The Great Caramel Throw Down

I love caramel. But like chocolate (and men) caramel is all over the map. Some caramel is nice and chewy, some is almost like liquid, and some is that horrible wheat flour stuff in Goetze's caramel creams. GLACK!! Of course, the best caramel for you is the one you like the best. But I think you have to try a lot of caramels so you can figure out which one is really your favorite.

All these caramels taste so different I thought I should get a definition of caramel. From Wikipedia:

Caramel (pronounced /ˈkærəmɛl/ or /ˈkɑrməl/) refers to a range of confections that are beige to dark brown in color and derived from the caramelization of sugar. Caramel also refers to a soft, dense, chewy, caramel-flavored candy made by boiling milk, sugar, butter, vanilla essence, water, and glucose or corn syrup.

Yahoo! I'm all about milk, butter, and sugar - YAY! And all of the caramels we'll review here (except for one) are covered in chocolate. YUM!!!

In the last entry I told you how fabulous the caramels from The Chocolate Fetish were. Well, today we're going to look at their sea salt collection:

http://www.chocolatefetish.com/proddetail.php?prod=SSCGBO&cat=8







And because it's easier for me to compare and judge than just describe, we're also going to look at caramels from another Asheville chocolatier, French Broad chocolates:

http://www.frenchbroadchocolates.com/salted_honey_caramels.html

We'll talk more about their other chocolates in an upcoming entry.

And since all the celebrities (including our new President) keep raving about Fran's chocolates, we'll take a look at them too:
http://www.franschocolates.com/home.php?cat=1

Okay - first off, the diamond shaped thing is not a caramel - it's a hazelnut milk chocolate truffle. And it's very, very good - especially if you like hazelnut.

Okay - on to the caramel.

Let's compare all the dark chocolate sea salts and then the milk chocolate ones.

The winner is The Chocolate Fetish - their caramel is slightly softer than French Broad's and has a richer taste. There is also a better marriage between the chocolate and the caramel in the Fetish caramels. The French Broad chocolates use a local wildflower honey rather than corn syrup - I don't know if this accounts for the difference in taste and texture or not.

The Fetish caramel is so rich and chewy - it's just amazing.

Now what about the famous Fran's? Third place! Too salty - the salt completely overpowered the caramel. Now French Broad's caramels could actually have used a little MORE salt. It was too subtle there. Fetish was just right, Goldilocks.

Now here's the thing - if you only had Fran's you might think it was good. The combination of salt and caramel is a delicious one. But when you compare it to these other two - not so good! And Fran's is the most expensive, thank you very much. In this case, celebrity endorsement is worth more than quality.

Now what about the milk chocolate ones?

Fetish wins again! I just can't tell you all how amazing these caramels are. They have such a rich, deep taste. And look at all the different salts - they use SIX different salts from around the world. This really gives you an amazing taste experience. You would never think salts could taste so differently.

This time Fran's comes in second - I really liked the milk chocolate ones much better. The salt was less overwhelming than on the dark chocolate ones. But it was close, the French Broad caramels had a delicious finish. The chocolate was a bit smoother on the Fran's caramels.

So, when it comes to chocolate covered caramels, The Chocolate Fetish RULES!

All I want to do is get you to try something different. You may decide you'd rather have Kraft caramels any day, and that's great! But choose based on knowledge, not just because those are the caramels you've always eaten. And remember, this blog is about chocolate, but the message is bigger. Don't just do what you've always done or hang out with the same people you've always hung out with. Try new things! Meet new people! Your life is as big and as exciting as YOU make it. Everyday can be an adventure.

Even salt can be exciting!!

Perfection and Caramel

No progress on the relationship front - although I was contacted out of the blue by the perpetrator of the Afghanistan Affair. He told me I was the perfect woman - maybe too perfect. (Apparently his other women aren't quite what he expected.) Ah....so I'm TOO perfect and my personality is too big. What am I going to do with all this "constructive" criticism? Heavy sigh.



On to sweeter things:

This is an interesting assortment from The Chocolate Fetish. Let's take it piece by piece from the upper left.

First are white chocolate covered dried apricots - I didn't care for these - the apricots were too hard - when you bite them all the softer white chocolate crumbles off. And it's not like I really love dried apricots.

Next over was a milk chocolate covered caramel - WOW - fantastic!! Buttery, rich, and chewy - just the way I like them!!

Next was a dark chocolate covered crystallized piece of ginger. I'm biased here because I'm not a big ginger fan, and there's no middle ground with a hunk of ginger. You'll either love it or hate it. I'm not lovin' it.

Next is a nice, dark chocolate covered fig. This was good - as far as dried, dark chocolate covered figs go. If you're a big fig fan - this is for you. Me - not so much. Hey, don't get me wrong - I love the Fig Newton. But eating dried figs doesn't really rock my world - even when they are covered with chocolate.

Immediately below the fig is a dark chocolate dipped dried kiwi. Same problem as with the apricot - the dried fruit is too hard for the softer chocolate. Didn't like this.

Next is a dark chocolate covered caramel - FANTASTIC!! Almost fudgey - chewy, rich and decadent. LOVED the caramels in this assortment.

Next was the only dried fruit I really liked - a crystallized pineapple wedge covered with dark chocolate - heavenly!! I wish I had more of these. A lot more. YUM!

Finally there is a milk chocolate and a white chocolate covered dried raspberry - these looked gorgeous - like strands of chocolate lace over the raspberries. If these had been fresh raspberries - this would have been wonderful. But with dried raspberries. Eh.

Okay - so dried fruit covered in chocolate isn't my thing, but these caramels were mind blowing. They were the perfect consistency - not too soft or too chewy. In fact, they were perfect - not too perfect - just perfect.

And don't worry - I know that someday, perhaps in the old folks home, I will find the man who thinks I'm perfect - at least for him. And if I don't? Well - there is always chocolate!!

Round and Round We Go

This has been a challenging week on the dating front. (A fantastic week on the business front, however, just so you know I'm not a total loser.)

I met a man in the real world - i.e. not on match.com. He seemed okay, not scared by the big personality. He seemed to have quite a big personality himself. We talked for a while and he asked me to dinner - all good. But, since I am trying to learn from my mistakes, I asked how long he had been divorced. (This apparently is the money question!) Aw, shucks, dear readers, guess what? Not divorced. Separated.

Let's recap - the Afghanistan Affair resulted in me waiting for nine months for a recently DIVORCED man who upon his return decided he needed to date more. Well, after that, there's no way in hell I'm going to start dating people who aren't even divorced yet. I don't want to be the transition person (or whatever I was) again! I say - get your party on! Play the field! Go wild! Don't bother me until there's at least a remote chance of an actual relationship.

So I tell this guy - oh - sorry - I only date the divorced. He didn't want to give up at first - called me twice, sent e-mail, but I did not give in. I know the only person who's got my six is me. I gave my heart away too easily last time - I will not do it again.

Tonight I went out with a man who is successful, handsome, and you would think, a good catch. Only problem is that when he talks, he is engaged. When I talk, he immediately checks out. Since I blather about myself endlessly in this blog, you all probably think I do the same thing on dates. Not so. How else do you think I find out about things like restraining orders? I listen.

If there is a chance to share something about myself, if I like the guy, I will. Tonight we were talking about travel. When he talked about his travel - I listened and asked questions. (For example I know how much his boat cost, how he decided to buy it, if it was hard to learn to drive, and many other details.) I mentioned that the last big trip I took was to Australia. He leaned forward and looked at the clock across the restaurant. I stopped talking. That's all he knows about my travel. This makes me sad. I would really like to meet someone who would like to know who I am. Sigh. This blog is now my diary. Just call me Bridget Jones.

After dinner we took a salsa lesson. I learned something. You should never take dance lessons with someone you are not into. You have to touch them. It is creepy.

And depressing. I left thinking how awesome it would have been to take that dance lesson with a man I was into. Another deep sigh.

Okay - so let's look on the bright side. I am not getting involved with someone who is actually still married and I have some new hot dance moves. (At this rate, I'll have a relationship about the same time we pay off the federal deficit.)

Thank GOD there is chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are rounds from The Chocolate Fetish. Many chocolatiers do chocolate bark - this is Fetish's version. I like the concept here - not as thick as bark or a bar, these are nice and thin. But I wasn't as blown away by them as I expected to be. They are about the size of a large saucer.

This one looks gorgeous - it is peanut butter swirl:

My comment won't surprise you - not peanut buttery enough for me. WAY too subtle. It looks fabulous and like it would really taste peanut buttery, but the swirl is very thin resting on a thick base of chocolate. : ( Sad face, very sad face. Not creepy like the dancing, however.

This one looked great also - it's Rocky Road with milk chocolate:

Nuts, marshmallow, rice crisps - sounds great. I say - eh. Not as amazing as it looks. I'm not sure what I think it needed. Marshmallow and rice crisps are kind of bland. This just didn't rock my world. Not bad at all. But I like Baby Ruth bars better if that tells you anything. Now this chocolate blows the "chocolate" on a Baby Ruth away, but as a total confection? ZZZZZ Boring! (Apparently like my conversation.)

Now look at this! Like a work of art! Look at that thin drizzle! The mix of textures - like lacework over the cashews!

And I adore cashews - I thought this would be delish! But the chocolate overpowered the nuts. And there is some type of caramelized stuff on the cashews. Again - not as good as I had hoped. Maybe if the divorce papers were signed.......

Now this one was my favorite:

An outstanding dark chocolate - the word lovely comes to mind again. It's just so smooth and not bitter - it's quite amazing, really. And those giant lumps are toffee - like in Heath Bars (which I adore) but better. More buttery. THIS did live up to my expectations and was fantastic. I guess I like my men like I like my chocolate - tall, dark, a little rugged, but with a sweet side. And okay with the idea that I might not want to share them.

Chocolate Ecstasy

The Chocolate Fetish is not messing around with their Ecstasy Truffles. (And since you know about my love life, this is the closest to any type of ecstasy I'll be getting any time soon). These truffles are simply amazing!

The brochure says that Ecstasy Truffles are European style in taste and texture. They have a lighter center than the typical American truffle, are more complex, subtly flavored and are enrobed with a blend of outstanding European chocolates. Well, snap!

I hate to say this (since I do worship all things American), but I like these better. Most truffles are so heavy, these are much lighter (thick fluffier). I wish I had gotten more of these, but some of the weird flavors scared me off. I am, in retrospect, an idiot. But, I can learn from my mistakes and will be in Asheville again in my lifetime.

Chai Moon (if you know Asheville, this is a suitably flaky name for a truffle to make it big there) is the white truffle in the bottom row with cinnamon on top. This was my favorite of all the truffles. Here's the official description: The 14 spices commonly used in Chai (Indian tea) are blended into the milk chocolate ganache then enrobed in white chocolate. You experience the flavors of Chai and a rich full mouth chocolate taste. I say - oh hell yeah! I was wary of the whole tea/chocolate combo but this is more about subtle, delicious spices. A+++

See the inside here:

Ecstasy Blossom - this one is in the second row - far left. See that bit of purple on top? It is garnished with a crystallized violet petal. Cool. This was another I wasn't sure I would like - the description: the rich dark chocolate center is delicately flavored with lemon zest, a touch of ginger, and a hint of saffron then encased in a dark chocolate coverture. I'm not big on lemon and ginger in chocolate, so I was sure I wouldn't like it, but it was also delicious. This is because these are made with the touch of a master. The flavors compliment rather than overwhelm the chocolate. They are subtle. Some chocolate with lemon leaves a Lemon Pledge taste in your mouth. Not this - it is also amazing - a wonderful palette of flavors.

You have to love the names - I also tried Velvet Sin (dark) and French Kiss (milk). I don't think I have the power to adequately describe these. Think rich, smooth, melt in your mouth chocolate. Almost fluffy blends of the highest quality. Wow! But after trying the others with their exotic flavors, these seemed boring! Believe me, they were not, but I'm just showing how quickly I got spoiled.

Wine and Roses - second row, third from the left, has a crystallized rose petal on top. How beautifully these are all made! This one has a deep, dark chocolate ganache infused with red wine and an essence of rose. Holy smokes!! I think if you wanted to seduce someone, this would be the one to choose. So sexy!

Hazelnut Gianduia was the only one I thought could actually use a little more flavor. I really like hazelnut and would have enjoyed a stronger flavor here.

That said, there was one truffle not listed in my brochure. It's the top right one - pistachio. Look at the autopsy photo. While fluffy, this one was way too strong for me. To much pistachio. Go figure. Some people are never happy.

Overall, these truffles were like works of art. I think this is why chocolate snobs look down their noses at Hershey and Mars. But these Hershey and Mars are meant to be affordable and for the masses. These are a completely different thing. Sometimes I just want a Mr. Goodbar - I don't want a Chai Moon truffle. I just want simple and cheap, not expensive and complex. I'm just thankful we have the whole range - how lucky are we? Life is good!

Motivational lesson - you don't always know what you do and do not like - try what the experts recommend. The more things you try, the more you learn about what YOU really like. This doesn't just apply to chocolate - it applies to life. Meet different people, travel different places - taste it all! The journey is what it's all about.

Share your sense of enthusiasm. I was so excited about the chocolate, that the kids working in the shop wanted to share their favorites. They were a joy to be with and they made my experience so much more fun. And when the owner, Bill Foley, came in and gave me a tour - well, it just doesn't get any better than that. You can do the same thing in your local drugstore! Once a retail store owner told me "You bring joy wherever you go." I always want to live up to that description of me. That is when I am at my best. What description of yourself do you want to live up to? Have you lost your best self lately?

This recession (or a break up or anything else) cannot take your best self from you - unless you let it.

May all your truffles be ecstatic.

Nuts

I love nuts. I am slowly starting to believe that men are nuts. But I don't know if I love nutty men.

Last night I went to an event called Meetup (Meetup has all kinds of events - this one was for singles in their 30s and 40s). I met a guy who seemed nice. We were talking and several men approached us to meet him. Turns out he played professional football for two years THIRTY YEARS ago. Apparently when other men hear this, they turn into little kids and can't wait to meet this guy! (And he loved it.) I've never seen anything like it! I hate to be a girl, but who cares? That was two years thirty years ago! The guy is in his 50s!!

I care WAY more about who someone is today, not who they were thirty years ago. But apparently men will fawn over a pro football player for his entire life.

Now, of course, this guy must have been telling people that he was a pro football player 30 years ago. It's not like they recognized him. Turnoff.

Okay, if all that wasn't nutty enough, when this guy was talking with me I asked him how long he had been divorced. Turns out he's not divorced, he's separated. And he goes on to tell me - I kid you not - that he had to leave his 15 year marriage because his wife was physically abusing him.

Now let's ponder this for a moment. Let's say that it is true. Why would you tell a stranger you have just met this? Shouldn't you keep this to yourself? At least for a while? This is private information in my book. Guys, think how fast you would run for cover if a woman you JUST met told you this:

"Hi, I'm Susie Q and I just left my 15 year marriage because my husband was abusing me." Wouldn't you think - YIKES!!!!!! Susie Q might have some issues?

I wonder if he ever had to get a restraining order......


Speaking of nutty, look at these gorgeous babies:




I came back from Meetup and ate ALL of these. They were AMAZING!!! And somehow less nutty than the guys I've been meeting lately.

They are Chocolate Nut Clusters from The Chocolate Fetish and they are incredible!! My favorite was the white chocolate with macadamia nuts. But all were great - there were two dark chocolate with hazelnut. And I love the helpful nut on top to tell you what nuts are PACKED inside. So you can see what we have - milk chocolate with almonds, milk chocolate with cashews, and dark chocolate with pecans.

I really liked these because the chocolate was of the best quality, but the focus was on the nuts. Some nut clusters have too much chocolate - the nuts are sprinkled on a thick chocolate base. Not there - the nuts are all the way through and are plentiful. Outstanding!

The more men I meet, the more I like chocolate.

Intimidation by Chocolate

I hope you all had a great weekend! My dating odyssey continued. Saturday night I did Speed Dating. I've actually done this before, and while it's kind of fun, it's also a little overwhelming. Can you imagine meeting 20 people in a couple of hours? You get about 5 minutes with each one. By the end of the night, I couldn't remember my own name, much less theirs.


I was told by one helpful guy that the men were intimated by my "big personality" (his words, not mine.) Well, I don't think the ol' personality is going to be changing anytime soon, so I may not be finding a boyfriend in this life. And a "big personality" does come in pretty handy when you're a motivational speaker. To be honest, if I have to give up my personality to find a good guy, then the price is too high. I like who I am.


What I didn't tell him was that most of the men were about as exciting as drying paint. The Research Triangle is loaded with scientists and software developers - apparently all of whom are single. And let's just say they're not bringing sexy back.


Speaking of sexy, today we're going to The Chocolate Fetish, a great little shop I discovered on the Asheville trip. I was lucky enough to get to meet the owner, Bill Foley, while I was there. Bill is a great guy who took time out of his busy day (the shop was packed - what recession?) to visit with me and show me around. Now, I am absolutely insane with this chocolate thing and bought a ton of stuff from him. So we're going to have to pace this visit out a bit. This ain't no stinkin' Speed Dating!


Let's start with their website just in case you want to get in on this delicious adventure: http://www.chocolatefetish.com/


They ship all over the US and even have a few international customers. They mix their own chocolate (this is not like Wolfgang Chocolates where the tanker truck of chocolate pulls up - seriously - I saw the pipes! They just pump in the chocolate like oil!). Fetish blends chocolate from Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Venezuela and four types from the US into their own special mix. They use no vegetable oil - only the natural cocoa butter and no chemical preservatives.


Their shop is cute - they even have some gift items:






They also do chocolate art - sculptures, amazing cake-like confections - gorgeous stuff. And they've been written up in loads of publications like Southern Living and Chocolatier. But let's get down to the nitty gritty and do some tasting!!


Now remember we are pacing! And Bill will probably die when he sees what I picked to start with:




Peanut Butter Malted Milk Balls. What can I say? I love peanut butter and when I had those Reese's Peanut Butter Whoppers it changed my life.

Well, Bill's are better.

I even tried Harry and David's:




Harry and David has a whole line of assorted malt balls. I, of course, was drawn to the peanut butter like a smoker to nicotine. They too have nothin' on Bill. The Fetish rules!!!

A little Chocolate CSI reveals why:





Oh yeah, baby! Look at all that peanut butter in the Fetish ball. And look at all that malt in the Harry and David ball. No contest. I wish I had a Whopper to dissect. Although I have no doubt about the result. Bill is da man!

What do you think all those Speed Dating scientists would think about these high-level experiments? Somehow I think they just wouldn't get it.

More from The Chocolate Fetish tomorrow!

Until then I have to close with a very appropriate quote sent by my good friend Mark Fleming:

"If you love something, set it free. Unless it's chocolate. Never release chocolate." - Renee Duvall


Release the scientists!!!!