HO2
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Joined: 10/11/2008
Msg: 1 | |
| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/23/2009 10:00:08 PM | I personally think chocolate made from milk/cream created by grass fed cows tastes best.
Then again its all about the cacao, where it comes from, how its roasted, etc., etc.
When you really want excellent, top notch chocolate, do you buy European brands or American brands ? | |
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HO2
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Joined: 10/11/2008
Msg: 3 | |
| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/23/2009 10:58:39 PM | ADM Archer Daniels Midland's is one of the world's premier producer of cocoa, cocoa butter and chocolate.
The FDA lets manufacturers adulterate chocolate by replacing cocoa butter with cheap vegetable oil.
This undermining the quality of the chocolate most people eat.
Many products are now labeled “chocolate candy” instead of “milk chocolate.”
Hersheys is know for this practice and it is well documented
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26788143/ | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/23/2009 11:11:25 PM | | I like a bit of a bitter taste to my chocolate-and for it to be a bit on the crispy side, dark or semi sweet; Do not like light or creamy chocolate, and I don't like milk chocolate. I found one I really like in the most unlikely of places and at a ridiculous price. It's at Walgreens for I think $1.29 or $1.49 for a good sized bar, made in Poland. I can't think of the name of it. Something exotic (not) like European Chocolate in a black and gold label or Purple and gold label--real non descript looking. If I hadn't had a project to do related to chocolates, I'd never have even tried it just based on price. I would have thought it wouldnt' be fit to eat, but it's a real sleeper. It's excellent. I'll get the name next time I'm in there. For Ameircan chocolates, it's Guittard's. | |
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HO2
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Joined: 10/11/2008
Msg: 5 | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/24/2009 11:13:41 PM | European
Lindts or Godiva with a sprinkling of Cadbury.
I think the only american chocolate I buy, I bust up for ice cream toppings.
However...is American constrained exclusively to the USA or does it include all of our bretheren from Canada to Argentina? | |
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HO2
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Joined: 10/11/2008
Msg: 8 | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/25/2009 7:41:36 AM | I prefer European over American. I love milk chocolate, so based on my taste, European chocolate seems richer and creamier, American waxy and grainier.
But ...
There's something about a handful of Hershey Kisses, a York Peppermint Patti or a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that is truly satisfying! Hershey chocolate is in a class all of it's own. It's not all that great in my opinion, but it's satisfying as all get out!  | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/25/2009 12:39:00 PM | Growing up enjoying Dutch chocolate, I have been really really spoiled. By my own tastes, Dutch and Belgium chocolate is just about the best tasting that you can get.
American chocolate always tastes like they cut corners somewhere, cause there was always something missing. It's like that cheap chocolate that they make Chocolate Bunnies out of for Easter.
Now Ghirardelli Chocolate made in San Francisco is the best American made that I have had. If you ever get to San Fran, go to the factory and they have an ice cream and candy shop. GET A SUNDAY!!! And chocolates to bring home. They are excellent.
But i'm partial to Dutch. One of the delicious brands is Droste.
Now i've talked with Swiss people, and Germans, and Belgians and we all think that our hometown chocolate is the best, so it's really a matter of taste.
But if I would vote on it.
European Chocolate hands down. Not even a contest really.... 
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/25/2009 1:07:38 PM | Not a huge fan of chocolate, maybe once or twice a year if that. Rugrats love Belgium chocolates so I buy each of them a 1 lb. box to put in their stockings. Yes, they are adults but they still get a Christmas stocking.
Here's an article on what is supposedly the world's best chocolate, and they are racking up awards left, right and centre.
Amedei, founded in 1990, is the joint project of a 42-year-old Italian named Alessio Tessieri and his younger sister, Cecilia; he buys the cacao and she turns it into dark, glossy bars. In November, a competition in London awarded a gold prize to one of Cecilia's handiworks, a single-plantation chocolate called Chuao. Two other Amedei products tied for silver.
Both the visionary French pâtissier Pierre Hermé and the visionary Spanish chef Ferran Adrià have said that Chuao might, in fact, be the world's greatest chocolate. And yet Amedei is sold in only a handful of stores in the U.S., and—while a new importer has big plans for the brand—few Americans have heard of it.
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-worlds-best-chocolate
http://www.amedei-us.com/ | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 6:00:13 PM | This one is easy. 72% Belgian Chocolate. You just let it rest on your tongue, as it slowly melts away.
OMG.
My friend owns a chocolate shop, and she says the test of good quality chocolate is how fast it melts. Cheap chocolate contains waxes which make it easier to process and ship, the wax makes it melt slower. So if you get some chocolate, and end up with it all over your fingers (or other places), you know it's the good stuff.
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 6:27:57 PM | I'm sure there are some good chocolate makers in the US, but on the whole, European chocolate is the one I'd go with too.
A trip to either Belgium or Holland will change your opinion that Hershey is good chocolate. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 6:28:12 PM | I'm sure there are some good chocolate makers in the US, but on the whole, European chocolate is the one I'd go with too.
A trip to either Belgium or Holland will change your opinion that Hershey is good chocolate. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 7:10:09 PM | | ...I know the Europeans are supposed to make better quality chocolate...but I have to tell you...I very rarely find a chocolate product that I won't eat...LOL. And by the way...it won't be long..before you won't get a Hershey bar from an American factory...they're moving it to Mexico. So whatever y'all happen to toss in my Halloween basket...I'll enjoy...LOL | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 8:03:06 PM | | I have to admit, I'm partial to Swiss chocolate when I'm baking, and love Belgium chocolate for eating ... but there are some very good American brands. I just hate raggedy azz chocolate that gets hard, white, chalky and tasteless on you. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 10:01:03 PM | | I lived abroad for a few years. European chocolate is definitely better. They don't us wax fillers. The low end chocolate is exponentially better. The low end Ritter Sport in Europe is cream and chocolate. The dark is also great. IKEA's chocolate bar is a good representation. Once you get into See's quality you're comparing apples and oranges. It's just a different kind of chocolate. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/26/2009 10:01:45 PM | | I lived abroad for a few years. European chocolate is definitely better. They don't us wax fillers. The low end chocolate is exponentially better. The low end Ritter Sport in Europe is cream and chocolate. The dark is also great. IKEA's chocolate bar is a good representation. Once you get into See's quality you're comparing apples and oranges. It's just a different kind of chocolate. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/27/2009 6:48:10 AM | European chocolate is the best it is richer and creamer .I eat dark chocolate for health reasons they say eating dark chocolate is good for you.I could eat it everyday but I have to watch my weight or I would look like a beach whale | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/27/2009 2:35:58 PM | I finally got to Walgreens to check out the brand I promised: It's Regal Dynasty, and I'm telling you, I really and trully would never have considered trying it if I hadn't had that project to do. Glad I did.
To the poster who wrote about not wanting it white, pasty and chalky. That's not a function of the chocolate maker or the process. That's poor storage conditions--heat too high usually. It's safe to eat but looks just terrible. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/27/2009 6:47:56 PM | Depends. I like Valrohn. (sp?) It's French. We have a local chocolatier in town that's very good. I like Scharfenberger - that's American. Depends on the chocolate, not the country it's made in.
Do not bother me with Hershey's. Ever. | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/28/2009 3:32:30 PM | | I am in the US. We have three local chocolatiers that are very good. Candinas is my favorite. If all you buy is Hershey's or Baker's, you may have a poor representation of American chocolates. | |
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HO2
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Joined: 10/11/2008
Msg: 24 | |
| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/28/2009 4:26:24 PM | ANYONE can be chocolatier or confectionary chef.
It's easy to melt chocolate, mix in some stuff and throw it in a mold, kids can do it .
Making chocolate from scratch is indeed a pain in the azz.
Farmers grow cacao, and then they harvest, ferment, and dry it by hand.
Then the seeds go up for sale on International cocoa exchange.
Some candy bars contain up to 12 different types of cocao seeds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bean-to-bar_chocolate_manufacturers | |
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| Better chocolate --European Brands or American Brands
Posted: 7/28/2009 10:08:48 PM | | Candy bars or chocolates that have 12 different types of cocao beans is not necessarily a good thing. They're usually low quality beans that many chocolate manufacturers use to blend as they are more cost effective. Single origin chocolates are made with higher quality beans such as criollos and trinitarios from Venezuela. My favorite is El Rey from Venezula, and is what I use for my company. Valrhona a close second. And sure, anyone could try to be a chocolatier, but it's more involved than melting chocolate and slinging it in a mold. It involves technique, temperature and understanding the science behind chocolate. | |
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