Friday, November 11, 2011

Madecassee: Pink Pepper and Citrus

So pop rocks in chocolate might be a little weird, based on what folks said in the comments on Wednesday's post. But you know, it’s a cool use of candy in nice dark chocolate. And it’s definitely not as weird as adding, say, citrus and pepper to chocolate.

Er, oops.

It’s true. Madecasse, those folks who team closely with cacao farmers in Madagascar to support sustainable high-quality cacao production, came up with a pink pepper and citrus bar. The citrus is, in this case, from the combava fruit, and it pairs with the pink pepper in a 63% cacao dark chocolate bar.

The bar has an aroma of citrus (surprise) – notably lemon and tangerine. There is an immediate citrus flavor, but it is neither bitter more sour, and has a character similar to that of lemonade.

After the citrus emerges, some pepper comes through, but it is very finely ground so that it doesn’t overwhelm or leave you with a mouthful of chopped peppercorns. These flavors are complemented by a smooth, cooling melt and a tiny bit of sugar that plays well with the slightly spicy pepper and subtly sour citrus.

A great flavor combination with one tricky ingredient – pepper - pulled off flawlessly. Perhaps not such a weird creation after all.

Have you had citrus and pepper together? With chocolate, too?

11 comments:

  1. A good pepper bar - something to look out for. Interesting combination, I love citrus and pepper on salads, but usually skip the chocolate component for those dishes:)

    I'll watch for this one.

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  2. citrus and chocolate is amazing, so i imagine that adding pepper only ups the delicious factor.

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  3. Ooh that sounds intriguing..citrus and pepper together; i normally dont like pepper in chocolate if im completely honest, i find it a bit too much

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  4. Never would have put this combo together. This looks sublime!

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  5. I'm over from Gourmet Runner - wanted to wish you luck at the Richmond Marathon!!! Hope it's a fun, safe, and successful race for you! Good luck!

    be-amazing.net

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  6. I've always preferred chilli with chocolate to pepper, but have had a couple of fantastic black pepper and pink pepper chocolates. I think I reviewed a lime zest and black pepper one recently that could have even been more peppier to my mind :)

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  7. I have never had any sort of chocolate with pepper in it. It sounds like the bomb.com though. I'm glad you did so well at your race together btw! :)

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  8. I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like spicy chocolate!

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  9. The best I've had was with white chocolate in Vosges Amalfi bar. It's still not a pairing I seek out, but I did really enjoy that one.

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