Chocolate On The Wild Side

Chocolate is a comfort food – and in these troubled times, chocolate makers are walking on the wild side with unusual flavors such as cauliflower. Some ingredients and recipes are used to pander to health concerns to keep a plain chocolate bar ahead of the curve.

On the eating front, the Swiss are the worlds top consumers, with a whopping 12.3 kilograms per person per year. The Germans consume 11.2 per person, Britons 10.3 and Belgians 9.3. The Japanese adore dark chocolate, but the Chinese hate it and turn up their noses to bars of pure chocolate.

Chocolate lovers are demanding high levels of cocoa. About a decade ago consumers could not stomach or swallow chocolate with 90% cocoa, but now they want less sugar and cream and more cocoa. They believe it is better for their health.

As for bending flavors and ingredients – anything is possible. Spices continue to appeal – chocolate lace with pepper, turmeric, fennel or mildly hot to hot chili pepper is very much in demand. Also cheese flavored chocolate is also in demand as a possible cocktail time treat.

Belgium has also produced some chocolates that are on the "wild side." Chocolates flavored with cauliflower, basil, dried tomato jam, black olives, and even chocolate encrusted with chicken skin!!

Chicken skin, WOW talk about wild, that one will not be to popular with most people, I will pass on that one without question.