It’s been a short while since I tackled anything a bit wacky, and a quick rummage through the inbox unearthed this little gem – a French dark chocolate bar (51% cocoa) containing Espelette Chilli pepper and Grapefruit.
I have already encountered the Espellette pepper in some of Stainer’s chocolate, so I was well aware that this might prove to be a bit on the fiery side.
As it turned out I wasn’t far wrong. An initial zingy citrus moment as your taste buds encounter the ‘lumps with grapefruit’ is very closely followed by sweet chocolate. Hot on the heels of the chocolate (and yes, the pun was intended) comes a wave of deep warming chilli, which persists right until you’ve nibbled the last of the grapefruit lumps. The finish is all grapefruit and chilli, with the citrus flavour cleansing the palate as the chilli dies down.
As far as the chocolate goes, it’s fairly unremarkable stuff. A very average medium strength dark chocolate. The addition of the chilli and grapefruit make it more interesting, but aside from it being the only time I’ve had a grapefruit/chocolate combination it wouldn’t be something I’d buy again.
After all, painting racing stripes on a donkey and giving it a pair of sunglasses doesn’t make it a better donkey, does it?
It’s been a while since I reviewed anything from Thorntons, but having just discovered this buried in the depths of my chocolate stash, I thought I should review it before the ‘best before’ date (or some visitor scoffs it without permission).
I’m a big fan of ginger and chocolate, which is probably why this bar threw itself at me in the shop. I’m not sure what it is about ginger – I always hated it as a child, but these days I can’t get enough. Particularly when it’s combined with a good quality dark chocolate.
The dark chocolate here is a 60% cocoa solids – par for the course for this kind of bar. It’s quite pleasant, not too sweet and not bitter at all, but it’s not very thick.
Most of the bar is taken up by the ginger truffle filling, which is soft, smooth and sweet. There is a good ginger flavour, but there are no actual pieces of ginger visible, and I thought it could have done with being just a little bit stronger.
As a quick snack, I certainly enjoyed this little bar, but I really felt it could be improved no end if the chocolate were that little bit thicker and if it had some nice chunks of crystalised ginger buried inside that sweet truffle.
Perhaps I’ve just been spoiled by delicious chunky ginger chocolates in the past.
Note: For another opinion, you can find Ashleigh’s review of the milk chocolate Torino here.
Apparently in the 1940s there was a new development in the world of confectionery machinery that allowed creamier, softer fillings to be inserted inside chocolate blocks. This new method brought forth the truffle filled block Torino, named after an Italian town famed for hazelnuts. Torino was the second product released by Camille Bloch in 1948 after their classic Ragusa bar in 1942.
The original milk chocolate block is revered by the majority of the Swiss folk, plus the Germans, Austrians, Italians and French that live close enough to get their own stash of Torino. Rainer and Oliver from Premier Food and Beverages tell me that any homesick European worth their salt pines for Torino when they’re far away from home and without a regular supply.
Firstly, the original Torino. Classic Swiss Milk chocolate with a hazelnut truffle centre. This is delectably creamy and the hazelnut filling sings like a nightingale to the milky, smooth chocolate that generously envelops it as they both dissolve seductively in the mouth, lingering like lovers putting off having to go their separate ways.
On a more mundane and less romantic level, enjoying Torino with a nice and hot cup of freshly ground coffee makes the experience even better as the heat enhances the flavours even more and made me reach for another square, then another, then how about a whole row, and a second row… whoops it’s all gone. Deliciously dangerously easy to eat in one sitting.
The Torino Noir is a much newer product and one that shows some respect for the increasingly large band of Dark Side Devotees who also like some interest inside the chocolate. Anything is better when encased in dark chocolate is my general belief.
Again, the chocolate – whose percentage of cocoa solids is not listed in the ingredients panel – is sensuously creamy and instantly melts in the mouth. It is strong and sweet, so I’m guessing it’s around fifty or sixty percent cocoa content. Surprisingly it totally dominates the truffle centre so that only a hint of hazelnut flavour emerges, and even so, only every now and then before disappearing into the darkness. Yep, the key flavour is uber-velvety dark chocolate with what – if clueless and blindfolded – I’d assume was a lindor ball-like filling inside. This is not necessarily a bad thing – faint detections and hints are sometimes what drives serious chocaholics on and gets them up in the mornings. Either way, Torino Noir tastes decadently divine.
It’s time for another Chocophile – that time of the week where we drag interesting people from the street and subject them to our own unique brand of waterboarding (with melted chocolate of course).
This week, we’ll be interrogating comedienne, writer, actress and all-round superbeing (also sometimes known as “That one from Peep Show… oh you know…”) Isy Suttie.
Chocophile:
Isy Suttie
- Occupation:
- Stand up comedian, writer, actress
- Web Site:
- myspace.com/isysuttie
Interrogation Begins:
- Milk, dark or white:
- Milk!
- Your guilty chocolate pleasure:
- Twix
- Favourite childhood chocolate:
- Smarties!
- Average Chocolate Consumption:
- About once a week
- Fruit or nut:
- Fruit AND nut please!
- Crunchy or chewy:
- Crunchy
- Give or receive:
- Receive!
- Least favourite chocolate:
- Expensive dark chocolate. Keep it real.
Oh dear. Clearly this one is in need of a little Chocolate Realignment Therapy. Not that there’s anything wrong with Smarties or Twix, but the subject demonstrated an extreme reluctance to inhale anything with over 70% cocoa solids. We believe this may be why she has recently taken to setting fire to dogs.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cblNcbS581M
Never mind. We have dispatched agents to force some of the good stuff down her throat. And hopefully prevent any more dog fires.
