Bittersweet

Posted By Chelly on October 14, 2009

It is unusual when something comes along and without provocation or warning, changes your life. This happened to me with Wen Chocolates.

Several weeks ago, I was there on an unrelated errand and Chef Will was kind enough to send me out the door with a Pandora - a marzipan truffle infused with nutmeg and cinnamon.

I tend to not like marzipan. It always seems dry and crumbly and shaped and painted into something that is supposed to look like fruit. More of a dessert garnish than actually something you may want to eat.

When I finally got around to eating my Pandora, I was overcome by the combination of subtle flavors, the creamy texture and the delicate lily pad of dark chocolate it rested on. I noticed that my arms were covered with goosebumps and I think there were tears in my eyes. I’d never had anything like it. And the most surprising part was that I had expected not to like it and it turned out to be maybe the single best thing I’d ever eaten.

Chef Will Poole is a master chocolatier who creates European style chocolates infused with the most amazing flavors. He finds inspiration everywhere. A quick look around his shop gives you a hint – absinthe, spices, herbs, flowers, fruit and tea all make an appearance in his delicacies. In addition, you might find some other bit of wonderfulness he’s whipped up sitting on the shelf, simply because he found it growing in the garden and decided it looked interesting. Chef Will is a true Renaissance man – lucky for us.

When I had the opportunity to review a few more of Chef Will’s creations, I jumped at the chance. If the Pandora was any indication, I knew I would be in for a treat. And Chef Will didn’t let me down.

The truffles are all made by hand using fresh ingredients and natural aromatics.  The care he puts into them is obvious. They are beautiful, creamy and delicious, with an unusual complexity. I was surprised how subtle some of the flavors were, with remarkable lingering after tones that sneak up on you well after the chocolate has melted away.

The Violette is Wen’s signature truffle. It’s a lush dark chocolate round topped with tiny bits of candied violets. It has a floral aroma, but it has a definite flavor of black tea. 

The Rue Royal  was maybe the most surprising of the bunch. It’s based on the 1870 cocktail of the same name, and is made with bitters, rye whiskey and absinthe. The combination sounds like something children and decent ladies shoud avoid, but this gorgeous milk chocolate confection is simply lovely.

The dainty pink feathered streaks brushed into the shiny oval top belie the grownup taste hiding inside. The flavors play together beautifully to create a sophisticated, addictive treat. Buy these for someone you want to impress.  

The Molotov Pineapple  is a shiny oval of dark chocolate covered with swirled ribbons of yellow and red.  With a fruity flavor, it tastes first of rum. As the ganagche melts away, a spicy note appears around the edges, leaving a gentle lingering trail of pepper.

The Citrona looks like a tiny square dark chocolate cupcake topped with bits of candied citrus. It has a silky texture with flavors that sneak up on you. At first it’s all chocolate, but as the ganache center melts away, a whiff of citrus and floral tastes bubble up, leaving a sensation of champagne induced lightness. 

The Pear Hazelnut truffle is a beautiful green cone of milk chocolate topped with tiny chocolate sprinkles. It looks like the chocolate will snap when you bite into it, but instead it’s soft and creamy, with a delicate flavor of pears and chocolate hazelnut ganache. After a fleeting taste , it’s silky on the tongue as it melts away completely. 

Overall, if I had to come up with just one word to describe Wen Chocolates, it would have to be: complex. Subtle, surprising flavors enrobed in beautifully finished truffles make Wen a winner all the way around.

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Wen Chocolates: European infused truffles

Cost: $1.90 each. Also available in boxes sets.

Available locally in Denver or online at Wen Chocolates

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Posted By Chelly on September 1, 2009

You are no doubt familiar with Nutella, the obsessively good chocolate-hazelnut spread that has inspired a legion of followers so great that it now has its own feast day, World Nutella Day – celebrated on February 5th. Wonderful spread on bread, pressed between cookies or simply licked off a spoon dipped into the jar (Try it with peanut butter, you won’t be disappointed), Nutella is a the best known example of Italian Gianduja.

Gianduja (pronounced zahn-DOO-yah) is one of Italy’s Piedmont region’s most famous creations. In 1861, the Italian government increased the tax on cocoa beans, threatening the chocolatiers livlihood. The resourceful Torino chocolatiers responded to this outrage by experimenting with adding new ingredients in their chocolate to replace some of the chocolate mass. When hazelnuts were ground into a paste and added to the liquid chocolate, the chocolatiers knew they had stumbled upon something wonderful. Gianduja was born and there was much rejoycing in the Italian countryside.

Today’s Gianduja, a combination of hazelnut paste and milk chocolate  is one of Piedmont’s signature products, and is used in pralines, chocolate bars and is sold as Nutella and it’s many competitors.

The proper way to enjoy Gianduja is to put it into your mouth and simply let it melt across your tongue. As it warms and melts, the rich flavor of toasted hazelnuts fills your senses and send your thoughts skipping back to childhood and warm summer days.

So when I found Vosges Haut-Chocolat Gianduja Bar and read the description, Nuances of roasted and carmelized hazelnuts fill your palate followed by a crunch of chopped almonds and a long lingering creamy finish,  I was hooked. Doesn’t the description sound lovely? I contemplated Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s talent to paint mental pictures that make all of your senses stand up and take notice. 

As I unwrapped the Gianduja Bar, the earthy aroma of Nutella filled the room. Sweet chocolate and toasted hazelnuts swirled around me. I think I might have drooled a little bit (Sorry). At first glance, the bar is nothing special – light brown with a matte finish, that made a soft crack as I broke off a piece. The package speaks of “almonds, carmelized hazelnuts and deep milk chocolate”, so I was expecting pieces of almond and hazelnut, maybe a little bit salty, enrobed in a bed of sweet milk chocolate.   

So I was suprised when I put a small piece into my mouth and let it melt. As the chocolate slid over my tongue, I noticed that the bar isn’t sweet the way many milk chocolates can be. Instead it’s subtle, but aromatic and fragrant – the hazelnuts are the paste in the chocolate (the Gianduja), not distracting chunks in the bar. 

The way it feels in your mouth as it melts is almost more remarkable than the taste. It’s silky, with a creamy texture that begs you not to bite into it. As it melts away, you are left with a lingering sense of creaminess and a bit of almondy bitterness. 

Overall, a terrific surprise. If Nutella grew up and became an elegant chocolate bar, this would be it. It’s well worth the money.   

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Vosges Haut-Chocolat Gianduja Bar: Almonds, Carmelized hazelnuts and deep milk chocolate         

      Cost: .5oz MiniBar- $2.00 3oz Bar- $5.99

Available online from Vosges Haut-Chocolat

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Posted By Chelly on August 28, 2009

The Vosges Haut-Chocolat mission is to “create a luxury experience rooted in a sensory journey”. That really captures the essence of chocolate,doesn’t it?

Too often we get a piece of chocolate, rip off the wrapper in anticipation, stuff it into our mouths and sigh with bliss, before gobbling the rest up in two bites and licking the melted chocolate off of your fingers.

While I certainly understand the allure of eating your chocolate as quickly as possible (it is so amazingly good, after all), it is worth slowing down to appreciate really good chocolate’s finer points and the care that went into creating it.

And taking the time to experience chocolate with every one of your senses is the Vosges Haut-Chocolat message - Beginning with the box, which aims to help chocolate lovers make the most of the experience.

Start with deep breaths to bring you into the moment,  followed by an appreciation of the bar’s appearance. Inhale the subtle aromas, listen to the sound the bar makes when snapped apart and finally, let the chocolate slowly melt against the roof of your mouth to let the silky sensations wash over you. Mmmmmm…..

So it was with the idea of a ”luxury experience rooted in a sensory journey” that I picked up Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s Barcelona Bar. Deep milk chocolate melts into the mineral and sumptuous taste of sea salt and roasted almonds, reminiscent of Marcona, Spain.

The bar has the word “Ritual” embossed into the shiny, light brown surface, as one more reminder to be present for the  journey ahead. On the back, there are a number of small circles dancing across the bar, like Champagne bubbles pushing their way to the surface.  

Marcona, Spain’s signature products are fine dried fruit and nuts. Marcona almonds are large and flat with a richer, more intense flavor than ordinary almonds. In this tradition, the Barcelona Bar is fragrant with the aroma of vanilla and dried fruit.  

The Barcelona Bar is silky, soft, sweet and milky as it melts on the tongue, leaving crispy, crunchy almond bits and a hint of salt.

Overall: Vosges Haut-Chocolat Barcelona Bar is a high quality, silky bar and a good value for the money. Lovers of milk chocolate’s soft, sweet and melting qualities will be in heaven.

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Vosges Haut-Chocolat Barcelona Bar: Hickory smoked almonds, sea salt, deep (45%)  milk chocolate

Cost: .5oz Mini Bar – $2.00, 3oz Bar – $6.25

Available online from Vosges Haut-Chocolat

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Posted By Chelly on August 20, 2009

Several months ago, I had the pleasure of receiving a box of Recchiuti’s Asphalt Jungle Mix. It was such an unusual mix of sweet and salty flavors that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

Based in San Francisco, Michael Recchiuti’s chocolate company is built around the idea that  ”once you introduce people to truly exquisite chocolates they will be won over instantly and forever”. Well, if world domination is his mission, he’s clearly found the right medium.

Asphalt Jungle is described on the box as “a riot of burnt caramel hazelnuts and almonds, cherries two ways and peanut butter pearls.”   At first glance, the mixture is a jumble of shapes and textures – roundish, some shiny, some matte, with intriguing nooks and crannies. Sort of like an upscale Bridge Mix. It has an interesting combination of flavors. Each new piece reinvents the mix, daring you to choose a favorite.    

The individual pieces are difficult to determine at first glance, so just pick one and dive in.

Burnt Caramel Hazelnuts: The chocolate hazelnuts are roundish with a leathery, weathered  finish. Slight indentations still hold cocoa powder, as if the hazelnut had been rolled in it, but the powder had worn off in all but the creases. When you bite into them, they are salty amd crunchy with a light airy texture.  The chocolate is silky and complex. The taste of salty chocolate lingers long after the piece is gone.        

Burnt Caramel Almonds: The almonds are covered in dark chocolate and have the appearance and aroma of cocoa powder pressed into the chocolate. When you bite into them, the flavors unfold like a red carpet; first comes silky and bitter chocolate, then salty caramel, then bitter, almost tannic almonds, leaving the almond’s trademark taste tingling around the back of your tongue. 

Cherries Two Ways: The largest pieces in the mix, the cherries are as different as night and day. The first is a sweet candied cherry rolled in dark chocolate and cocoa powder. It’s dark with craters of powder, an fruity aroma and a bumpy matte finish. At first taste, the chocolate is bitter and dry, but the cherry is sweet, almost jammy, leaving a sweet tangy aftertaste. The second cherry is shiny with holes and looks like the fruit pieces in bridge mix. The chocolate is sweeter, silkier and more complex, and the cherry is sour, like you might find in a pie.

Peanut Butter Pearls: These small shiny milk chocolate bits are sweet and creamy with salty, crispy centers. As you bite into them, they are silky and chocolately, but then the peanut butter sneaks up and surprises you, leaving you with a lingering salty-sweet taste.

Overall: Asphalt Jungle is a little pricy ($12-15 for 6 oz.) but is surprisingly rich and decadent. It is an extravagant treat for any chocolate lover who revels in the new and unexpected. 

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Recchiuti Asphalt Jungle Mix: A riot of burnt caramel hazelnuts, and almonds, cherries two ways and peanut butter pearls. 6oz.   

Cost: $12-15

Related Products: Cherries Two Ways, Peanut Butter Pearls, Burnt Caramel Almonds, Burnt Caramel Hazelnuts

Available online at Recchiuti.com

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