Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate tasting

The estimable Eatchicago and his bride, the lovely Petit Pois, invited a number of people over for a chocolate tasting last weekend, featuring whatever chocolates each of us had found around town. I had planned that night to attend a dinner of baked chicken and steamed vegetables in honor of Walter "Tubby" Eddemeyer, past president of the Anodized Flange Manufacturers Association, but decided that gorging myself on chocolate was, on the whole, preferable. Here, in a scene straight out of Scarface, Eatchicago and associates prepare the chocolate for tasting:



Chocolate tasting was tougher than many of us anticipated. The issue was the percentage of cocoa-- the more cocoa and the less sugar, the more bitter the chocolate. That's great up to a point but beyond that point, it's like eating burnt rubber. Bizarrely, makers seem to be engaged in a kind of arms race to display higher and higher numbers even when the results are inedible-- as inedible as the raw cocoa nibs which Scharffen Berger sells, for some unfathomable reason:



Some chocolates were as sugary and eager to please as a waterfront floozy, others as bitter as a three-time divorcee, but either way one had to try to taste past the initial flavor and get a sense of the actual chocolate character. Blanxart is a Spanish chocolate sold at Sur La Table (and brought by me), tasted surprisingly milky for a dark chocolate. Caillebaut is a Belgian maker with a shop in Glenview, admirably well-rounded flavor like you expect from Belgian chocolate.



New Tree Pleasure/Indulgence/Extase was, like its name, weird and off-putting:



This Michel Cluizel chocolate seemed to be everyone's choice for the one with the most complexity and interest-- the comparison with wine on the labeling was not far-fetched. The one next to it with cocoa nibs (eclats de feves) was icky, though.



As was the 85% Lindt-- too dang high a percentage of cocoa. The Wedel, on the other hand, was almost too eager to please-- Vital Info brought several Eastern European chocolates and I instantly recognized this as one of them from its likable, but slightly thin and oversweet, flavor.



I also brought this Tanzanian chocolate, one of a whole line of fair tradeish coffees on sale at Whole Foods. A little harsh and one-dimensional. Somebody also brought a whole stash of vintage candies. I brought home an Idaho Spud for the kids. It's potato-free, thankfully, but just as bizarrely, it's filled with coffee-flavored marshmallow.



There was far more chocolate than we could taste in one night, and we were encouraged to take some with us. I snagged one of the Cluizel bars... and it slid out of my coat pocket in Cathy2's car. I hope she enjoyed it.



Thanks, Michael and Cookie, for a great idea and a fun event.

The event looks like fun -- and the write-up is fabulous. I loved the similes, and the descriptions of the chocolate. Thanks.

Mike G wrote:I snagged one of the Cluizel bars... and it slid out of my coat pocket in Cathy2's car. I hope she enjoyed it.

I only found it only this evening. I almost missed it. I had a small piece, which I found very satisfying. I was not tempted to snarf down the whole bar all at once, which was fine with me.



My overall favorite was the Suisse bittersweet. While it was high in chocolate content at 70%, it did not hit a bitter or oversweet note. In my estimate it was the smoothest tasting of the lot.

Some high content chocolate bars were simply suitable for baking and not eating out of hand. Yet marketed for out of hand eating, which just seemed like mislabeling.

Again, thank you Michael and PetitPois for an well conceived and interesting evening.

Regards,

I'm glad that others took pictures and had the wherewithal to post.

The chocolate tasting was fun (I wish I could have invited all of LTHForum). We had so much chocolate that it was completely impossible to taste all of them (there are almost 8 lbs. in assorted bars and chips leftover at our house).

I am an unabashed fan of dark chocolates, but I found the Michel Cluizel 50% chocolate to be among the best simple eating chocolate that I've ever tasted. It combined the creamy mouthfeel of a milk chocolate and the interesting complexity of a high-quality dark chocolate in a perfect balance.

The tasting also gave me the opportunity to explore interesting food, wine, and beer pairings with dark chocolate.

My favorite pairing with chocolate is a simple french baguette, and I believe there is no better in the city than Fox & Obel's. (In the center of Mike G's first photo, you see a bowl of hunks of baguette--and a jar of Nutella in the background).

Also, some cheeses and fruits balanced and cut the bitterness of the dark chocolates. Some small plums, halved, dusted with cinnamon-sugar, and lightly roasted brought a nice sweet-tartness to the party.

As far as beer and wine go, we enjoyed some classic wine pairings as well as a couple of rose champagnes, as recommended by PIGMON. The most interesting potable accompaniment for me was a Belgian sour cherry beer (non-lambic).

Thanks to everyone who came and brought chocolate and made the tasting a success. I apologize to those who brought chocolate that didn't make it into the tasting. The crushing weight of nearly 20 lbs. of chocolate was simply too much to manage.

Finally, thanks to Gypsy Boy, whose olive oil tasting inspired this idea. I encourage others to try and throw a tasting of their own. They're quite fun.

Best,
Michael

For my birthday, I recieved a great book called Tasting Club by Dina Cheney. Each chapter goes through the history of several kinds of foods and then goes through the procedure to taste them. It includes recipes for accompaniments and desserts. The chapters include everything from beer to cured meats. Its a great guide for beginners. I can't wait to try out some of the chapters.

The chocolate tasting was awesome! I (correctly) figured that everyone would be bringing some serious chocolate for tasting (I brought a couple of fancy imported bars myself). What I thought would be missing were some frivolous candies. A fortuitous trip to the hinterlands of Algonquin revealed a treasure trove of chocolate from foreign lands and times gone by, hi Sweetie. hi Sweetie is a shop featuring oddball and hard to find candies from all over the place. The walls are filled with shelves of sweets, each one odder than the next. Although there were all types of candies, there was an abundance of chocolate to be had.

hi Sweetie's Wall-O-Treats (one of 3)


The shop is presided over by its enthusiastic force-of-nature owner, Pamela Johnsen. Pamela told me that in addition to the candies of the world, they are working on a full line of chocolates that she will be making in house.

Pamela Johnsen, Enthusiastic Owner


When I told Pamela that I was buying all the candy for a chocolate tasting, she was very excited about the idea and proceeded to run around the store, like a whirling dervish, dropping special treats into my bag that she thought should be included in the festivities. I felt like a kid at Halloween hitting the jackpot at the nice neighbor's house.

Some time back, there was a thread about Tang and other astronaut related goodies. I spied a box of Space Food Sticks on my way out, for all you orbital candy fans.

Space Food Sticks


hi Sweetie
122 S. Main St.
Algonquin, IL
847-458-9898

My invitation to this event must have been lost in the mail. But in an unrelated tasting when a food-loving friend was in town, I got to sample some unique chocolates, some of which she picked up at the vast chocolate wall at Hannah's Bretzel. The most interesting one, perhaps, was a sheep's-milk chocolate bar from Chocol-lini, but we all agreed it tasted rather like Hershey's.

Hannah's Bretzel
180 Washington St.
Chicago
312/621-1111

If anyone hasn't had enought chocolate talk yet, tonight at 9:00 P.M. on The History Channel, American Eats is showing an episode on Chocolate.

eatchicago wrote:I am an unabashed fan of dark chocolates, but I found the Michel Cluizel 50% chocolate to be among the best simple eating chocolate that I've ever tasted. It combined the creamy mouthfeel of a milk chocolate and the interesting complexity of a high-quality dark chocolate in a perfect balance.

I couldn't agree more with this comment, Michael.

eatchicago wrote:As far as beer and wine go, we enjoyed some classic wine pairings as well as a couple of rose champagnes, as recommended by PIGMON. The most interesting potable accompaniment for me was a Belgian sour cherry beer (non-lambic).

For me, the classic pairing of Port (Smith Woodhouse 1992 vintage) with chocolate was the highlight of the night.

PIGMON wrote:For me, the classic pairing of Port (Smith Woodhouse 1992 vintage) with chocolate was the highlight of the night.

Alas, dear Piggie, you err.
The port, though a wonderful pair
Was light years by far
Behind the night’s star:
Jill’s bundt cake blew everything else away.

I mean it. That sour cream chocolate bundt cake was ethereal…perfection expressed in tangible form, a faultless eternal verity compounded in equal measure of dreams and chocolate. In a word, Plato’s ideal confection.

The evening was fun, instructive, and fattening. What more could anyone ask? Most sincere thanks to Michael and Jill, generous and excellent hosts. The selection of chocolates was outdone only by their beverage and accompaniment selection.

P.S. Pigmon is, of course, quite correct. The ports, plural, made abundantly clear just why, in fact, they are so often considered the “perfect pairing,” though I must confess admiration for the dry rose champagne someone recommended as well. Not better than the port as a match, but quite different. And, in its way, a superb complement to the "heaviness" and sweetness of the chocolate.

Gypsy Boy wrote:I mean it. That sour cream chocolate bundt cake was ethereal…perfection expressed in tangible form, a faultless eternal verity compounded in equal measure of dreams and chocolate. In a word, Plato’s ideal confection.

I could not agree more. I dream about this cake.

The chocolate sour cream bundt cake that Gypsy Boy speaks of is a Cook's Illustrated recipe from January 2004 issue. It is my favorite cake that my wife bakes and one of the finest Cook's Illustrated recipes that I've tasted.

The secrets to success in this recipe are a double-dose of chocolate (natural cocoa and high quality melted bittersweet chocolate), a teaspoon of espresso powder for depth of flavor, and sour cream and brown sugar for moisture. I've noticed that Cook's Illustrated heavily favors the cocoa + melted chocolate approach to baking, which always ensures a hearty chocolate flavor in the final product.

Since the recipe is a "subscription-only" copyrighted publication, I cannot publish it here. If you are not a Cook's Illustrated subscriber, I would highly recommend their online subscription for $25/year which gives you full access to their archive, including full text of all the issues.


It looks innocent, but it's far from it.

Best,
Michael

My apologies for failing to mention the cake, which is indeed as wonderful as advertised.

Was the Smith Woodhouse the first port opened? Because I thought the first was far, far better and more interesting than the second.

Mike G wrote:Was the Smith Woodhouse the first port opened? Because I thought the first was far, far better and more interesting than the second.

Mike,

The Smith Woodhouse was first, second was a Warre's Optima 10 year Tawny, a very nice port in and of itself. Though I agree on both points, the Smith Woodhouse was a terrific match for chocolate and the bundt cake rocked.

Enjoy,
Gary

For me, the classic pairing of Port (Smith Woodhouse 1992 vintage) with chocolate was the highlight of the night.

aside from the joys of port and chocolate, too many people assume that coffee is the right drink to have with chocolate, when, i believe, tea makes a much, much better pairing with chocolate.

justjoan wrote:

For me, the classic pairing of Port (Smith Woodhouse 1992 vintage) with chocolate was the highlight of the night.

aside from the joys of port and chocolate, too many people assume that coffee is the right drink to have with chocolate, when, i believe, tea makes a much, much better pairing with chocolate.

justjoan, I drink a lot of tea and some coffee and I must admit that I usually go for the coffee with chocoalate. Do you prefer tea because it isn't as overwhelming as coffee? I'd guess the type of tea would matter quite a bit -- I don't think you'd want a powerful Assam or Earl Grey with a subtle chocolate, and somehow green doesn't seem right.

David Hammond wrote:[]

justjoan, I drink a lot of tea and some coffee and I must admit that I usually go for the coffee with chocoalate. Do you prefer tea because it isn't as overwhelming as coffee? I'd guess the type of tea would matter quite a bit -- I don't think you'd want a powerful Assam or Earl Grey with a subtle chocolate, and somehow green doesn't seem right.

actually, david, i think earl grey works very well with chocolate, and any basic black tea like assam or english breakfast does as well. green tea, no. it does seem counterintuitive that tea, which is more delicate in nature than coffee (i think people would agree), would go better with chocolate, but i believe that's why the flavor of the chocolate can shine through. force yourself to sit with a cup of each beverage and a chunk of semi- or bittersweet chocolate and see if you agree with me. and post your opinion, please. i make a chocolate/earl grey 'tea' bread which is quite dandy. joan

Gypsy Boy wrote:Alas, dear Piggie, you err.
The port, though a wonderful pair
Was light years by far
Behind the night’s star:
Jill’s bundt cake blew everything else away.

I mean it. That sour cream chocolate bundt cake was ethereal…perfection expressed in tangible form, a faultless eternal verity compounded in equal measure of dreams and chocolate. In a word, Plato’s ideal confection.

I would totally agree with you that Jill's bundt cake was the highlight except for one small problem; you guys snarfed it up before I had a chance at it!
All kidding aside, I didn't try it this time because I was too busy stuffing myself with the huge assortment of chocolates. I did have the fortune of having Jill bake us one once and it was sensational.

The absolute highlight, for sure, for those who had it.