Amano Chocolate! Ta-da!

Yes, I suck at updating. I think it's because I'm pretty sure nobody really reads this. I only get the few courtesy reads from people whose blogs I've commented on. But beyond that.. I don't get much traffic.

Either way, I should work on this.

But for today, I'm here to talk about my recent BlakeMakes Sooper Heroes win: Amano Chocolate. Jembrana Premium Dark Chocolate. Seventy percent. It's -very- dark. But don't let those people who say "the darker the chocolate, the more bitter it is." This chocolate is not bitter at all. It's not incredibly sweet like milk chocolate, but it is in no way bitter.

When I first tasted it, though, I did have myself braced for the lack of sweetness I was expecting to come. The higher the cacao content, the more intense of a chocolate flavour you get... and the more risk of me sneezing. Really. Too intense of a chocolate, and I sneeze. I don't know why. I just always have. So I ate it slowly. I savoured it. I didn't chew. I simply broke off a piece, placed it on my tongue, closed my mouth, and let it melt.

Wow. The chocolate was actually sweeter than I had expected. Again, it still wasn't as sweet as, say, a milk chocolate. But it was not too dark at all. It was very appealing.

As for the flavour... maybe I'm just an odd taster. I tasted the chocolate, discerned a certain flavour to it. Then read the back of the box. And I laughed because of what my taste buds tasted. The box describes the chocolate as having a "nuttiness." Well. You know how so many people like to describe chocolate as "fruity"? I never could understand how a plain chocolate could taste fruity until I had this bar. There was something with the flavour that I could only describe as... fruity. I tried coming up with other descriptions, but all that stuck out.. was fruity.

I ate about a quarter of the bar. And then.... I commited culinary sacrilege. Or brilliance. Depending on how you look at it.

I took this seventy percent, high-quality, rare chocolate bar... and made a grilled cheese sandwich with it. Just a half sandwich. One slice of whole grain white bread. Thinly sliced extra sharp cheddar cheese. And three squares of this chocolate bar. Then I grilled it on my cast iron griddle, dry. No butter or oil to compete with the flavour of the chocolate and cheese.

I felt so sneaky making it. Like a little kid taking three cookies more than they were allowed.

It was the best grilled cheese ever.