Tuesday, 11 September 2012

What's Your Chocolate? Blogfest - Monday Sept 10




So today is the “What’s Your Chocolate” Blogfest. Well with a name like that, I'm surprised everyone isn't an entrant! 

Simply...Do you love chocolate? Does the very word make you drool with anticipation? Share...

So I'm to post about my favorite chocolate – what it means to me, where and when I indulge, a favorite memory – anything chocolate-related.

Hosted by M. PaxLaura EnoBrinda Berry, and Ciara Knight.


Do I love chocolate? Well, rather. I succumb to all that's good about chocolate - how it calms you, how it makes you feel - but not how it makes you feel guilty for eating it. High quality food should be guilt free and shouldn't lead to self hatred should it? I love reading all those spurious articles in magazines which always give me spurious reasons for eating chocolate - so I eat it. 

There must be a reason why chocolates are the gift of choice in the early romance stage of a relationship. When a man continues to ply you with chocolates after the first date, maybe that means he's a keeper, lol! (Well, it's one point in his favour anyway!)

There are different chocolates for different occasions. I'd hate to get sick of them, ahem, as if...

Mother's Day chocolates are usually of the boxed up variety - in Australia, Cadbury Roses is a perennial favourite, or Darrel Lea (which, unfortunately, has just gone to the wall.)  It's an iconic Aussie brand since Cadbury's (which I wrongly thought was Australian) was whisked away by those 'dastardly Americans' as one article says. It went for $19 billion in 2010! There must be money in chocolate! It was originally a UK company which set up a factory in the antipodes early in the 20th Century. You can still visit the Cadbury's factory in Tasmania and gorge yourself silly if you want. My one disappointment  with Cadbury's is that instead of being nice thick chunky portions, a block is now made up of these flat little bits which don't give a full chokky flavour.

My favourite chocolate is hard to say, but if I buy a block of chocolate, I like Cadbury's Roast Almond. I'm not a fan of Lindt chocolates - they have a lot of oil in them apparently, which makes me sickish. 

If I really give it a lot of thought (and I don't usually - I just grab myself a chokkie), I adore Ferrero Rocher, good Italian brand, especially the white chocolate variety covered in coconut (I adore coconut.) I try to only eat them on a special occasion and by golly, if they catch my eye I can think of a special occasion very quickly!

AFTERWORD:

Just read the other day that some company has found that by adding orange juice to the recipe they can replicate the full chocolate flavour with greatly reduced calories, which diet companies have been trying to do for ages. 

I'm sorry I forgot to preschedule this post and how quick did Sept 10 come around!! Now I'm off for a run to counter all that chocolate...


Click on the Chocolate Badge for more delicious entries...

  • What's your favourite chocolate?



32 comments:

D.G. Hudson said...

I like dark chocolate, plain or with nuts. I thought Cadbury's was either UK or Canadian. Funny how we want to adopt something we like for our own. . .

I also like coconut with anything. Already follow you,but wanted to stop by!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Adding orange juice? Who knew? Sorry we stole Cadbury's.

Heather Murphy said...

I know I am rare but I really don't like chocolate all that much, however I do like a Cadbury egg or two at Easter :)
I make it known to whoever I date that I don't like chocolate, or flowers for that matter. Jewelry works. HA HA! Just kidding ;)

Laura Eno said...

Hi from one of your 'dastardly American' friends. :) I hope the orange juice concept grows. I'd love to eat more chocolate! Thanks for joining the blogfest.

Laura Eno

Golden Eagle said...

I wouldn't have thought orange juice would be able to replicate the taste. Interesting!

I don't like chocolate myself, but it's fun to learn about other people's favorites. :)

Charmaine Clancy said...

Today is a bad day for me to be browsing the internet... and no chocolate in my cupboard
:(

Crystal Collier said...

Yikes! Diet friendly chocolate? Hm. I don't know about that. If it doesn't come from Switzerland or Austria it can't possibly enter my mouth. Mmmm.

J.L. Campbell said...

Hey, Denise,
I thought about taking part in this chocolate fest, but thought better of it. Cadbury's has been around here forever too. Love me some white chocolate!

Botanist said...

What a topic for a blogfest! I can feel the pounds piling on just thinking about it. I don't go out of my way to buy chocolate, but if there's some in front of me I can't stop until it's all gone :(

M Pax said...

I love the dark and I'm thankful my favorite chocolatier makes it so yummy w/ very little sugar. So, I don't have to feel guilty. Thanks for partying with us. :)

Sherry Ellis said...

Cadbury has some pretty good chocolate. My favorite is dark chocolate - at least 70% cocoa.

Jai Joshi said...

I went on a Cadbury's strike when Hershey's bought them. It made me sad. So these days I rely on Lindt for my staple chocolate.

Jai

dolorah said...

Cadbury is kinda hard to resist :)

.......dhole

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

wow! How great to add orange juice! Who'd have thought?!
I'm not a fan of Lindt chocs either... and now I know why! hahaha and YUM!! Ferrero Rocher!!!! Yum!!!!!

Denise Covey said...

Yes that orange juice thing is serious. Hurry up I say! And Europe has more lax chokkie laws re oil. I like my chocolates with only oil from the cocoa bean, lol!

Yolanda Renée said...

Dark chocolate, I tell myself every time I eat it -- it's really for my heart! :)

Add almonds and it's diet friendly!

Tim VanSant Writes said...

Chocolate and orange juice? I see a research project in my future. Because that makes it science instead of just, you know, gorging myself.

V. Gingerich said...

I'm not even sure of the brand name of my favorite chocolates but let me tell you, I know the spot on the shelf and the look of the box: dark Belgium truffles in the shape of sea shells. I don't let myself buy them often but I do happen to have a box of Ferrero Rochers on hand. Excuse me a moment...

Kyra Lennon said...

Oh, I cannot believe I forgot to mention Ferrero Rocher in my post - they are amazing!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Have you ever tasted cadbury's chocolate in Greece? EW!!!!!!!! It tastes completely different.

Michelle Wallace said...

Hi Denise. It seems like the blogosphere has been transformed into ChoccyVille within the last 24 hours...
I'm not really a chocoholic... but Ferrero Rocher and Lindt do take centre stage in my "non-choccy-addict" styled post.

Sally said...

I'm a day late for this blog hop as I've only just found it through you, Denise, but I've now posted.

Unknown said...

OK, chocolate without the calories that TASTES like chocolate ... you're just talking about unicorns and pots of gold. Can't be done I say! lol

Why isn't there a Kickstarter for that research I could throw money at? :-)

cleemckenzie said...

That's a great piece of information about using orange juice to simulate the taste of chocolate.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I read about adding the orange juice to chocolate - sounds like a great idea. The article I read said a downside would be the chocolate tasting of orange... which also sounds really great to me!

Romance Book Haven said...

Hi Denise,

I like the Cadbury dream! And Tim Tams! Yum!

Nas

Michael Di Gesu said...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I can't take all this Chocolate talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO you ALL want me to gain back every ounce I have lost!


For me .... Chocolate is life's breath! Need I say more.

Diane Fordham said...

Hi Denise - CADBURY DAIRY MILK CHOCOLATE - Yummy! x

Linda Gray said...

What a DELICIOUS post! My favorite chocolate is Fran's salt caramels. Fran is a woman who grew to chocolate/caramel fame, first by Starbuck's selling her caramels in their shops for a while, then by opening a successful store in Seattle, which became especially well-known after Barack Obama, during his first campaign for President, commented that Fran's was HIS favorite chocolate. Cool. (And the chocolates are absolutely eye-rolling incredible.)

Denise Covey said...

Hmm Linda. Well I believe you can send food in the post to Australia, but unfortunately we're not allowed to send food overseas. Hmm....

Trisha said...

I am terrible with chocolate - if I buy a packet, I will eat it quick smart. With dark chocolate it's easier to hold myself back, not because I don't love it - I dooooo - but because it's that much richer/stronger.

Anonymous said...

Definitely don't like chocolate, but sometimes I make the effort to try it in other countries. It somehow always tastes differently, even the chocolate bars with the same name.

Just stopping in from the Chocolate Blog Hop and saying hi!