My sister-in-law came visiting today, and knowing my interest in things chocolatey she brought a curiosity along. This came from a friend of hers who recently came back from Japan. Naturally, we all thought this was Japanese. It wasn’t until I went researching the web site on the back of the pack that I found this actually comes from Korea.
The pack says, and has pictures indicating, that it is Black Garlic enrobed in chocolate. Until today, I’d never heard of Black Garlic. A quick Google search shows it is quite well known. It seems that Black Garlic is made by fermenting normal garlic in some kind of special magical patented process. And it’s claimed to be very different to normal garlic, without the odour, effect on your breath and so on. More digging reveals that this is a relatively recent product, without the “long history” sometimes claimed. In Korea it is thought of as a health food.
In spite of all this new knowledge, coating it in chocolate does seem a little strange.
Looking inside reveals a black sticky mass that has little odour, and has a slight resemblance to perhaps a sticky fig, or something else dark and very slightly gooey. The ultimate test, though, is taste. And this is pretty strange. The chocolate is really inconsequential. It is swept aside by the insides – the black garlic; which has only a very slightly garlic flavour. The taste is strange, and hard to describe. For me it was a bit like a combination of liquorice, molasses, a hint of garlic, something spicey (but I can’t pick which spice) and something I can’t place but is altogether just weird. Whilst not overpowering, the flavour is very rich and lingers for a long, long time after.
I can’t say this was an unpleasant experience, but nor was it particularly pleasant. I could manage 2 little “chocoballs” and that was more than enough. Had I the task of polishing off the packet, I don’t think I could manage it. However, some of our other lunch guests were brave enough to try and found them quite agreeable; which just goes to show how we are all different. Should you come across these in your travels, buy some as a curiosity to try out on friends and family. Expect a mixed reaction.
And if anybody can translate the Korean on the back of the back, please add comments so we know what it says!
This tiny little massive box of chocolates was a small part of the goody bag we received at the Hotel Chocolat Christmas launch back in July, but has only just gone on sale. It looks like there have been a couple of minor alterations to the final product, but nothing too extensive.
This 570g box contains 15 different kinds of chocolates (46 chocolates in all), and it’s my sworn duty to eat every one in order to give you a full and balanced opinion.
Dark Liquid Caramel
A small lightly salted caramel dome with a nice, thin liquid caramel. Not bad, but slightly too sweet for my liking. Not a patch on the handmade offerings of Paul A. Young or William Curley.
Rum Liquid Caramel
Similar to the salted caramel above, but with St. Lucian rum folded into the caramel. Again, not bad, but the sweetness of the caramel combined with the alcohol end up tasting a little too much like cough medicine to be great.
5 Second Chilli
A large dark chocolate square filled with soft praline and chilli. This is more interesting, but if anything suffers from the opposite problem from the rum caramel – a lack of dominant flavours means this chocolate is mainly about the texture and subtle heat. Interesting though, as I think this is the first time I’ve had praline and chilli together.
Gianduja Bombe
We’ve talked bout Hotel Chocolat Gianduja before. This time it’s covered in dark chocolate and rolled in brown sugar, makes it even better. Delicious.
Gin ‘n Tonic
This was probably the first time I’ve had a ganache with gin in it, and I liked it very much. The juniper flavours are very evident, without being overpowering. Didn’t taste much tonic though…
Champagne Truffle
A dark chocolate ganache with Marc de Champagne. Subtle flavours and not too sweet or alcoholic make this one of the nicer Marc de Champagne truffles I’ve tried lately.
Saint Lucian Rum Ganache
I’m not the biggest fan of rum in chocolate, but this is done in quite a subtle way and I ended up enjoying it a lot. As with the other alcoholic chocolates in this collection, it’s never overpowering and more about the subtle flavours than the alcohol hit.
Dark Praline
The same praline as the 5 Second Chilli chocolate above. Nice enough, but a little bland.
Single Malt Smoothie
A ganache made with single malt whiskey – apparently. It tastes more of tobacco and leather than whiskey though. It’s certainly interesting, but definitely not for me. Easily my least favourite of the collection.
Isabelle
A praline square topped with honey and almond florentine. That makes all the difference to this praline, adding both flavour and texture. I enjoyed this one.
Almond and Orange Crunch
A large square of solid dark chocolate with whole almonds and crystallised orange. Nice, but not really my thing. A little too many nuts for me.
Dark Chocolate Brownie
Another praline here, but this one has a little bit of a crunch to add interest to the texture. Again, nice, but not spectacular, and it doesn’t really compare to a real brownie!
Pistachio Crunch
Similar to the almond & orange crunch – a solid block of chocolate with whole nuts in it. Quality ingredients, but it’s not really my thing.
65% Dark Intense Praline
Made with cocoa from Hotel Chocolat’s Rabot Estate and Piedmont hazelnuts, this is a more interesting praline that the others. The chocolate is sweeter and fruitier and has much more depth than the standard dark praline. Very nice.
90% Extreme Praline
The final praline is another step up, going all the way to a 90% Hacienda Iara chocolate shell. This is particularly interesting when compared directly to the 65% version. It has a drier finish, and isn’t as sweet as the 65% praline, but the fruitiness is still there. Probably not a chocolate I’d want to eat a lot of, but there’s only two in this box, and it’s a great way to finish the collection.
And there you have it – a quality collection of dark chocolates, although I’m sure that not all of them will appeal to everyone. But with a box this size, you’re never going to eat it alone, so there should be something for everyone here.
As this little tin had been sitting in my chocolate stash for quite a while, I decided it was time to finally approach it. When I first saw it, I assumed it to be made by the Tabasco hot sauce company itself. Cases like this can be interesting: you’re usually guaranteed to get a good showcase of the product, but the setting (here, chocolate) often comes up short since it isn’t what the company normally deals with. A look at the back, however, reveals that this is in fact made by old friends The Chocolate Traveler, whom I had mixed feelings about last year.
Given their branching into the flavors of different regions, it’s fitting for them to take on a Tabasco chocolate. (Not to say that Tabasco sauce is limited to a certain region — it’s just one of those bold flavors that speaks for itself).
The format is the same as before: eight wedges of chocolate inside a circular tin. Reaching for the first piece, I half-expected the flavor to have mellowed out during the time I’d had it waiting. The surface is just barely starting to bloom, but otherwise looks fine; only tasting would tell if my sample was good anymore.
The Tabasco flavor starts warming and pinching your taste buds slowly until it hits you in full. The difference from other spiced chocolates I’ve had is that at the same time the extreme of spice gets to you, so does the peak of chocolate flavor. That’s kind of awesome. It is a strong spice (a bit above average, I’d say), but not overwhelming given that the chocolate is also there. It is, however, still too hot for me to particularly enjoy munching on; not being overly fond of the sugary dark chocolate itself doesn’t help.
For those who adore Tabasco sauce (and I know it has many devoted followers), it’s perfect, quite well-executed. I wouldn’t recommend it for those who can’t take much spice, but then, you can already tell that from a Tabasco-logo-emblazoned tin you have to look twice at to realize it’s chocolate.
This weekend saw the highlight of Chocolate Week, the Chocolate Unwrapped show at Vinopolis in the heart of London’s foodie district.
There were exhibitors large and small, from Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons to Matcha Chocolat and Nicky Grant.
Our favourite chocolate-enrobed-cake company, Lucky’s had a stand that could only be described as ‘a bit bonkers’, while Patchi injected some of their own middle eastern style into the stand directly opposite.
Throughout the day, there were talks from the likes of Paul A. Young, Thorntons’ Keith Hurdman and Hotel Chocolat’s Angus Thirlwell. There was a great turnout, and enough to keep visitors fed and entertained for a good couple of hours. Me? I stayed for six.
I’m told next year’s event is going to be even bigger, occupying another room at Vinopolis, but if you can’t wait that long, enjoy our short video and photo gallery.
A fitting conclusion to an amazing Chocolate Week!
Photo Gallery
