High Sierra Topix

I've been enjoying the 85% Ecuadorean chocolate from Dandelion. I can't believe it's me that's changed. I used to hate all high test chocolate, certainly anything that was 70% would just taste bitter to me. This stuff is different. It's heavenly.

On the other hand, I've lost my taste for the Hotel Chocolat Supermilk. It just seems too creamy now. So I don't know, maybe I have changed.

The 100% Dandelion chocolate is too strong for me... at the moment.

On the other hand, I've lost my taste for the Hotel Chocolat Supermilk. It just seems too creamy now. So I don't know, maybe I have changed.

Keep in mind that around 40, our taste buds begin to stop growing back. Individually, each taste bud goes through a constant cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that lasts about two weeks. A healthy tongue sloughs off and regrows these taste buds constantly. Once we hit middle age, the buds continue to die and be shed, but a smaller number regenerate as the years go on.
This is one reason some people use the salt shaker, or spices, much more frequently, and in larger amounts as they age.

Milk chocolate is pretty bland, things start to get a little more intense once you hit the 70% range, and even more so in the 80% and 90% range, just be careful, some manufacturers will try to balance the natural bitter flavor of the cocoa in these ranges with large amounts of sugar.

That's interesting about the taste buds. I can certainly believe that there is physiological change that could play a part. But I don't believe that's the whole story. Tastes can change for other reasons. And I think the chocolate I've eaten in the past was different.

I used to love darkly roasted coffee but now I can't tolerate it. It's just too bitter. It lacks many of the subtle flavors of coffee. If I had lost taste sensitivity wouldn't you expect the opposite transition?

maverick wrote:Milk chocolate is pretty bland, things start to get a little more intense once you hit the 70% range, and even more so in the 80% and 90% range, just be careful, some manufacturers will try to balance the natural bitter flavor of the cocoa in these ranges with large amounts of sugar.

I'm not sure I understand. What else would they put in there besides sugar? Looking at the ingredients for those 70% and 85% Dandelion bars and there are only two: Cocoa beans and sugar.

I'm not sure I understand. What else would they put in there besides sugar? Looking at the ingredients for those 70% and 85% Dandelion bars and there are only two: Cocoa beans and sugar.

Vanilla and soy lecithin.

But I don't believe that's the whole story. Tastes can change for other reasons. And I think the chocolate I've eaten in the past was different.

Probably isn't, never is.

These chocolates you guys are discussing . . . don't melt after a few days of backpacking in July in a black bear canister?

Ska-T wrote:These chocolates you guys are discussing . . . don't melt after a few days of backpacking in July in a black bear canister?

It can but not necessarily. It depends. If you set a canister in the sun for hours everything will get hot. But if you pack the chocolate deep in the canister in your pack and then keep it in the shade when you stop it often does just fine. I've been on walks where the temperature was in the 90s and I melted but the chocolate was perfect.

Actually the more common problem I encounter in the Sierra is chocolate that's too cold in the evening and needs to be warmed up with a sip of tea to be properly enjoyed.

These chocolates you guys are discussing . . . don't melt after a few days of backpacking in July in a black bear canister?

They can, especially if the temps are very warm, but most of the time it doesn't last that long.
Unless of course it is being taken to a Meet-up like last year, and it did melt, though waiting until the evening or morning would have allowed it to re-harden.

Dark chocolate contains much high cocoa butter/fat, which is made of 6 different crystal forms that become liquid when exposed to heat, the higher the cocoa content the faster it is likely to melt. Its dark color doesn't help either, compared to the pale color of milk choc or the white color of white choc.

maverick wrote:Dark chocolate contains much high cocoa butter/fat, which is made of 6 different crystal forms that become liquid when exposed to heat, the higher the cocoa content the faster it is likely to melt. Its dark color doesn't help either, compared to the pale color of milk choc or the white color of white choc.

My understanding is that chocolate is "tempered", a process of heating and cooling to specific temperatures in order to encourage the development of a single particular crystalline form with a sharp melting point. Since it's the fat the melts it's not clear to me that having a higher ratio of cocoa butter to sugar would matter that much. But maybe it does, I don't know.

Milk chocolate on the other hand has milk fat as well as cocoa butter. I thought that combination resulted in a lower melting temperature?

If the chocolate melts it won't taste the same when it hardens again. Not unless you re-temper it.

If the chocolate melts it won't taste the same when it hardens again. Not unless you re-temper it.

Not always the case, even blooming does not change the taste, only the appearance. All said, to be sure to get the ultimate quality, it needs care.

Milk chocolate on the other hand has milk fat as well as cocoa butter. I thought that combination resulted in a lower melting temperature?

Adding milk, sugar, fats and other ingredients slow the melting because these ingredients have different melting points, white chocolate melts the fastest of the three.

maverick wrote:...blooming does not change the taste, only the appearance.

Really? I think it tastes different. Maybe it's only a textural difference I detect. I've never done a blind tasting of two otherwise identical chocolates, one bloomed and the other not -- I think it would surprise me if I couldn't tell them apart blinded.

maverick wrote:All said, to be sure to get the ultimate quality, it needs care.

Agree 100%. When I'm pretty sure the chocolate will melt on a trip I leave it behind.

maverick wrote:Adding milk, sugar, fats and other ingredients slow the melting because these ingredients have different melting points, white chocolate melts the fastest of the three.

Are you sure it isn't more complicated? It's possible to have a mixture of ingredients with a lower melting point than any of the constituent melting points.

I've never really thought about it all that much before. I've just tried to keep the chocolate from getting too warm!