[petalsandcoco]

I just came back from hours of shopping and went to one of my favorite places to shop, its not a big place, but it caters to imported foods from around the world, especially Europe. (La Vieille Europe on St. Laurent )

The first isle I always" peruse " (yes, I am learning new words as well) is the chocolate isle. Among the vast array of sweet sensations besides all the other sweets, were these..............

Vosges.........................Yes ! ( j'etais vraiment contente)

So as I type these words , sitting right beside me are the following items: Chocolate

Vosges Matcha Bar (Japanese matcha green tea)
Vosges Naga Bar (sweet Indian curry powder, coconut flakes)
Vosges Mo's Bacon Bar ( applewood smoked bacon , alderwood smoked salt)
Michel Cluizel (noir INFINI 99)
and finally by Praline and Caramel , rosemary chocolate.

Have I tried them ? I am eating the chocolate and curry right now....all I can say is :
Pitter Patter.

Bughut, you are soooooooooo right, tell your son thank you .

Well this is my new taste sensation, do you have something you have tried that is new and has a great taste ?

Merci,

[Trifoilum]

Wow, that sounds good! I'm happy for you

For me, my newest sensation is...guess what? Mirin.

Here due to some...ban or something (long story) finding Japanese and a bit of Korean ingredients have been difficult. And I always wanted to try mirin..

...just a week ago I finally saw one. Of course I took it straight away.
It's quite sweet, almost syrupy, and it seems to contain a little bit alcohol? but I like it, the taste is rather subtle but it still has the distinctive taste.

it's quite common, but nonetheless I'm happy

[HappyFood]

The Vosges bars are really good.
My fave is the chocolate bar with chipotle chili and spices.
Not so hot on the bacon bar.

[ED BUCHANAN]

I have tasted better in Europe(Belgium to be exact) and less expensive.

[OregonYeti]

One of my favorites ever was a more common combination--French nestle milk chocolate with pistachio praline filling.

[Trifoilum]

those all sounds yummy.

[boar_d_laze]

New tastes are wonderful. They're probably especially wonderful when they bear a strong relationship to one's signature line.

I'm not much of a chocolates person; and when I do buy it's almost always old favorites from a local company called Sees. (Do try them when and if you're in Southern California.) But based on the enthusiasm, I'll hunt out these Vosges bonbons and give them a try.

I'm not a candy guy, so as an opinion mine shouldn't be overvalued. From a technical standpoint, the three most important parts of couverture are quality of the ingredients -- very much including freshness, the harmony of filling and cover, and the technical skill of the candy maker. In my experience, national origin doesn't make much difference except in terms of freshness.

A good test for the quality of the conching and for freshness as well is how quickly and how completely the chocolate's aftertaste cuts off. It should be relatively quick and very definite. Now you taste it, now you don't.

FWIW,
BDL

[HappyFood]

I just checked out their website and Vosges does make bonbons! Hooray! The only ones I've tasted were bars with different flavorings in them. Looks like they've got some fun ones for Halloween too.

I like these bars a lot because they're not too sweet and the chocolate flavor is very dark and intense, yet clean. When mixed with the unusual add-ins, the balance is really nice. Of course, I've found my fave, and if I'm going to shell our $8 for a chocolate bar, I always go for the red fire with ancho, chipotle and cinnamon. The Creole with chicory and cocoa nibs is great too.

By and large I find european chocolate to be much more on the sweet side-not bad, just not to my taste.

[petalsandcoco]

For those who not familiar with "conching" here is a small bit of info you might enjoy seeing how we are talking about chocolate:

"A conche is an agitator that evenly distributes cocoa butter within chocolate, and may act as a 'polisher' of the particles. It also promotes flavor development through frictional heat and release of volatiles. There are numerous designs of conches, and food scientists are still discovering precisely what happens during conching and why.[citation needed] The name arises from the shape of the vessels initially used, which resembled conch shells.
When ingredients are mixed in this way, sometimes for up to 78 hours, chocolate can be produced with a uniquely mild, rich taste.
The "conche" was invented by Rodolphe Lindt from Berne/Switzerland in 1879 producing aroma and melting characteristics in chocolate of superior quality at that time. Legend has it that he mistakenly left a mixer containing chocolate running overnight, and though he was initially distraught at the waste of energy and machine wear and tear, quickly realized he had made a major breakthrough. Before conching was invented solid chocolate was gritty and not very popular. Lindt's invention rapidly changed chocolate from being mainly a drink, to bars and other confections." wiki

The origin of things, always fascinating......

Today I also had walnuts marinated in syrup, I sliced it very thin (complete, shell and all) as it was soft and tender, served with a scoop of good ol' fashioned vanilla ice cream.

[DuckFat]

Wow some of that sounds good!

[petalsandcoco]

Yes, my sister lives in Cyprus and traditionally on a very hot day (which is almost always) they pour a very tall glass of freezing cold water and pour this walnut in it and a touch of the syrup.

I much prefer it over ice cream.

I have spent alot of time trying to get the recipe for this as I wanted to make my own at my casa but cannot for the life of me find one. (triste)

What I find so interesting is just how soft the nut is......shell and all.

[Cyn]

Now I'm craving chocolate. Thanks!

[petalsandcoco]

I read this in a magazine just now......

"Today's Special....Bacon-infused Cocktails"

"Some people like olives with their cocktails but a side of bacon isn't bad either. Houston bartender Derek Black has crafted a Manhattan using bacon-infused bourbon and maple syrup instead of Vermouth. The drink recently took top prize at the Manhattan Experience contest hosted by boubon maker Woodford Reserve at the city's natural science museum. It's served in a martini glass rimmed with candied bacon bits."

Well what is next ?

I like the candied bacon bits......(ok, I'd love to try it too)

[nichole]

Pretty interesting topic you got here. Chocolates. I also love chocolates on the top of vanilla sundae and soda. One of my favorite beverage.