Monday, October 17, 2011

Recchiuti: Fluer de Sel Caramel

So I really think that Michael Recchiuti is trying to make a ton of chocolates that resemble traditional Halloween candy, except they’re all much better and would have no business in an eight year old’s trick-or-treat bag. You know, like those peanut butter pucks which are like Reese’s peanut butter cups, except that they’re made with real chocolate and real peanut butter and aren’t drier than the Sahara.

The next Halloween-like candy: The Recchiuti C3, caramels to the third power.

Or, a delightful box of three different kinds of sea salt caramels, which surely makes those Kraft things look like lightly sugared candle wax.

The first flavor to try is obviously the fluer de sel – who can argue with extra salt? Surely not me.

The piece has a faint coffee aroma, likely owing to the dark chocolate couverture, which has a slow, buttery melt with a hint of coffee and earthiness.

While the couverture is not sweet, the caramel does have a bit of sugar in it, along with a hint of cream to go along with the distinct presence of salt. Though the salt is not overwhelming, the caramel, with a bit of a burnt edge, dominates over the chocolate. It also trends towards chewy, and the couverture breaks apart from the caramel a bit. Not perfect, but not bad. Quite good, in fact.

As in, way too good to give to the kids on Halloween. Shove the sugary junk at them.

Do you think of caramels as Halloween candy, or as a year-round treat?

3 comments:

  1. I love caramels all year round. Especially with a bit of sea salt, I find them to be fantastic.

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  2. oh yum. Definitely a year round thing, but extra special in the fall...though I prefer mine on apples!

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