts and other darks as I'd imagined. I was tempted, but I've been 100% off alcohol since the beginning of November because of the injury, or maybe more because of the steady diet of acetaminophen it was entailing for a long time. I'm down to rare acetaminophen now, thankfully, but think it's probably a good plan to stay AF for a while more, since they tell me the bone part of this will take months to a couple of years to fully heal. :|

    I'm not a fan of stouts, mostly, but had an opportunity to pair some with chocolate at a giant chocolate party the university museum here used to hold as a fundraiser. Yum.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,975 Member
    @AnnPT77 I'm sorry to hear that! I was born this way, so I have no idea what I'm missing, but for people who lose their sense of smell the impact on their food experience can be significant. Definitely give smell training a try, I've heard good things.
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 645 Member
    My chocolate go to’s:
    1) chocolate protein shake :
    1 scoop lean fit chocolate protein powder
    2tbsp ground flax
    1 tsp cocoa
    1/2 a ripe frozen banana
    3 or 4 ice cubes
    Some water
    Optional 10 peanuts or a tablespoon of peanut butter
    Optional or instead of flax - 1tbsp chia seeds
    Blend in a food blender
    It is like a chocolate milk shake

    2) Lindt chocolate 70% or higher. My absolute favourites are the Chili and the Orange.

    3) Total indulgence — Giradelli triple chocolate brownie. Won’t lose weight during a week my husband makes these, but I do put them in my food diary and save calories for them, so that I don’t gain.