Shakolad: Milk and Dark *Salted* Caramels

After a fairly disappointing experience with the Shakolad caramels, I was not too excited about checking out their salted caramels, but was a bit more hopeful given that these purportedly included a saltier caramel. I was even more hopeful when I examined the milk chocolate salted caramel and spotted some grains of coarse salt on top – surely this alone would provide some additional flavor contrast.

The milk chocolate under that coarse sea salt has a notable vanilla aroma and taste, as does the caramel. Though there is a distinct taste of salt, I suspect most of this comes from the salt sprinkled on top of the chocolate. Regardless, I was relieved to find the salt and vanilla flavor in the caramel, which was accompanied by a pleasing texture match between the caramel and chocolate. The chocolate is soft and does not flake away from the slightly-too-chewy caramel, which makes it easier to enjoy in small bites. I enjoyed this much more than the plain caramel, and would consider adding this to a box if I were making my own.

After that more enjoyable caramel experience, I pulled out the dark chocolate salted caramel. This caramel boasted coffee and vanilla aromas, and both flavors are evident in the dark chocolate, which is quite smooth.

As with the milk chocolate salted caramel, the caramel is a tad salty, but the salt sprinkled atop is probably the source of most of that. The caramel doesn’t seem to be quite as flavorful as that in the milk chocolate salted caramel, and the dark chocolate is unfortunately not soft enough to meld well with the caramel. That texture issue alone tips me in favor of the milk chocolate salted caramel, though I generally prefer dark chocolate with caramel to contrast the sugar. In this case, the salt offers enough of a flavor contrast, and it is far more enjoyable to eat a caramel that doesn’t shed chocolate with each bite.

What are your thoughts on coarse salt in chocolates?