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

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

Recchiuti's Asphalt Jungle Mix

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