Another reason America sucks, bad chocolate

[edhopper]

After a Deal, British Chocolates Won’t Cross the Pond

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/nyregion/after-a-deal-british-chocolates-wont-cross-the-pond.html?emc=edit_ur_20150124&nl=nyregion&nlid=8415216&_r=0

As a result of a settlement with the Hershey’s Company, Let’s Buy British Imports, or L.B.B., agreed this week to stop importing all Cadbury’s chocolate made overseas. The company also agreed to halt imports on KitKat bars made in Britain; Toffee Crisps, which, because of their orange packaging, and yellow-lined brown script, too closely resemble Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups; Yorkie chocolate bars, which infringe on the York peppermint patty;

[mucifer]

1. Equal Exchange fair trade chocolates are the best.

and the dark chocolate, hot chocolate and chocolate mint are vegan.



http://equalexchange.coop/products/chocolate

They use small farm co-ops.

[burrowowl]

83. You are right!

A chocolate shop selling candy made from Fair Trade chocolate Belgium-style just opened here in Albuquerque and is great. Bit expensive but worth it, when you eat chocolate it should be the good stuff.

[JDPriestly]

104. We like Trader Joe's chocolate.

[merrily]

2. I have trouble finding chocolate in the supermarket that is not loaded with preservatives.

The ones without a bunch of chemicals seem to be made with little to no sugar and therefore taste bitter.

Ghiradelli chocolate chips are not too bad, though.

[edhopper]

3. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby

they have good chocolate chips.
Nestle and Hersheys are pretty bad.

[merrily]

4. Thanks. Not very convenient for me, but I do get to one sometimes.

[JDPriestly]

105. Stock up next time you go. That's what we do.

[merrily]

108. Thanks. If the ingredients are chemical and carcinogenic free, I definitely will

stock up.

[JDPriestly]

110. I don't know about that. Read the label carefully.. I'd appreciate it if you let me know what

you think. Thanks.

[merrily]

111. I will do both, read and let you know. I have been googling lots of ingredients, even

those that are technically natural. Turns out, many are carcinogenic, even the natural ones and even some in organic products. The wiki will generally say an additive is not considered dangerous in the quantities found in food. However, add up all the carcinogenic ingredients in all the foods we might eat each day, every day for years, and who knows?

Besides, I just don't want to support producers who add carcinogens to food to increase shelf life or make a color slightly more appetizing (according to them).

Canned chick peas are a good example. The ones that are carcinogen and chemical free are a very slightly paler beige than the ones with additives, which are somewhat yellower or browner. I see nothing unappealing about the slightly paler ones. I see a lot unappealing about additives designed to do nothing but increase profits.

[yeoman6987]

46. M&m's are naturally made

Try those. You might find those ok.

[merrily]

107. Thank you, but I don't know what those articifical flavors and colorings are about.

http://blog.fooducate.com/2011/01/30/m-ms-deconstructed/

[840high]

87. Love those.

[merrily]

109. A banning in Trader Joe's chocolate subthread? Whodda thunk?

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. "Yorkie chocolate bars" are named after the city of York

where Rowntree's, the original manufacturer, was based. They don't contain peppermint, and they're not 'patties' - they're bars.




How the fuck can Hershey claim they have a trademark on the name of a city in England, and on words derived from it?

[edhopper]

6. It probably wouldn't have stood up in court

but it sounds like the settlement included a lot of money from Hershey's.

[edhopper]

7. I should add that Hershey's was behind the move

a few years ago to change the definition of chocolate to include product made with vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter.
That is not chocolate. Fortunately they were stopped.

[hobbit709]

8. Hershey's isn't even chocolate, much less bad chocolate.

you couldn't pay me to eat anything made by Hershey's.

[kentauros]

9. When you have a site like Chocosphere,

who cares about the low-quality big guys?

Chocosphere - Fine Chocolates from Around the World Since 1998

And, you can often find high-quality chocolate brands in the "natural" foods section of grocery stores. Locally, Kroger carries the brands Green & Black, Endangered Species, Chocolove, Theo, and I think Dagoba. Whole Foods carries an even broader range of brands, for those that still shop there

[edhopper]

11. The British candy bars

are special for many people. They are different than other chocolate, like American candy, but really, really good.

It's not just about getting good chocolate, which we can do, it's about losing particular favorites.

[kentauros]

21. See if you can get them through Canada then.

When I was married (to a Newfie) whenever she visited she'd often bring back things like Smarties and other chocolates we couldn't get here, except maybe in the ethnic groceries. Try those, too, as they may still be able to import those brands anyway (or illegally.)

[Bluenorthwest]

13. What a useful website that is! Thanks.

nt

[kentauros]

22. You're welcome :)

I ordered their "grab bag" last fall and found that to be a good method of trying out brands I might never have ordered. One brand I especially liked was Dolfin Chocolate from Belgium (the Belgians are known for their quality chocolates.) The packaging was interesting, too, allowing you to seal it back up besides wrapping the foil back again. It's not environmentally sound, but it was creative

[tammywammy]

25. ohhhhh great link!!

[kentauros]

26. It is!

And their shipping is extremely fast, even for just the normal rates. I recall that I ordered their biggest grab bag box of chocolates (both the treats kind and the baking kind) late on a Wednesday night. The package was on my doorstep the following Saturday!

I'm thinking of maybe ordering another one. My only complaint was the Mexican chocolate. I don't know what it is about the way they make chocolate, but it's always grainy to me, like they don't grind the sugar fine enough.

[tammywammy]

53. I used to work with a lot of Germans

They'd bring me chocolates when they'd come to Dallas. Yum.

[kentauros]

63. Sounds like it was a fun office.

My father would sometimes travel to Holland for work and bring back these "cookies" that were more like miniature round waffles with a honey filling. I don't recall the brand name, but you can get them at places like Cost Plus World Market.

[LeftyMom]

76. stroopwafel?

Man, those are soo good.

[kentauros]

79. I don't recognize that word

but you're right. And I just found this, that's rather appropriate:

Association of Stroopwafel Addicts

Welcome to the Association of Stroopwafel Addicts (ASA). This is an association for people who have tasted a stroopwafel at least *once* and like it very, very, very much. There is no obligation to be Dutch. Documentation on the History of the Stroopwafel in Wikimedia can be found on the official ASA posters.[1][2] You are welcome to print the poster yourself and hang it up in all appropriate places. You may add yourself if you have tasted the taste of heaven, the stroopwafel. Only Dutch stroopwafels count!

[lunasun]

74. I think Mexico is wher chocolate originated but natives used to drink it with sugar

Like hot chocolate without the dairy

[kentauros]

77. Yes, they did used to drink it as an unsweetened beverage,

and it did originate there. However, the "rustic texture" (as quoted from Chocosphere for the Taza brand) isn't what I want from sweetened chocolate, save for larger chunks of various fruit, espresso beans, or cacao nibs. "Grainy texture" is simply not palatable to me.

[lunasun]

81. TaZA chocalate is made on the east coast of USA

[kentauros]

82. Okay.

But the texture is exactly like the Mexican chocolate I've bought in the grocery store (I live in an area of the country with a heavy influence of Mexican and Central American populations.) The texture is still unpalatable to me.

[lunasun]

84. Is it is a disc form, with a texture that comes from stone grinding? Traditionally, that kind

of chocolate is used for cooking sauces like mole or making Mexican hot chocolate, should you find it unpalatable it could be that is what you are talking about
If you make mole with it you may have a different take on the product although I guess you could eat it raw. It would not hurt you but not too tasty

[kentauros]

89. That could be it.

I don't make mole even though I like it. Wouldn't mind finding a vegetarian version of mole (traditional is made with chicken broth.) But the Taza round was meant to be eaten as is, or at least, that's how they market it on that site (it was in the grab bag order, so I had no choice for what chocolates I'd get.)

[lunasun]

90. Next time you get it in the grab bag make a Taza de Chocolate with it

http://www.woodstockfarmersmarket.com/recipe-mexican-hot-chocolate.aspx
I thought at first even though I know cayenne is good for you it wouldn't taste right ,it actually adds to the chocalate flavor!

[kentauros]

94. I may just buy some of it anyway, and try it again!

As I recall from the movie Chocolat (and from reading about the original drink) chili was added to the hot chocolate. I love the Lindt Chili Bar, so I may have to experiment

[elleng]

52. THANK YOU!

I found 'mine!' https://www.chocosphere.com/default/brand/a-c/cotedor.html

[kentauros]

62. You're welcome :)

I'm not sure if I've had that one, but I do recognize the logo and coloring.

I like their little blurb at the top of the page. It made me laugh

Cote d'Or Chocolate is very special to us at Chocosphere! "In the beginning…" a good friend brought us some milk and dark Côte d'Or European Chocolate. We fell in love with the distinctive taste of Cote d Or. Then we ran out… what were we to do? Start a chocolate internet site – Chocosphere!

[elleng]

64. I'm SO glad 'my' chocolate caused them to do that!

A few years ago I found some in DC, but the mall in which the chocolate shop was located is 'renovating,' so Chocosphere's my venue now!

[kentauros]

65. That's cool :)

And like I said earlier, they have ultra-fast shipping, so if you order this weekend, you'll probably get it by Thursday

[elleng]

66. Good! I ordered it

when I saw your info, so I'll have it for next weekend!

[kentauros]

68. Take a pic of it and post in the Lounge

I'm sure we could create another All Chocolate All the Time thread there, too

[elleng]

69. OK! Good idea!

[elleng]

127. Doing it right now, Kent,

as it arrived this morning!

[kentauros]

128. That's great!

Told you they had fast service

[JDPriestly]

106. Are you familiar with these?

Marzipan filled and delicious.

http://mozartkugeln.org/

The best are from Austria. But there is a lot of marzipan which is an almond paste in them.

[kentauros]

113. I'd never hear of those.

But I do love marzipan!

Marzipan never caught on in the US and I don't know why. Sure, you can get marzipan-filled and -created goodies in bakeries and sweets shops, but the big manufacturers don't use it. Considering their love-affairs with nougat and caramel fillings, I don't know why people wouldn't also want marzipan filled chocolate bars.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

119. Speaking of marzipan

I buy it at Kroger and make a sort of sweet pastry called banket. Has filling that is runnier than marzipan, but uses marzipan as part of it. Found the recipe at allrecipes.com.

Yummy!!

Back to our normal discussion of chocolate.

[kentauros]

126. I'm looking up the recipe now, and found one

on Food.com. It's also called an Almond Roll.

It reminds me of when I worked at Andre's Swiss Pastry, and we had three kinds of croissants. Regular, one filled with a sliver of dark chocolate (the owner, Max, would pipe out the chocolate the night before and freeze however many we needed for the next day), and one filled with some marzipan. The filled ones were my favorites

[Manifestor_of_Light]

131. The chocolate almond ones are to die for.

At least the ones I've had at La Madeleine.
The fact that you have been a pastry chef is quite interesting to me.

[kentauros]

132. I wouldn't say a "chef" per se

more like a "Pastry Cook"

I do fall back on my education from those years, and am still "hungry" for that kind of knowledge. Such as a link another former DUer gave me to King Arthur Flour's blog on sourdough starters

I think I've had those croissants at Le Madeleine, too. Oh, I found another cafe/bakery in Houston called Eatwell Bakery Cafe. They make the best cannoli and tiramisu I've ever had! The cannoli shells are pre-baked by them, and then they fill them fresh to order. Plus, the filling is not sweet. There's some sweetness, but it's not the over-powering diabetes-inducing kind of other modern-American desserts. They're at 11150 Westheimer and Wilcrest, in the NW-corner block if you're ever in that area of town, like to visit Phoenicia Foods

[Manifestor_of_Light]

133. I've been to the one downtown, I think. Phoenecia Foods?

I was in town for a concert at Toyota Center and wandered west a few blocks. It was before you get to House of Blues and near the Four Seasons/indoor mall thing.

Thanks for the referral! May be there soon!! I have never worked in food service so I don't know the diff between a chef and a cook anyway. Doesn't bother me. Sounds like you know how to make all sorts of yummy things.

When I make bread, I do it in my big Cuisinart that is very solid that I got in the 80s. It was made in Japan instead of China. It's quite easy to make bread in a Cuisinart as long as it's big enough to hold 6 cups of flour. Pour in your liquid, eggs, yeast and hot water, etc. and then add your flour a bit at a time until you get a big ball of dough rolling around the shaft. Take it out and let it rise twice. That way you don't have to kill yourself kneading.

[kentauros]

134. Yeah, I've got one of those big Cuisinarts (14-cup)

Bought it from someone I knew from KPFT. He had the whole set, shredding/slicing discs, disc-holder, bread blade, and the heavy 2-HP motor base. I've now had it for about 20 years, having only to replace the bowl and feeder mechanisms. No, I had to replace the metal blade, too, because the inside fitting cracked and wasn't cooperating in being glued back together.

These days I make bread by the no-knead method, so I don't even need my KitchenAid or Breadman for that. I bought a dough whisk for mixing the 6.5 cups flour, 3 cups water, yeast and salt in an 8-qt acrylic bucket bought from restaurant supply. It mixes fast (like in less than a minute) and then sits on the counter for 2-3 hours. The extra-long proofing time does the "kneading" for you by aligning the gluten strands as it rises.

After that, put it in the fridge for a few hours if planning on using it that day, or overnight. Then pull off a one-pound piece to make your loaf or rolls or pizza or whatever. It bakes with a water bath for the steam effect on the crust, which also lowers the temp inside the oven just a little. I've found, too, that a slightly lower temp and longer time than used in the recipe allows the interior crumb to bake better.

There are many no-knead recipes online, but I got the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day" book for my Kindle. The "5 minutes" refers to the amount of actual, physical work needed to make a loaf

[Manifestor_of_Light]

136. Wow you do have a big one!

I guess mine is medium-sized.

[kentauros]

137. I guess it's the biggest, short of an industrial one.

The man I bought it from had never used it, and when he learned I was going to school for that kind of thing, sold it to me for $100. I believe it was worth several hundred at the time.

Still, it's one of my "workhorse" appliances. I suspect the plastic housing around the motor will wear out long before the motor does!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

138. Yeah they have heavy motors.

I had to get a new plastic work bowl and lid for mine some years ago. Still got the standard blades which is plenty for me. I'm not doing anything terribly specialized with it.


Here's the banket recipe. The goo tends to slop out when cooked onto the parchment paper on the cookie sheet, but it's good stuff and like you said, not too sweet:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banket/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=banket&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

[kentauros]

139. Thanks!

It looks familiar from the photo, like maybe I've had an "almond roll" before that wasn't called "banket". I'll have to make it sometime. What's the difficulty level, in your opinion?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

147. Not very hard..

I'm no pastry chef. I tend to avoid gourmet cookbooks with complicated recipes and ingredients I'm not familiar with. Hell, even my 1970s era Joy of Cooking has some things I think take too many steps when I don't have a helper. I've been known to roll out dough and sometimes even make kolaches. The open top with prune filling kind.

[kentauros]

148. The "kolaches" pushed on an uneducated public by The Kolache Factory

are "pigs-in-a-blanket" and not kolaches! Though they do have the flat, open kind, they use the same dough as for their PIABs, instead of the proper danish-style kinds.

I know the ones you mean, and when I used to take I-10 to 71 to get to Austin, I'd stop in Bastrop and other places along the way just to get those delicious Central Texas (and authentic) kolaches.

Never liked prunes, though, so I'd go with the poppyseed-filled kind instead

[Manifestor_of_Light]

149. Real kolaches don't look like that.

Real kolaches look like a plain rectangular dinner roll. No icing either.

I've had those at a wedding many years ago in Moulton. The reception was at the VA hall and they had real kolaches and Lone Star beer. Wish we could find a recipe for those!!!

I like prune AND poppyseed, so you're in good company!!

[Xyzse]

141. My god... What the heck...

I don't even know where to start.

How the heck could I choose which one to get first?


I think I am going to drop a bill or two tonight.

I kid... Thanks for the site...

[kentauros]

142. I didn't know where to start either.

So I bought their big grab bag. I bought the one for baking, too, though I just put all of that in the freezer until I'm ready to make something decadent. Like the following just now discovered on King Arthur Flour's baking blog:

Boston Cream Pie French Toast: Yes, I said Boston Cream Pie French Toast

[Xyzse]

143. Nice...

I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start.

[kentauros]

144. I'm sure you'll figure it out :)

I liked almost all of the chocolates in the grab bag, including a Belgian one called "Dolfin"

[FLPanhandle]

10. There is plenty of great chocolate in the US

Cadbury isn't great chocolate. However, Hershey's isn't even chocolate.

[Ms. Toad]

12. It's not a chocolate issue - it is a trademark issue.

I saw some of the imports a couple of weeks ago in World Market, with trademark disclaimers, and wondered how long before they were yanked from the shelves.

Companies pay big bucks to establish their marks and if they don't protect them, they lose those rights (the marks become generic like aspirin - which used to be a brand name).

Although it may be impossible now that there has been litigation and a settlement (which can exclude more than Hershey would have been entitled to have excluded), those same British Chocolates could have been imported had they been dressed differently with no legally cognizable complaints by Hershey.

[edhopper]

14. Yes and no

Hershey's wanted anything with a Cadbury label banned. I doubt the US market is big enough for Cadbury UK to develop a whole new brand just for it.
The Yorkie and Toffeee Crisp complaints were pretty silly.

[Ms. Toad]

38. My point is that had they not been infringing trademarks

Hershey would have had no right to demand more than that they stop using infringing names and trade dress. Once you have clearly infringed, it is often cheaper to give up more in non-monetary settlement rights than you would have to pay if you went to court.

Cadbury UK should not have expected to come in with virtually identical trade dress and get away with it - that is the height of corporate stupidity. To escape with minimal financial damage, they would have had to agree to restrictions Hershey could not have won in court.

[QED]

15. Callebaut!

I once read that Trader Joe's bulk chocolate is Callebaut. I'm don't know if it's true - I hope so. I wish I could find it locally instead of having it shipped.

http://www.callebaut.com/usen/

[edhopper]

16. Trader Joe' chocolate

is good.
But as I said this is about particular candy bars that many people love. It's not just about chocolate alone.

With American's taste for crap, I doubt Hershey's is in any trouble.

[hobbit709]

18. That's what I use.

I buy it in the 5 Kg blocks-I call them the world's biggest chocolate bar.

[QED]

33. I used to do that too

but then I moved to AZ and can't find it locally. Shipping isn't really an option come summer.

[TheBlackAdder]

27. Trader Joe's chocolate is great for fondue. The big name stuff is too waxy to melt properly. nt

[KitSileya]

17. Hershey's doesn't make chocolate, they wrap mud in chocolate wrappers and sell it.

I am greeted as a savior when I bring Norwegian chocolate every time I go to the US. The US doesn't have a working FDA that protects the consumer rather than the manufacturer, so manufacturers can do whatever they want, and the American palate suffers for it. Too many think that chocolate is supposed to taste like Hershey's crap.

[edhopper]

19. And they wanted to make it worse

and were thankfully stopped.

[Number23]

56. Are there any Norwegian brands in particular that you recommend?

[KitSileya]

91. Nidar and Freia are best, I think.

Both are chocolate companies with a long history and an excellent variety of chocolate. Freia especially has a series of 200gr bars that I bring with me to the US. Pure milk chocolate, with chopped hazelnuts, with whole hazelnuts, salted almonds, raisins - all sorts of variations. Of course, we get the American bars like Snickers, Mars, Bounty etc, but the quality is completely different than the American ones. They just aren't allowed to cheat and skimp in the production of them, not by the Norwegian FDA, not by the consumers. Norway is apparently a difficult country to introduce new chocolates and sodas, because Norwegians are so finicky. (Not saying that we go for quality in all things, as the grocery stores have plenty of cheap food, but chocolate, ice cream and soda? Our cheap quality is miles above average in the US.)

[Number23]

100. Cool. That's great to know, thanks

I see that everyone is railing on Hershey's in this thread but I've lived in a few different countries and tasted lots of different chocolates and Hershey's is all right with me.

But would love to try the brands you've mentioned. As long as none of them were Cadbury's (the worse chocolate ever imo) we're okay.

[2naSalit]

20. Lindt Chocolate is pretty good.

I am not allowed (by my own personal mandate) to eat sugary things, especially candy except once in a great while. When I do eat candy, it is usually chocolate, and if I'm going to eat chocolate, I usually eat Lindt. My German SIL told me years ago that, "Lindt is the best, don't let anybody tell you different."

There are some others but Lindt is pretty good. And there is a Lindt production place in southern New Hampshire...

[smirkymonkey]

30. Champlain Chocolates out of Vermont is great too!

They sell them in various places like Whole Foods and other gourmet chocolate shops. I always like to go into the shop and get their fresh chocolates when I go visit my brother in Burlington.

[Pooka Fey]

115. Yup!

[Freddie]

31. Yes Lindt is excellent

And easy to find, it's in the candy section of my local Giant.
Cadbury is too sweet for me, although I understand that British Cadbury is different than ours.

[hifiguy]

41. Lindt is very good. So is Ritter.

[roody]

51. Lindt tastes good, but often has palm kernal oil in it.

People are run off of their land by paramilitaries so that someone can plant palm for oil.

[2naSalit]

57. That part sucks.

I don't eat much chocolate though.

[roody]

98. I visited people in Colombia who were driven off their

land. They are trying to reclaim it by setting up humanitarian zones, but are constantly harassed and terrorized by paramilitaries. Their land is now palm plantation. You are absolutely right about chocolate and child slavery.

[BubbaFett]

23. Go to Canada

just for the candy.

[frazzled]

35. Meh. I used to adore "Coffee Crisp" candy bars ...

But in recent years, my husband always brings me back some, and they are blechhh. (The same would go for commercial American and British chocolates as well: I don't care if it's Cadbury or Hershey's: it's just not that good.) Either they've gotten worse over the years (ate them as a kid, but wouldn't touch them now), or my tastes have changed.

It could be the latter. I don't eat chocolate anymore unless it is really really good. And that means usually really expensive. So that means I don't eat that much. Or eat just a tiny bit. If I can get my hands ever on some (Belgian) Neuhaus chocolates, those are my favorites. http://www.neuhauschocolate.com/neuhaus-collection-dark-25-pcs/belgian-chocolate-en.htm?cu=doll

But there are tons of good American chocolates. How about Vosges chocolates, from my current home town:



Almost all cities are breeding their own specialty chocolate shops now. I say, pay more for them, and eat less. Just one little piece after dinner, with some tea ... and a box will last you for a month.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

120. There used to be a Neuhaus store in Houston in a now torn-down mall.

Went there once and got my parental units a pound of milk and milk and nut combo pieces for Christmas. Dad said it was the best chocolate he ever ate, and he knew about Suchard.

I didn't tell him the stuff was $30 a pound, and this was probably in the 1980s.
Old people and sticker shock. Didn't want to cause a heart attack.

[LiberalElite]

24. Believe it or not -

for several years I worked for an attorney who had business trips to London several times a year. Each time he brought several bags of HERSHEY's to the clients - at their request!

[TheBlackAdder]

28. Show their friends SHITTY US Chocolate, and how GULLIBLE and CORPORATELY OWNED the Yanks are? nt

[LiberalElite]

29. I assumed they just ate it all. nt

[jmowreader]

44. You would be surprised

In my Army days I was stationed in Berlin, which is of course in Germany. Germany has roughly 1200 breweries and many of them make a superior grade of beer. (Don't kid yourself: not all German beer is wunderbar, as anyone who's ever tangled with canned Schultheiss will attest. But a lot of it is very good.)

Every military town in Germany hosts a German-American Volksfest. Ours had a casino and in the casino was a huge bar...which sold whole cases of American beer. Good upstanding German citizens who presumably knew better would go to the Fest with hand trucks so they could buy huge amounts of Budweiser and Miller Lite.

[Recursion]

85. People like US chocolate (and beer) overseas

Go to Prague and the go-to beer is Budweiser

[Adrahil]

32. What about Cadbury Flake and Fruit and But!? N/t

[edhopper]

34. No British made

Cadbury candy can be imported.

[Adrahil]

36. WHAT THE FUCK!!!????

[truebrit71]

72. To that store....

.... there are still others that the chocolate nazis haven't found yet...

[JCMach1]

37. Sorry, but Patchi is the King of Chocolate...

I have tried some of the very best from Switzerland, Belgium and France... nothing beats Patchi...

Cadbury is pretty average stuff... However, I am partial to Cadbury Rum and Raisin that I can only seem to be able to get in Africa (I think it is out of South Africa Cadbury).

[Cal Carpenter]

39. Had to LOL at the mention of Cadbury

Most US chocolate sucks, sure, but Cadbury is pretty middling itself. There is some awesome chocolate in the world but Cadbury is only a half step or two better than Hershey etc in the grand scheme of things.

Imho, of course...

[Arugula Latte]

42. I think there has been US-made "Cadbury" chocolate for a long time

but that is different than (and inferior to) UK-made Cadbury chocolate. I could be wrong, though.

[Cal Carpenter]

49. I think you may be right, but I've had the real deal too

Just not that impressed, especially when compared to some of the other stuff available in the UK and Europe (and some of the better US brands too). Again, imho only, as this is clearly a subjective matter of personal preference. I'm not a food snob purist or anything.

And now I'm craving chocolate...

[KT2000]

58. what happened to Cadbury?

in the last couple of years they have almost become worse than Hershey. They now taste like paraffin and do not melt like chocolate is supposed to.

[hifiguy]

40. You can get very yummy German chocolate bars

at Aldi and Trader Joe's.

[Arugula Latte]

43. While we're on the subject of chocolate, I am going to go on record as saying dark chocolate

tastes like bitter wax.

Milk chocolate rules.

I know dark chocolate is the trendy chocolate of chocolate snobs, but I think brown crayons taste better than most dark chocolate. (Please don't ask me how I know this ...).

[Freddie]

60. Not good dark chocolate

Try Lindt or Ghiradelli. Hershey's Special Dark is awful, waxy and bitter without the qualities a good dark chocolate should have, smooth and intense "chocolatiness."

[Arugula Latte]

114. Well, I have had "high-quality" dark chocolate.

My husband gets it regularly. "Here, try this one!" ... Yeeeah, still tastes like bitter wax.

[kentauros]

71. Then you'd never like/try this:

It's the highest I'll go for cocoa content. Although on the page I got that image from, there is a brand with 91% cocoa content. I might have to try it from the description given

[Arugula Latte]

123. Oy.

That's a lotta cocoa! *pucker*

[kentauros]

125. I will admit

that i's the longest-lasting chocolate bar I've ever had! Because you eat so little of it at a time, and it doesn't have that "I gotta have some chocolate! Now!" appeal to it

[Pooka Fey]

117. I only eat dark chocolate now - Lindt 70% mild dark bars

Milk chocolate is too sugary for my palate.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

121. I will agree with you that milk chocolate rules.

Especially with nuts in it.

Fruity combos, no way I will eat those. Don't like dark either.

[pipi_k]

45. Don't know about the chocolate, but

what's inside of these is pretty darned tasty


Got this whole big box of 'em for Christmas. Yum

[jmowreader]

47. Anyone who actually likes British chocolate was born without taste buds

The absolute king of chocolate bars is the Ritter-Sport. Accept no substitutes.

[Cal Carpenter]

50. I love Ritter Sport.

The minty one, the biscuit one, the plain dark one, the one with nuts, hell, even the corn flake one. They sell them at the liquor store near my house but they are pricy so I only get them occasionally.

Oh my god. Corn flakes in chocolate. That would make a great flame war.


I will say, I learned to love hazelnut with chocolate and think the US brands (even the natural/fancier brands) have missed the boat on that.

[jmowreader]

55. It'd be like the DU of old, when people were being tombstoned for bringing up chicken

Also try to find Belgian chocolate. That's also very good.

[tammywammy]

54. mmmmm Ritter Sport!

I loves all of them!

[Vinca]

48. Doesn't Hershey manufacture its chocolate in Mexico now?

Buy from small, local, artisan shops instead.

[freshwest]

59. I can still buy raw chocolate in my area. So America doesn't suck, really.

There are unroasted raw beans made from organic free trade farmers in SA or the powder from the same sources. It's good in smoothies because of the anti-oxidant qualities of raw cocao. I live on the west coast of the USA, but I bet anyone can buy it.

Milk chocolate, from what I've read, is like a drug, no matter what the source. The milk and chocolate cooked and mixed together are like a mild narcotic. But the raw product is an energizer.

JMHO.

[zappaman]

70. Yup.

Soooo good.

[lunasun]

75. Not only anti ox but mineral rich magnesium iron and no sugar

[freshwest]

78. I think it is a great food item, myself. Just a little goes a long way. Thanks for the mineral info.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

61. Suchard is the best damn chocolate in the world.

Once my sister brought back some milk chocolate squares from Switzerland and I was in heaven!!!

[hunter]

67. Most chocolate is bad.

Our planet earth needs an aggressive international chocolate/coffee/tea farmworkers union.

[Ino]

73. I didn't believe my ex, a Brit, when he said...

the KitKats in England were better than ours. So I bought an imported KitKat and a domestic one, to have a side-by-side comparison.

I could see just by looking that the imported chocolate was different... lighter-colored, creamy -- while ours was hard and waxy-looking. Of course it tasted much better as well.

Totally mystified, I asked "Why would they make a different candy bar for Europe?!"

He said, "Because we won't eat crap chocolate."

We WILL eat crap chocolate, so that's what we get.

[DFW]

80. Cadbury is a mere footnote where I live, and no one here has even heard of Hershey

Besides, I'm in both Brussels and Paris once a week for work. I get the real stuff. When you can get Bonnat, Café Tasse, Neuhaus, Wittamer, Debauve et Gallais, Hachez and Sprüngli any time you feel like it, who needs that other stuff?

[BeyondGeography]

86. Kee's Chocolates in SoHo

http://www.keeschocolates.com/about.html

Marvelous little shop on Thompson St. Not coming to a supermarket shelf near you anytime soon, however.

[MFrohike]

95. Sucks? No

Try Rebecca Ruth in Frankfort, KY. They're mostly known for their bourbon chocolates, but the non-liquor stuff is terrific.

[kentauros]

96. I think I need to go to Phoenicia Specialty Foods tomorrow

(local International market here) now that I've perused their full product list. I do shop there once a year or so, especially when I run out of things like sumac and rainbow rooibos tea.

But, have a look at the pdf linked above. Four pages of chocolates, and two pages of "candies and gums." I may be trying some of the ones recommended in this thread

[Detecto]

97. I agree!

I agree!

[mikehiggins]

99. Lindt

sorry about the cadbury's (I love their Easter eggs) but I've been a Lindt-addict for many years. Don't bother telling me how bad their products are, I just LOVE them.

[DebJ]

102. As far as Hershey's goes, they want to outsource everything. And as far as chocolate, think slavery

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=6867472

Slavery:

[JDPriestly]

103. Hershey's chocolate. I do not like it. Compared to European chocolate?

I personally think it loses any taste test. How sad. Hershey's are bullies in my opinion.

[goldent]

112. I must be the only person in DU who likes Hersey bars

I like Cadbury's also, but they always seem a little too soft/light. I guess it is what I grew up with.

[ScreamingMeemie]

116. You are not. It's the "cool, hip thing" to not like Hersheys.

Personally, I'm not a fan of chocolate, and they all taste exactly the same. Kind of like beer.

[edhopper]

118. Here are the ingredients of Hershey's

SUGAR; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI; MILK FAT; LACTOSE (MILK); SOY LECITHIN; PGPR, EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR; MILK *Note the vanillin, an artificial vanilla, and the other artificial ingredients.

Here is the smei-sweet bar from Trader Joes;
Cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, whole vanilla beans.

More cacao, no artificial, real vanilla.

There is a big difference in taste and texture.

[hfojvt]

135. seems to be a big difference in price as well

not to mention at least three hours of driving to get to the nearest Trader Joe's. Although it can apparently also be ordered through the most munificent Amazon.

[edhopper]

146. There should be some good chocolate

in some store or other where you live.
And yeah, the good stuff cost more.
Junk food is cheap.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

122. Bad? Chocolate?

Those two words just don't go together.

[Recursion]

124. So, per DU, is forbidding imports good or bad?

Because I got the impression it's good. Unless it's chocolate?

[LanternWaste]

130. I've never gotten the impression that DU has one, monolithic opinion on any particular matter.

I've never gotten the impression that DU has a single, monolithic opinion on any particular matter. But then again, I'm not very clever...

[dilby]

129. Yeah but it's like comparing Britain's low end chocolate to America's low end chocolate.

It's all mass produced garbage, and fine to run taste tests against each other but neither compare to real quality chocolates. When I was in the UK all I heard was how their Jams were superior to American Jams and I was like yeah, if you think the only Jam in America is the terrible Welch's Grape Jelly.

[Puglover]

140. I am biased as I live in Ecuador.

But Pacari Chocolate is absolutely stunning.

http://www.pacarichocolate.com/index.php/en

The company was started by an Ecuadorian woman. It has won awards world wide.

The chocolate/chili bar is to die for.

[PasadenaTrudy]

145. Theo's

Made in WA. very good stuff!

[GoCubsGo]

150. There's other chocolate here besides Hershey's.

Ghiardelli, Wilbur, Theo, Endangered Species, Guittard, loads of independent small-batch artisan chocolate makers... And, those are just some of the American brands. Belgian, Swiss and German chocolates are readily available, as well. All of them better than British-made Cadbury.