Diets and Recipes - chocolate

Cocoa exporting is big business in Mekong Delta

Sun, 21 May 2006 18:05:28 +0000

Filed under: Dessert , British Isles , Farming , Nuts/seeds , Chocolate , Far East Cacao trees have been grown in southern Vietnam for a good six years. Now the Mekong Delta has joined the country's other provinces. Ben Tre province recently began exporting processed cocoa with a whopping 12-ton shipment to the U.K. And it plans to keep up the pace with another 12-ton batch next month. The province has 5,000 acres of cacao trees and plans to expand to 25,000 by 2010. That's a lot of processed cocoa. I'm all for the economic development of Vietnamese agriculture, but my secret hope is that the Brits start doing some really interesting things with chocolate now that they have all that cocoa. [photo: Thanh Nien News ] Read Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments

Bittersweet, Cookbook of the Day

Sat, 20 May 2006 08:06:33 +0000

Filed under: Chocolate , Books , Cookbook of the Day Alice Medrich must be one of the most talented pastry chefs to have ever published a cookbook. "Pastry chef" seems like a better description than "baker" because, though she bakes, she specializes in chocolate. Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate is an exceptional work from her and won the IACP awards for Best Single Subject Cookbook and Cookbook of the Year in 2004, after the book was released. The book covers different types of chocolate, detailing levels of sweetness and types of cocoas, and provides a wealth of information on how to work with it, including troubleshooting common problems. Not only does it cover the topics, but Medrich explains the difficult nature of chocolate in an extremely eloquent way, something which not all writers who have tackled the topic can claim. While her prose is detailed, it pales in comparison to the level of specificity that Medrich applies in her recipes. While it may seem intimidating at first glance, the recipes are still very readable and can walk the cook through from start to finish of some of the most mouthwatering chocolate creations you can imagine. The book is also full of stunning illustrations, should you need any encouragement to attempt the recipes.

Food Porn: Innovative PB&J

Thu, 18 May 2006 16:05:41 +0000

Filed under: Food Porn , On the Blogs When you hear the phrase "peanut butter and jelly," chances are you think of a childhood snack or a tasty lunch, tucked away in a brown paper bag. The idea might not inspire the same mouthwatering temptation that it did when you were ten, but perhaps this updated version of the classic pair is enough to. Kuidaore used Thomas Keller's take on peanut butter and jelly as inspiration to put together these phenominal treats: grown up peanut butter cups with yuzu pate de fruit "jellies".

Food Porn: Giant sno ball

Tue, 16 May 2006 12:09:11 +0000

Filed under: Snacks , Food Porn , Retro cookery , Super Size Me Sno Balls are snack cakes made by Hostess. They were introduced in 1947 and consist of a chocolate cupcake filled with creme filling, coated with a marshmallowy fluff and rolled in coconut. When you look closely, you can see that the interior is really a regular Hostess Ding Dong or cupcake that has been turned upside down. Nevertheless, they have a lot of retro appeal and, like must snack foods, become even more appealing when super-sized. I found this photoset on Flickr when I was looking around for more pimped out snack ideas . The chocolate cake dome was baked in a round bowl , hollowed out and covered with homemade marshmallow . Check out the whole photoset to see all the steps.

New bars from Larabar

Sat, 13 May 2006 16:01:28 +0000

Filed under: Snacks , Vegetarian , Organic , Vegan , Non-GMO , Chocolate , Fruit , New Products , Light Food

Mars makes 18th-century chocolate

Fri, 12 May 2006 16:33:06 +0000

Filed under: Chocolate , Newspapers , On the Blogs , The History of... , America History buffs with a sweet tooth can now get an idea of what chocolate tasted like to American colonists. American Heritage Chocolate , made by Mars, aims to recreate the chocolate of yore by using centuries-old methods and recipes. Stone ground cocoa beans result in a grittier chocolate infused with spices such as cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, red pepper, orange and vanilla. The chocolate comes in bars, sticks and a drink mix. As is fitting for a historical chocolate, American Heritage is available only at Fort Ticonderoga, Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, Mount Vernon and The Smithsonian. An AP story has more . [Via USA TODAY ] Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments

A 54¢ egg cream... at Barney's

Wed, 10 May 2006 19:24:42 +0000

Filed under: West Coast , Raves & Reviews , Stores & Shopping , Retro cookery It doesn't seem like you can get a whole lot for 54¢, but at Barney Greengrass , on the 5th floor of Barney's in Beverly Hills, you can get a taste of nostalgia. They serve up egg creams at the shockingly low price - making them the best buy in they whole store. According to LA Ritz , who found the drink while waiting for some friends to finish shopping, they did use Hershey's syrup instead of U-Bet (the horror!), but it still could be the starting place for a new trend. Of course, if it catches on, I doubt that the price will remain so low!

See's Candies' Mother's Day Purse

Tue, 09 May 2006 16:33:16 +0000

Filed under: Chocolate , Candy , Stores & Shopping For Mother's Day, See's Candies has restyled one of their signature boxes into an adorable pink and white purse with a beaded handle. It is packed with an assortment of truffles and other chocolates and topped off with a bow. In addition to selling the purse alone, See's also sells a larger Mother's Day Keepsake Collection , which includes the 10-ounce purse, an additional pound of assorted chocolates and a pink bag full of foil-covered chocolate hearts.

Smarties get a little smarter

Tue, 09 May 2006 14:05:15 +0000

Filed under: British Isles , Candy , Newspapers , New Products , Europe Nestle's popular candy-coated chocolates, Smarties , are getting a makeover. Actually, it's more of a make-under. They are being stripped of artificial colors starting next month. The blue candy will be most directly affected, as there is no naturally edible dye to produce the same or a similar shade. This means that Smarties' blue candies will be white until a suitable color replacement can be found.

Spring Bonnet Chocolates for Mom

Mon, 08 May 2006 11:33:37 +0000

Filed under: Chocolate , Candy , Stores & Shopping For the Mom who's a fashionista as well as a chocoholic, these chocolates from Moonstruck Chocolate Co. could be just the right thing for Mother's Day. Each of the eight truffles in the ribboned box is shaped like a little bonnet . Handmade and adorned with tiny edible flowers, the adorable confections come in four flavors: raspberry frappe, summermint tea, lemon mousse and orange mousse, all of which are fittingly summery. It's $24 for eight candies, but they're so unique that it's a gift Mom will surely appreciate.

Tootsie developing new products

Sun, 07 May 2006 16:03:14 +0000

Filed under: Candy , New Products By Tootsie, I am not referring to Dustin Hoffman , but to Tootsie Roll Industries . They make the chewy, chocolate Tootsie rolls that have been popular for over a century. Earlier this year they released mini Chocolate Covered Tootsie Rolls , which are a surprisingly good snack, and they are planning even more new items . The headliner is scheduled to be a sugar-free version of the Tootsie roll, but other new candies to be released this year will include:

Hugs and Kisses for Mom

Sun, 07 May 2006 15:01:12 +0000

Filed under: Chocolate , Candy , Stores & Shopping , New Products This box of chocolates is from master chocolatier Jacques Torres' Chocolate Factory in New York. It is a heart shape that holds a wonderful assortment of delicious chocolates and will reveal a hidden Mother's Day message, once the chocolates have all been eaten. The pieces marked "XOXO" and the bottom "v" of the heart-shape are custom-molded pieces of solid chocolate and the bon bon collection is an assortment of some of Torres' best sellers, including (but not limited to):

Godiva G collection for Mother's Day

Sat, 06 May 2006 12:04:36 +0000

Filed under: Chocolate , Stores & Shopping , New Products The Godiva G collection is the ultra-gourmet line of chocolates made by the popular chocolatier. For Mother's Day , they have introduced a limited release 20-piece set of chocolates. Each collection is packaged in an elegant pink gift box and, in honor of the jeweler Aaron Basha, a free travel jewelry case is included with each purchase. Unfortunately, no jewelry is included, but speaking of jewels, each candy in the collection looks like one, with unique and vibrant coloring topping of each of the decadent, intense truffles. The box is $65 and will only be available through May 14th.

Angelina Jolie loves Reese's

Thu, 04 May 2006 20:02:21 +0000

Filed under: Snacks , Chocolate , Candy Pregnancy can affect you in weird ways. Cravings - including the famous pickles and ice cream combination - are not uncommon, though they are frequently for ordinary things, like candy bars. Candy bar cravings aren't a problem when you can dash out to 7-11, but when you live in Namibia, it can be a lot more difficult to get a Reese's.

White Chocolate M&Ms review

Thu, 04 May 2006 09:03:11 +0000

Filed under: Snacks , Chocolate , Candy , Australia , Raves & Reviews , New Products , America For the last year or two, give or take, M&Ms Australia has been selling white chocolate M&Ms. I like white chocolate, but I wouldn't ordinarily go out of my way to pick some up and I didn't expect to like these when I first saw them. A few pieces later and I was hooked. They have the same, familiar candy shell as the classic milk chocolate candies, but lighter in color and filled with a smooth white chocolate. The chocolate was very creamy and made a perfect contrast to the crisp coating. They were a bit sweeter than regular M&Ms, but they were also more satisfying.