Weird Flavors and Inclusions in Chocolate

Hello everyone, new to TheChocolateLife.com, but seemed like a pretty interesting site so decided to join

- We have gotten a few requests for chocolate covered bacon. We thought that was pretty strange, but we looked it up and there are places that do make it. I also noted that it was something featured on "Jersey Shore" so I am sure that is also why we gotten recent requests for it. Especially being in NJ.

we make it and sell it wholesale.....get in touch

They are one of our best selling brownies! Let me know if you want some.

From Sweden , with alo(v)e

"Aloe Vera and Chocolate tasting

Welcome to savor the world's most wholesome fruit, in combination with the world's most wholesome vegetable!

Both aloe vera and chocolate are known for their fantastic health benefits. During this tasting you will experience just what a combination of these can create, both for taste, and for your wellbeing. The tasting guide lectures on the pairing of aloe and chocolate for health, along with how YOU can become a connoisseur of chocolate. You will learn the difference between good and bad production of both chocolate and aloe. All the while we'll be testing both chocolate samples and aloe vera pralines of high quality. In between bites of chocolate, we'll enjoy fruity aloe vera drinks."

You should carry Vosges Mo's Bacon Bar or go more serious with Roni-Sue's whole bacon slice covered chocolate.

Bacon and chocolate....its that chocolate line visingo..??

It in grocery stores...it was quite good....

I tried a duck confit truffleat the Chocolopolis Serious Chocolate contest yesterday -- very unusual, but lovely presentation (with flecks of gold), and would work as an appetizer served with cheese and fruit.

Yikes, sorry but I am a purest, I dont like the strange savory or sour ingredients being put in chocolate. I had a chef present to me some sort of Lettuce wrapped truffle at the world pastry championship one time, and I could not believe how bad it was, and this was a top chef. Experementing is fine, but nothing better that fresh and traditional chocolate flavors, no cheese please for me.

The strangest chocolate combination I had was in Belgium,Bitter ganache, with distillate
Of Havana leaves. andAlmond pralin with crispfried onion intersting combo not for every one.

My experience happened on accident. I love cheese, and chocolate, but at a cafe, I had a sandwich and a slice of chocolate cake,.......there was a slice of swiss cheese that happened to get the chocolate on it....I was in heaven....swiss cheese dipped in the chocolate frosting sold me.......i would live on that if i could....it would kill me though.

In Italy I had some truffles that I won't forget. It has been a while ... I think it was in 2008 and Somewhere around Tuscany we had gotten a chocolate called Tobacco ... upon cutting it, there was actual smoke coming out of it. We honestly couldn't believe it and were just looking at each other thinking "Did I just see that or was it an illusion!" ...

Another confection from the same place was the Tequila ... and it contained an actual worm inside. It was hard to miss, as it was hard to cut through ... we both couldn't make ourselves eat it

Edit: I will have to find the picture of that one ... I just saw it on my screensaver the other day. It is too bad we couldn't capture the smoke from the other confection though.

are mint and cumin in milk or coriander and grapefruit in milk strange enough? This are just a few of my flavour combinations.. want to try them?

I once was served (did not order) a warm chocolate cake made with tapenada. Since it was on the table, I had to try it: one of the worst things I have ever tasted, ruined an otherwise great meal. I could not get the metallic taste of the black olives out of my mouth for weeks. Seriously, I just don't get it sometimes. I have a friend making chocolates with corn-nuts, olive oil, etc., all pretty nice as he is really good at balancing flavors. I did the saffron thing as well when we ate at Batali's place in NY years ago. The dessert was nice, but the best part of the meal was listening to Hendrix and Led Zep on the PA. They were playing albums all the way through...outstanding.

Clay

I have used goat's cheese and black truffle in a chocolate truffle that's made using extra virgil oilive oil. real smooth nice taste...

John:

Thanks for sharing. Done with restraint, I think that this would make a lovely combination. I can see how a real fruity olive oil would add complexity to this.

:: Clay

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

I used www.foodpairing.com extensively to reserch food combinations.Does anyone else in the group use this? Their sibling site, albeit not as extensive flavour wise,is www.foodpairing.be if you want to give it a go.

John -

I was lucky enough to sit in on a lecture/discussion/demonstration on the technology behind foodpairings.com in 2010. It's been VERY useful to me. I recommend it to everyone who's interested in the subject.

:: Clay

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

I once tried a Passion fruit puree truffle by Paul A Young for which he won a taste award. It was absolutely amazing. The flavour was precise and exciting.

I have also come across Zotter who makes the most unheard of flavours although I have personally not tasted his collection. In one of his chocolates he has incorporated beetroot as a flavour. I read somewhere that he once wanted to make blood flavoured chocolates, but didn't end up going through with it.

Hmm...I'll be in SF this coming weekend and I'll look for the Zotter. The weirdest flavor for me was truffles in ganache. I think it was Oriol Balaguer but I got it in that shop on Park Ave and about 58th street about a year ago. It was vile. Expensive and vile, and I'm pretty adventurous. I did like the olive oil/gray salt thing by Xocolatl (sp?) and I didn't expect to. This stuff is really getting expensive when you open it all up and there's basically a single portion (~50 gm or so) inside. When it's great I don't mind at all. When it isn't (as with the truffle chocolate) it bites.
updated by @keith-ayoob: 06/21/15 05:19:52AM

Hi, I know it is late in the discussion, but I though I should say we made chocolate covered "biltong" that turned out divine, but very few people were actually willing to try it although it is a fairly common combination in South Africa. Then for a beer fest I made a good old Castle Larger beer truffle on the basis of a water truffle with no cream etc. just the beer and it is so popular I have to make it all the time.

I googled "biltong" and found it was a type of cured meat. This kind of makes sense that it would be good, as the whole salty-sweet thing is very popular now (salted caramel with chocolate, bacon bits on chocolate, etc.).

Yes, biltong is very "South African" we all love it and I am surprised at my fellow South Africans reluctance to try it.

Have you tried Artisan's buffalo milk chocolate yet? It's very creamy and sweet. At the 92Y event last weekend, we paired Pralus' Barre Infernale Lait with a 3-year-old gouda. It was amazing!

2 questions:

1) Where can you find the Artisan's buffalo milk chocolate and

2) When pairing cheese and chocolate (OK, maybe a stupid question, but I really don't know this) do you taste them together or separate, and if the latter, which goes first?

I got it in London, but you might be able to get it by mail order. The Meadow might have it, but I don't know if they carry the buffalo-milk bar.

We had everyone taste the chocolate and cheese together. I think the cheese was called Roomana, but I didn't see the label. I just know that it was a 3-year-old gouda, so it was crystalline, nutty and almost butterscotchy.

The importer for Artisan du Chocolat is in Salt Lake City, A Priori. They are affiliated with Caputo's Market. I was the person who put the two together, so I can let them both know that there is interest in the buffalo milk the next time an order gets placed.

As for tasting/pairing cheese/chocolate. There is no correct order. Try it both ways and see if there are differences. Also important is to keep the relative amounts the same as large differences/changes in amount will change the balance of the flavors.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Say about few years back I tried Lamb Curry which tasted divine.

Coming from Indian back ground, Curries are staple yet haven't tried anything like this.

Wondered what made it finger licking delicious and its Dark Chocolate...

From then on, when I have gathering, i add dark chocolate to my Lamb Curry and always famous. Worth trying.

Our most popular truffle is a dark chocolate grapefruit balsamic.

My newest experiment is tarragon and 55%. YUM.

I recently tried dark (about 60% I think) with rose water essence. I liked it but my other half didn't. He doesn't like rose essence anyway -- says it tastes like soap. While I did like it, it's not one I'd want every day, the way I like good plain, dark every day.

I made a bar yesterday - white chocolate swirled with cardamon and dotted with pink peppercorns and lemongrass

Also made another white chocolate bar with fennugreek, lemon peel and pistachios

Always looking for new combinations

Salt And Chocolate. At first I thought this was two taste bud extremes that could not possibly work. But one bite and I was hooked. The salt added an extra zing to the taste buds making them jump with excitement.

During my time with Puccini Bomboni in Amsterdam we pushed the boundaries until the boundaries collapsed around us and then basically took a step back and just observed the mayhem going on in chocolateland. We would venture out and take a look... scuttle back to the safety of our cave and sample, discuss and critique what we had found. The worst was Lapsang Souchon tea ganache in 56% ...... tasted like smoked fish had been added. we had a go at japanese horseradish too . I have tasted Gjetost and Dolfin pink pepper at a cocktail party and that was a winner. But I believe the fruitbasket has to go to Vosges and Michelle's Bacon Bar... freakin awesome.The ultimate No-No....... Pralines made with Breast Milk, I kid you not. cool question Clay, I'm lovin' it!

OK, the breast milk thing takes the cake. There was a chef in Brooklyn, I think, that was written about maybe last year or so, who used the extra breast milk his wife produced to make cheese, ice cream, etc. and served it in his cafe/restaurant until he was stopped. I thought donating it would have made more sense. Combining it with pralines and chocolate? No -- although I think there's at least enough material to do some stand-up comedy with the idea.

I didrecently have a taste of a John Kelly habanero & jalapeno truffle fudge bar. Much more heat than the usual ancho/chipotle mix that is used by some chocolatiers. It doesn't hit immediately, but when it does, it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

I just made a white chocolate wasabi ganache piece, probably the oddest I've tried and made. Some people like it some....not so much. So far 50/50 Still testing but that's the oddest for me

I'm not big on flavored chocolate, but I tasted some white and black truffle oil ganaches in dark chocolate, also olive oil ganaches in Montreal by Genevieve Grandbois. Until reading your column here, I thought that was pretty far out. Some of the combinations described in the comments...I dunno.

Paul Young's marmite truffle

The weirdest one I've tried I think would be a cardamom piece from a chocolate shop in Delft. It was delicious but a very unusual combo.The weirdest one I've made, which people either loved or hated was a layered piece with strawberry pate de fruit and white chocolate Parmesan ganache dipped in white chocolate.

I am still trying to work out chocolate chili bars. Does anyone have any pointers on how to perfect it...When I add just cayenne powder to my bars, they are hot without any chili flavor...should I be satisfied with this? HELP!

yes, and the smoked alder salt that is out now is delicious with chocolate.....ground sage added to it with peanuts and chili is to die for.

updated by @nena-creasy: 06/15/15 12:24:51PM

Oh! chocolate in Seattle turned me on to goat cheese truffles with crushed pink peppercorns on top. easy to make, don't keep very long and definitely a distinctive taste. I love them!

Hi everyone: A fascinating discussion because I have been working on new flavours for sometime. My training is not actually as a chocolate chef, I'm actually a PhD food chemist. Currently I am producing about forty flavours for high-end clients in Australia and New Zealand (although I'm a Hungarian-American). In the past I've not only done all the alcoholic flavours (see beer chocolates at right) but also deer velvet and venison salami chocolates. Plus we have our line of aphrodisiac chocolates for men and women using rain forest herbs from Southeast Asia. The numbers of men enjoying Tomcat Alley certainly swelled to epic proportions! My Pocket Venus truffles revive a flagging female libido too. They are best served as a matching set. Just now I got lots of attention for my garlic truffles and kangaroo salami truffles , which are actually an hors d'oeuvre. I'm brewing up now something that I can only reveal now as an "Operatic Chocolate". Kind regards, Hanna Frederick, Mamor Chocolates and High Tea Szalon, Melbourne, Australia