Yeah ok, so it's not really a diet topic BUT it fits in with the values in my siggy AND if you believe in treating yourself now and again, but want the BEST treats, then read on....

I went to a chocolate tasting on Sunday and it was very interesting. They did a blind test with Milkybar, Cadbury's Dairy Milk and Bourneville compared to some "proper" swiss chocolate that was high quality stuff.

Now, we were all told to take a small piece of chocolate and place it on our tongue and let it melt. To me, the milkybar tasted grainy and gritty and very artificially vanilla. Compared to the swiss white chocolate which was very smooth and creamy and very natural. Milkybar also didn't melt quite as well as the swiss stuff.

Cadbury's dairy milk is rank... It tastes very strongly "flavoured". It is very waxy and greasy and doesn't melt particularly well. The swiss stuff was of course creamy and melt in the mouth and very flavourful - it has more cocoa in it than CDM.

Bourneville chocolate took AGES to melt in my mouth and I had to "chew" it to get rid of it! That was also quite waxy and a bit grainy too. The swiss dark chocolate, although quite bitter melted really nicely and tasted like proper chocolate.

Soooooo for what it's worth. When you are looking for PROPER chocolate, make sure that the ingredients are Cocoa Solids, Cocoa butter, Sugar and any other flavours/added ingredients that you might like if you are buying a flavoured bar. If there is "vegetable oil" or "soya lecithin" listed in the bar, then the manufacturers have removed some of the cocoa butter (if not all) and sold it for a song, then replaced it with cheaper vegetable oil and stabilisers to RIP YOU OFF!

I bought a bar of Montezuma chocolate in Waitrose yesterday and it was heavenly! Also, this is very surprising, BUT Cadbury's Dairy Milk HIGHLIGHTS bar is actually made with all cocoa butter and no vegetable oil! However it does have Malitol as a sweetner, but if you're not bothered about artificial sweetners, then the highlights bar is actually a better quality chocolate than the ordinary stuff. Oh and also it's smaller than an ordinary bar, so you get a good quality bar in a small portion - perfect treat to me! (And no I don't work for Cadburys )

Try REALLY tasting your favourite bar and see what you notice...

Have you tried Toberlone bars? I love the white and the milk chocolate ones.

Equal exchange makes a 71% fair trade certified bar that is one of the best I've ever had. I've only ever seen it at Whole Foods (in the US), but you can get it online as well.

I don't think it's legal to call it chocolate in the States if you substitute vegetable oil for the cocoa butter, but I think the chocolate companies are lobbying the FDA to change this. I remember having chocolate in Canada that was waxy and flavorless to me. Was it the vegetable oil? I hadn't thought to look at the ingredients, I just didn't continue to eat it.

Sorry for jumping in here, but you did say "chocolate snobs of the WORLD"...

Knock, knock, you did say chocolate snobs of the world... Trader Joe's (US company) has their own brand and they have a swiss dark chocolate bar that is divine!!

I opened my bar of Green & Blacks cherry last night. I don't think it will last too long

bleh, I can;t stand dark chocolate. Whenever there's a news report about health benefits of chocolate it's always dark chocolate!

I like milk chocolate and especially Cadbury's, but I may have to try the swiss types after reading this. And English chocolate is WAY better than the North American stuff. Cadbury kicks Hershey's rear end!

Um, I don;t think I should be posting this on a diet board... <smacks hand, hangs head in shame...>

Yes. OMG they are sooooooo good. Yum yum.

The chili kind is surprisingly good, as is the paprika and strawberry.......

I bought a Dagoba bar that had chile in it... oh it is good

Read below for more info on the replacement of cocoa butter with vegetable oils in USA chocolate:

http://dontmesswithourchocolate.guit...sthisabout.asp

Oh yes! This is my "regular" always on hand chocolate. I probably eat 4 little squares almost everyday.

i just bought some 86% cocoa dark choc - cote d`or or something. havent tried any yet. me and the kids will probably share it one evening. i like dark chocolate, but cannot eat lots of it in one sitting which is just as well!
i love lindt`s milk chocolate with the fondant centre the best, closely followed by caramac. as a child my mum and dad would hunt high and low for the easter egg version. not sure if you can still get those eggs. mad

Here is sort of a downer post, but something to consider and perhaps useful if you need another good reason to eat a little less chocolate.

The Canadian journalist Carol Off published a book called "Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet ", about the cocoa trade. She was actually in danger during part of the research (I think this was when she was asking questions about another juornalist who had been working the same story and disappeared, never to be seen again). A depressingly high percentage of the world's cocoa is harvested by chlldren, many of whom are sold into slavery. They are generally not treated well. Most of them don't even know what a chocolate bar looks like. I have only skimmed the book but I did hear an in-depth interview with her.

So, I was already trying to buy organic if I could - now I look for the little "fair trade" label as well. Costs more but I eat less chocolate than I used to anyway.

The more you learn about the food industry the more frustrating it gets - I won't even get started on bananas!!

cheers,
Sue

All I have to say is this: Lindt Lindor Balls. Dark chocolate, but most importantly...Peanut butter. I'm a HUGE fan. And yes, I DO treat myself.

YP1 - that Green & Black with cherry is gorgeous - I like most of their range. I am such a kid that I love white choccie the best but of course dark chocolate 'lasts' longer cos I cannot shovel it down like milk chocolate.

2frus - Waitrose have got some luvverly choccies - cannot remember the make but it was 'mood' chocolate. One was in a lilac covered wrapper (I think I have said this before). One of the doctors got it for me (on Doctors orders!!!). It had lavender in it and lime and was luvverly.

Another I like which I probably shouldn't is Reissen - I think it is German?? It comes in a 5 chunk thing and is toffee covered with a darkish chocolate. I don't think the chocc is good enough for a choccie snob but I love getting the choccie off the fudgey toffee. It is more fudgey in consistency than toffee so I am not really breaking my no toffee cos of the poor teeth rule.