I have written and raved before about Menz Fruchocs– an institution as well as an addiction. News! The have an on-line shop, so desperate South Oz expats can get their fix – for a no-doubt suitable shipping fee. But even better, the nice chaps at Robern Menz have added to the stable – with Turkish Delight.
Time for a confession. I quite like Turkish Delight. Even the cheap simple stuff like Fry’s, as to be found in miniature form in various Cadbury selection boxes. Or the non-chocolatey stuff from Haighs. Or the … OK, you get the drift.
So, finding Menz had Turkish Delight came as a pleasant surprise indeed. As usual, the packaging is not classy – just a plastic bag you will find in a supermarket. The insides of the bag are what counts, and count this one does.
They obviously use a similar manufacturing process as the Fruchocs, because these are also little round balls of heaven – amazingly consistent in size and shape. Each is about ½ inch (roughly 1 cm) diameter – not perfectly formed, looking a bit like the common chocolate sultanas you can get anywhere – and which I can scarf down by the handful, but that’s another story.
So what’s to like? The chocolate is milk, fairly sweet and very moreish, and there is a very generous amount of it. The Turkish Delight centre isn’t squelchy or excessively sticky – it packs a whacking punch of the rosewater flavour. And each little ball is just the right size to ensure you can’t stop at one. Or two. Or ten.
And what’s to not like? Only one thing – the bag isn’t big enough.
Now fortunately for me, the rest of the family don’t like Turkish Delight much – which makes more for me! I took great pains to eat these slowly – over a period of, oh, about 10 minutes. Not really – I made them last a couple of days. But, I did have a terrible accident. I started eating – just to get a taste – and before I knew it I had a disaster on my hands. I’d polished all but three or four before taking a photo. That’s why the bag looks flat in the picture. Oops.
As the LOLCATs might say: “Oh noes – bag iz empty cos I did eated dem.”
More strange-but-true chocoincidence as I found myself at work on the King’s Road a little while ago – right opposite Rococo’s shop. I thought I’d pop in and say hello, with a view to maybe catching up with owner Chantal Coady. I didn’t get to see Chantal but I was greeted by a very charming, helpful and also knowledgable member of staff. What turned into a brief visit became a long chat, as we were joined by another member of staff who had been working downstairs. I was both surprised and delighted to hear the phrase “I’ve got something special here just for people like you.” and a large plastic box was produced. It transpired that their Chocolatier had recently created a batch of new chocolates, and hey were ‘test driving’ them. How delightfully fortuitous!
So, here we have half a dozen Rococo chocolates which you may or may not be able to buy in the near future.
My first was this milk chocolate disc, adorned with a light sweep of gold. I had been told that it was a chestnut chocolate but I had no idea what was inside.
It turned out that the filling was a combination of a chestnut flavoured jelly layer topped with a full-flavoured, milk chocolate. It was smooth, sweet and tangy with a full, rounded set of flavours from both chocolate and chestnut. Similar to but way beyond caramel, I thought it was a great balance of flavours.
Next up was a Fig chocolate.
Another chocolate with two layers. A nutty praline filling complimented the (surprisingly powerful) fig perfectly. I really did enjoy it a lot, and I was a little surprised to find such a small piece of fig giving out so much flavour.
This rather attractive dark chocolate was home to some fruitiness.
More liquid (and much lighter on the palate) than jam, the jelly filling packed a light, fragrant flavour. I believe quince was mentioned in the shop, but nobody was too sure. It definitely had a soft sweetness to it, not the more tart flavours one normally associated with berries. The dark chocolate had great texture and just the right degree of bitterness before the sweeter flavours blended into the overall taste.
I stayed with the dark chocolates for the next one – a coconut ganache.
I really liked the look of this one. That coconut layer seemed to promise soft, lush flavours. It didn’t disappoint – creamy and whisper light, it held tiny fragments of coconut and when it blended with the chocolate in the base my mouth was treated to one of the best coconut/chocolate pairings I think I’ve ever had. A definite winner.
Number five was a Sour Cherry chocolate, and cutting it turned out not to have been the best idea. Luckily I was cautious and avoided disaster.
A sticky, tart, filling bursting with cherry fruit flavours and not a hint of perfume – lovely. Just the right balance of tart and sweet to prevent any nose-wrinkling, and a great pairing with the thin, rich dark chocolate. The cherry filling seems to echo the darker, burnt notes of the chocolate, and once the filling has dissolved away the remaining chocolate provides a lovely cocoa finish.
My final treat was a truffle truffle. Yes, someone has had a go at combining the earthy, rooty taste of everyone’s favourite posh fungus with premium chocolate. I was intrigued – another first was about to happen.
The centre was dark and dense, and did indeed deliver an earthy, dusky truffle flavour along with the rich, dark cocoa flavours. This was one of those truffles that just evaporate slowly, spreading their flavours all over your mouth before slipping away, light as a feather. Once I’d finished enjoying the dark chocolate shell (bittersweet, rich, tangy cocoa) I was left with a slightly earthy, root-like aftertaste mingled with the chocolate. It was unusual; not unpleasant, but there again most definitely not to every taste. It’s one of those adventurous chocolates that might be around for a while then disappear, or become an occasional rarity. Either way, worth a try, but you wouldn’t but a dozen to take home all at once.
This is my first encounter with Rococo’s fresh chocolates, and I have to say I am suitably impressed. With almost a quarter of a century, it’s obvious that Chantal Coady and her team are well practiced in the art of producing fine quality chocolates. My only regret is that it’s taken me this long to be able to sample some of them. I’ll be interested to see which of these make it out into the shops as well.
This fall, Valrhona launched their online shop in the U.S.; I’ve received a sampling of what you can find there. All very welcome to me as I’ve only had Valrhona once. First up are these three Estate Grown bars, all 64% cacao.
The Palmira from Venezuela Simon already reviewed. Very soft tasting with lots of honey flavor. I had that moment of rebellion with it when I didn’t want to slide the rest back into its box to move on to the next bar.
Which would be the Ampamakia, made with beans from Madagascar. This one is more rich and deep, still with fruitiness. It’s stronger in taste. It melts just beautifully; it reminds me of a foamy lather.
Third is the Gran Couva in a light cream box. Its origin is Trinidad. I thought it had the most robust-looking color out of the three, just a bit deeper. It was also my favorite out of them. Still gentle and chocolatey at the low 64%, its chocolate flavors are more earthy. It’s a bit grittier than pretty. Even all at the same cacao percentage, the bars keep up their individuality: soft and sweet, deep cocoa and fruit, and earthy. All nicely done, as well.
Then we have two flavored bars. I’ll be reviewing the plain Grand Crus separately, so I won’t go into too much detail about the chocolate itself until then.
The Manjari Orange just happens to be another 64%, with “orange flavored nuggets.” Lovely ingredients for those: sugar, orange puree, apple, pineapple fibers, thickener, acidity regulator, and natural flavor. Okay. That list doesn’t encourage me: I can never “get” chocolate and orange together. The orange taste here is fairly throughout the chocolate, which seems just at the right level to go along with it. It’s a sweeter taste when you get to those sugary orange/apple/pineapple bits, which have too much of a jelly candy taste. As orange chocolates go, though, I suppose it’s pleasant, mostly because the chocolate is so good. But I’m waiting for someone to win me over to the chocolate/orange idea, and it hasn’t happened yet.
On the other hand, the Guanja Grue I do very much like. It’s a 70% dark chocolate with nibs. Lots of them. there are plenty of nut chocolates that have less nuts than this bar has nibs. They’re flavorful, too, with their wonderful blueberry taste. Their flavors combine seamlessly with the chocolate, making it difficult to say how much each is contributing. Usually nibs have a much sparser presence; I’m really enjoying the command they have here. You can get the sophisticated flavors while still casually crunching your chocolate. I don’t feel wasteful chewing it this time, either, since I have a whole other plain bar waiting for me. All in all, a great showing from Valrhona.
I was very pleased to have a visit from some friends who had recently been to Australia and Singapore, and they were kind enough to source me a few items for us to try together after dinner. From Australia, this ‘Rocklea Road’ is made by Darrell Lea, a family owned company who have been producing confectionery for over eighty years.
The ‘bar’ (it’s considerably more than a bar, more like a tray full) is made up of a peanut and toasted coconut base topped with ridiculously large, fluffy, sticky marshmallows which are then toped off with a milk chocolate that containes 29% cocoa slolids.
Just have a look at this.
Now unless you have a peanut allergy, hate coconut or cannot abide anything sweet (in which case, why are you reading Chocablog?) you’re probably wishing you had a piece of this next to you right now, especially if it’s a little before lunchtime and you’re reading this because you’re bored. I can think of several people who are going to be monstering this up for me very soon.
Taste wise, the base is rather good. The toasted coconut is plentiful, and so are the peanuts. In fact the whole thing is plentiful. It’s almost cartoon like in it’s over-the-topness. The sort of ludicrously large treat a comic book character tucks into at the end of an episode. Personally, I’m somewhat on the fence when it comes to whole peanuts and chocolate. I just think there are better nuts to partner chocolate. What inevitably happens is that you get through the sweet, gooey marshmallow and nibble you way through the coconut and chocolate base (which is almost biscuit-like) and then end up with a bit of chocolate and a mouthful of very bland peanuts. It’s almost like having to atone for all the fun you just had by eating something healthy straight afterwards.
Having said that, I did rather enjoy the piece I had, and not just for the wow factor. I couldn’t ever see myself eating this again (in fact I pretty much know where it’s going to end up) but as I said, there are plenty of people who would take one look at this and want it – all.
Darrell Lea have a very informative web site which also contains useful, informative and responsible information regarding nutrition. In fact, the company seen to be leading the way, with involvement in community projects, environmental awareness, and even supporting a wildlife charity. I get the impression that the family that runs the company are working hard to ensure they pay back into the wider community in a big way. They’ve also won a lot of awards and medals for their products.
Unfortunately not available in the UK as far as I’m aware. It would make a fantastic centrepiece for a child’s party or great sleepover munchies. I’m sure Aussie kids love ’em.
