I was in the States last week and was wondering why does the chocholate over there suck? I would have thought it would be quite nice but I found it far too sweet with a pretty a horrible after-taste! Maybe I'm just used to UK, French and Belgium chocholate (especially dark chocholate). Was I eating a rubbish brand? Whats the best brand of chocholate in the US? For some reason I expected US brands to be quite nice (Hershey). Anyway on the other hand I love Oreos. I brought a load back home with me, tastes great with my tea. "I don't like having discs crammed into me.. unless they're Oreos, and then only in the mouth."
Yes, the american chocolate contains too much sugar or something. I never liked it either. The same is valid for Dutch chocolate. It sucks too mostly. Although Dutch chocolate powder is ok. Finnish chocolate is ok though. It's the kind that melts in your mouth in a smooth manner.
A lot of things here have too much sugar. It's either too much sugar, or too much salt. I don't think our chocolate is particularly bad, it's just not as good as it could be. I wouldn't go so far as to say it sucks, because it's still good. Did you have milk chocolate or dark chocolate? The dark is better. Dove is a pretty good US brand. Better than Hershey, in my opinion. And then there is Nestle chocolate. I don't know how this compares to UK chocolate, because I've never had it. But I've had some really good chocolate from Germany.
Hershey and the like are pretty crappy... they're mostly sugar with a bit of chocolate for flavor. There are some good ones though, such as Scharffenberger and Ghirardelli though the milk chocolate still tends to be a bit sugary for my taste. And there are lots of smaller brands and local chocolatiers that are quite good. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2005-05-05-chocolates_x.htm ~Raithere
The only chocolates I like in the US are the Lindor dark chocolate truffles. Or the white chocolate ones, though they are harder to find. Still sweet, but smoother.
i've never had american chocolate but in britain cadburies is pretty nice though i've never been to much of a choccy lover myself
My wife is a chocolatier (chocolatière?) and she has to buy foreign chocolate to make decent truffles and other confections. Mostly European--Valhrona and Callebaut. But the Venezuelans have recently started brewing their own, to cut out the middleman and get in on this enormous market, and some of theirs is in the same league. Americans have been eating processed foods for so many generations that they all have a sweet tooth. Many processed foods have added sugar even if they're not desserts. Milk chocolate outsells bittersweet by about 10:1, judging by what I see people buying and eating. So this is not a people whom you would expect to have refined, discriminating tastes in the subtleties of chocolate. Truffles and any solid chocolate candies are not popular here. I myself confess to preferring soft centers, nougats, bark and toffee with chocolate enrobing, even though I have access to the best homemade candy in America without leaving home. Hershey's chocolate, even their version of dark chocolate, is fine for that purpose. My favorite American commercial candy is Mrs. See's (only available in the West), and they use Hershey's. (Of course my wife makes it for me and makes it better. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!) Ghirardelli bills itself as a premium, European-style chocolate, but the only thing premium about it is the price. The only American brand that comes close is Scharffen Berger. It's good enough to mention in the same breath as French, Swiss and Belgian chocolate. Personally I think the company is trying to bridge the gap between American taste and European flavor, it's clearly a premium chocolate but not in the European tradition at all. In my observation none of the American boutique or old-world-style chocolatiers use it. If you get some good chocolate candy in America it's probably made with Valhrona. Holland isn't famous for its chocolate. I love white chocolate, the real stuff made from cocoa butter, not the plastic crap they used to be able to market as "white chocolate" in America. It has no caffeine so I can eat it safely and in huge quantities. If you have a Trader Joe's where you live, their Pound Plus bars are made with genuine European chocolate and for less than four dollars they're one of the universe's happiest bargains. Scharffen Berger has been aggressively marketing, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to find a store that carries it. Perhaps you will like America's best premium chocolate. Sur La Table, the chain of gourmet cookware shops, carries it. Even Valhrona is starting to show up in places like Sur La Table and Trader Joe's. Despite our provincial tastes, chocolate is a big deal in America these days. Do some googling and I'm sure you'll find something you like pretty quickly. Lindor is made by Lindt, a Swiss chocolatier. It's imported. Did you guys watch Farscape? When they asked Chrichton, after spending years in the exciting mainstream of the galaxy, surrounded by amazing alien beings, traveling on a living starship, with whizzbang technology all around, why he still wanted to go home to the backwater of Earth? "You guys don't have chocolate."
there is a chocolate bar about a 15 minute walk from my house. everything is made of chocolate. they even have a chocolate fountain.
Okay, I just can't take it any longer!!!! What the fuck is "American Chocolate"? And if an immigrant from France is experienced in making chocolate in America, is that "American Chocolate", too? Does he somehow change his way of making chocolate? Or are the ingredients different in America ....even if he buys them in France? I can go less than a mile and buy chocolate that's made in America, that's made exactly like that of chocolate made in other countries ...as well as imported chocolate. In that store, there must be a gazillion types and brands of chocolate, but none of them say "American Chocolate". What the fuck is "American Chocolate"? Please explain! Baron Max
So ....a French immigrant to America, who's been making French chocolate for forty years, suddenly is forced to change his recipes so as to make "American Chocolate"?? ...LOL! Wow! Thanks, Nick ...I'm much smarter now for having met you. Baron Max
Errr but you say there is such a thing as French Chocholate? Anyway I'm not talking about French immigrants, I'm talking about US Brands like Hersheys.
Well, now I know ......."American Chocolate" is chocolate made in America ....even if it's made in the Austrian tradition, using only Austrian ingredients, Austrian methods, Austrian equipment and by old-world, Austrian chocolate makers ......that's "American Chocolate" Damn, see it don't take too long for me to learn things! Thanks guys, you've been a great help to me and my endeavor at continuing education. Baron Max
YES THATS RIGHT BARON. Not only that but Hersheys can't call it Austrian unless each bar is officially stamped with the seal of aproval by Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria...zzzz
