To top-off our night in Findlay, we stopped at Dietsch Brothers Fine Chocolates and Ice Cream, where they have been working to exploit the two tastes all humans come hard-wired to desire: sweet and fat. Uummmmm...sweet AND fat in one tasty place, did I die, is this heaven? Can I live here forever? Alright, for you concscenti, I am more addicted to See's Candies than Dietsch's, but when in Findlay...you know the cliche. Because, when you gotta have a fix, even grandma's perfume will do. Glaring defiantly at me from the candy case was a small, yet curious, looking little milk chocolate-dipped square, with something strange on top.... The placard read Milk caramel with SEA SALT. Interesting, I murmured to myself, and anything interesting gets extra points in my book. 
So I bought a small assortment, you gotta have a base line in order to judge the unique and interesting, and I have been working my way through some homemade caramels, one plain, one dipped in milk, one in dark, and cleansing my palate in between with fresh-pressed apple cider. Their caramel is respectable; the chocolate serviceable. There are also two chocolate cherries (one milk, one dark) on the plate--we'll see how they taste later. And now the milk caramel with sea salt...sweet, caramel, chocolate, salty, unexpected bits of salt get mixed in and offer little bursts of flavor, another bite confirms the initial response...hummm...pretty good, not bad, their caramel really caries the show, and I declare it delicious.
So I bought a small assortment, you gotta have a base line in order to judge the unique and interesting, and I have been working my way through some homemade caramels, one plain, one dipped in milk, one in dark, and cleansing my palate in between with fresh-pressed apple cider. Their caramel is respectable; the chocolate serviceable. There are also two chocolate cherries (one milk, one dark) on the plate--we'll see how they taste later. And now the milk caramel with sea salt...sweet, caramel, chocolate, salty, unexpected bits of salt get mixed in and offer little bursts of flavor, another bite confirms the initial response...hummm...pretty good, not bad, their caramel really caries the show, and I declare it delicious.NC
4 comments:
Nathan, the salt and caramel thing is a little overdone now, but I agree it opens up the flavors and causes marvellous things to happen that just aren't there with the one note of sweetness. Try putting salt on other things you would never think of, especially candy. Or even better sugar on savory flavors. Like on a chicken. I know, no one is doing that nowadays, excpet in Morrocco, but it used to be de rigeur in the Renaissance. And it really does work. Ken
I agree that the combination of salt and chocolate can be outstanding. Take, for example, any trip to Wendy's - where the highlight of the meal is always the French Fries dipped in the Frosty.
My kids dip their french fries in Frostys too and it grosses me out :-) Maunia made some dark chocolate basalmic vinegar truffles the other day (she got the recipe off the cooking channel). I was the only one brave enough to try them and I was pleasently surprised. If you want a really different taste you'll have to try that sometime.
Jenn,
Have you ever dipped your fries into a raspberry shake from Lebeau's in Garden City (Bear Lake), UT? If not, we have no common ground upon which to discuss this matter further, and you MUST drop what you are doing immediatly and GO TRY ONE TODAY!
Also, think about this: dark chocolate, balsamic vinegar, AND raspberry would be TO DIE FOR.
NC
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