Unraveling The Mysteries of the Chocolate Assortment
Story by Kathleen Kohlhaas, Photo by Claire Powell
AmesEats Flavors Writers
Surprise! It’s Valentine’s Day and someone just gave you a giant box of scrumptious assorted chocolates. A classic gift from a loved one that is sure to please. Of course, you’re ecstatic because you’ve been craving a chocolate truffle for days. That rich, dense, creamy center will just hit the spot! You tear off the packaging, toss the lid to the side, ready to relish in tasty delight, when you realize that there is no diagram to tell you which chocolate is which! Oh no, how ever will you find that bit of candy you’ve been pining for? You don’t want something fruity, gross. Coconut? Even worse! Instead of biting each piece in half until you find “The One,” follow these easy tips on how to unravel the mysteries
of the chocolate assortment.
- Caramels are almost always shaped like a square. When in doubt, search for the quadrangle.
*Disclaimer: Not all caramels are just plain caramels. Some boxes have fruit and nut caramels among the mix. Running into one of these may be inevitable. Nibble at your own risk. - If you want a cream filled one, go with the circular or oval shaped chocolates. Orange cream, vanilla cream, coconut cream or raspberry cream. It’s a gamble with the flavor, but it’ll be creamy!
- A chocolate covered chewy nougat can usually be found disguised in rectangular form (not to be confused with the rounded edges of the cream filled ovals). Nougats generally contain nuts and/or fruit such as hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds or cherries.
- Any candy in the box that looks thin and firm will be a toffee of sorts. Usually there are only 1-2 in a package so this should be an easy, crunchy find.
- Cluster: a surefire sign of a nut or coconut cluster is a textured chocolate coating. Coconut clusters will have a rough looking top (from the shredded coconut) and nut clusters will have irregular nutty projections that give their identity away without delay!
- And now for the truffle. Often times they’re square like the caramels, however in the heart-shaped box of Hershey’s Pot of Gold Premium Collection the truffles are round!(Maybe all the chocolate companies could get together and figure out a way to be consistent!) Picking a truffle is a tough task so go with your instinct. Hopefully you’ll get lucky!
Don’t forget, there is usually some symmetry going on inside these yummy packages, so if you’ve found one on one side that is lip-smackin’ good, chances are the one in the same place on the other side of the box is the same flavor! Find one, get the second one free!
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.