I have always been fussy about chocolate.
The ME hasn’t helped with this. When I was younger, I found chocolate too sweet, apart from that with a 60-70% cocoa content. But as I have got older - and as the ME has let me - I have developed a sweeter tooth.
It is only really since we left England that I have developed a weakness for Cadbury’s: a case of ‘can’t have it, therefore want it,’ if ever there was one. On our travels passing through UK airports, a Crunchie, bar of Dairy Milk, or a Creme Egg (or, on certain occasions, all three) is thrown in with the magazines and newspapers at WHSmith.
This desire only extends to Cadbury’s though; I am still not keen on Nestle, Mars, or Galaxy.
The ME hasn’t helped with this. When I was younger, I found chocolate too sweet, apart from that with a 60-70% cocoa content. But as I have got older - and as the ME has let me - I have developed a sweeter tooth.
It is only really since we left England that I have developed a weakness for Cadbury’s: a case of ‘can’t have it, therefore want it,’ if ever there was one. On our travels passing through UK airports, a Crunchie, bar of Dairy Milk, or a Creme Egg (or, on certain occasions, all three) is thrown in with the magazines and newspapers at WHSmith.
This desire only extends to Cadbury’s though; I am still not keen on Nestle, Mars, or Galaxy.
In Munich, Cadbury's place in the consumer's heart is taken by Milka.
All I will say on the matter of Milka is that my only dalliance with it was a free sample we were once given; our shopping basket was never graced with its presence.
We had a brief encounter with Lindt Lindor whilst living in Leicester, but it was not until our time in Germany that it blew up into a full blown love affair with the little balls with the deliciously smooth centre which melted on your tongue. The milk chocolate ones, wrapped in red foil, were our favourites; the white chocolate ones came a close second. We were relieved to see them in the shops out in Sevilla, although the centre was more often than not totally liquid. (In the height of the Andalusian summer, the whole ball - not just the centre - was liquid. Chocolate had to be stored in the fridge at all times.)
Lindt seems to be a very popular brand of chocolate in Germany, with far more varieties and flavors on offer than in the UK. When we left Munich to come out to Montreal, we had only just discovered Lindt’s new addition: the ‘Hello my name is…' series. It was a serious contender to the Lindor in our hearts; the 'Strawberry Cheesecake' and 'Caramel Brownie' varieties were particularly amazing, and got us through the stresses and strains of the move.
With our great addiction/love of Lindor, you can imagine my relief when, on inspection of the Canadian grocery store chocolate section, Lindt Lindor were there in all their red glory!
But this excitement was very short lived...
Disappointment does not even begin to describe the way I felt when we had our first taste of Canadian Lindor. Just one bite was all it took to shatter my joy with the reality that the ones out here taste very different. This far cry from the European chocolate I am used to is not at all to my taste…
All I will say on the matter of Milka is that my only dalliance with it was a free sample we were once given; our shopping basket was never graced with its presence.
We had a brief encounter with Lindt Lindor whilst living in Leicester, but it was not until our time in Germany that it blew up into a full blown love affair with the little balls with the deliciously smooth centre which melted on your tongue. The milk chocolate ones, wrapped in red foil, were our favourites; the white chocolate ones came a close second. We were relieved to see them in the shops out in Sevilla, although the centre was more often than not totally liquid. (In the height of the Andalusian summer, the whole ball - not just the centre - was liquid. Chocolate had to be stored in the fridge at all times.)
Lindt seems to be a very popular brand of chocolate in Germany, with far more varieties and flavors on offer than in the UK. When we left Munich to come out to Montreal, we had only just discovered Lindt’s new addition: the ‘Hello my name is…' series. It was a serious contender to the Lindor in our hearts; the 'Strawberry Cheesecake' and 'Caramel Brownie' varieties were particularly amazing, and got us through the stresses and strains of the move.
With our great addiction/love of Lindor, you can imagine my relief when, on inspection of the Canadian grocery store chocolate section, Lindt Lindor were there in all their red glory!
But this excitement was very short lived...
Disappointment does not even begin to describe the way I felt when we had our first taste of Canadian Lindor. Just one bite was all it took to shatter my joy with the reality that the ones out here taste very different. This far cry from the European chocolate I am used to is not at all to my taste…
Back to the chocolate drawing board.
But not all was lost! Also on the grocery store shelves was…Cadburys! We hadn’t been able to just pop down to the local shop and buy it for years, so this was especially exciting! We – purely for research purposes, you understand – bought a bar to test: Would it taste the same as in England? Or would it face the same fate as Lindor...??
Well, we didn’t know after eating the whole bar: When we bought it, there wasn’t that much choice in the shop. It was either dark (60%) – neither of us like this (I have grown out of my love for it – too many years of it being my only option); mint (I cannot stand mint milk chocolate); or Toasted Coconut and Honey Roasted Cashew Nut. There was no option but to go for the latter. It was nice, but the aroma of the nuts far overpowered the chocolate flavor, meaning we could not come to a valid conclusion. It was such a hardship ‘having’ to buy another bar…
Simple, plain, unadulterated Dairy Milk bar in hand, it was Take Two of the Cadburys test. We took a square. According to T, it passed the test. I was a bit more cautious and nibbled my square...and promptly wanted to spit it out. Impostor!! Not only was it sweeter, but the texture was grainy.
Yuck! Fail!
But not all was lost! Also on the grocery store shelves was…Cadburys! We hadn’t been able to just pop down to the local shop and buy it for years, so this was especially exciting! We – purely for research purposes, you understand – bought a bar to test: Would it taste the same as in England? Or would it face the same fate as Lindor...??
Well, we didn’t know after eating the whole bar: When we bought it, there wasn’t that much choice in the shop. It was either dark (60%) – neither of us like this (I have grown out of my love for it – too many years of it being my only option); mint (I cannot stand mint milk chocolate); or Toasted Coconut and Honey Roasted Cashew Nut. There was no option but to go for the latter. It was nice, but the aroma of the nuts far overpowered the chocolate flavor, meaning we could not come to a valid conclusion. It was such a hardship ‘having’ to buy another bar…
Simple, plain, unadulterated Dairy Milk bar in hand, it was Take Two of the Cadburys test. We took a square. According to T, it passed the test. I was a bit more cautious and nibbled my square...and promptly wanted to spit it out. Impostor!! Not only was it sweeter, but the texture was grainy.
Yuck! Fail!
Two of our favourite chocolates down, and things weren’t looking too hopeful for us on the Canadian chocolate front.
But we were saved from a total chocolate abyss by…
But we were saved from a total chocolate abyss by…
Fererro Rocher!
It may be the hazelnut flavor overshadowing the chocolate taste, but who cares about the science bit! We have a 'Friday Night Chocolate' saviour!
It may be the hazelnut flavor overshadowing the chocolate taste, but who cares about the science bit! We have a 'Friday Night Chocolate' saviour!
Despite considering myself to not be a major chocoholic, I have written a pretty long post solely on the subject...