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Chief Longwind Of The North

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I think back over a lifetime and remember my favorite chocolate treats.
I'm opening this thread so we can all take a stroll down memory lane, and maybe even share something new that others haven't tried, or seen. So here is my history of chocolate.

My Dad used to by bags of Branch's products, double coated chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate stars, non-parallels, malted milk balls, chocolate covered raisins, not all at the same time mind you. I loved the products, all of them. My Grandma, and Grandpa, on my Dad'a side, always had a bowl of Beach's Bridge Mix., which I also loved, except for the chocolate mints. I detest the flavor of mint.

As for candy bars, as a young child, it was a Hershey bar, or Hershey's with almonds. I liked the Hershey chocolate better than Nestle chocolate. I did opt for the occasional Nestle crunch, or Milk Duds. I also like the Bun brand, little filled chocolate disks, where the chocolate covered covered maple, or vanilla cream nougat..

And then one day, my Dad brought me something new, a Cadbury Caramellow. I instantly fell in love with all things Cadbury, except of course the mint products. My range of chocolate experience grew with time, and I found that for cheap bars, I enjoyed Mars products better than the rest, except for Cadbury
But i also found myself enjoying mounds, and almond joy, and Kigt Kat, and Twix, and then, I found something delightful, acandy bars made with dark, tempered chocolate. This was breathtaking. nother equally great find was Ferro Roche', and Ritter Sport, with whole hazelnuts, dark, or milk chocolate.

I still occasionally enjoyed a sampling of just about all chocolates, even the good old Beach's.

As far as chcolate beverages go, Hershey's instant never entered our home. Ir was always Nestle's Quick. And then at Grandma's house, she had this product called PDQ Chocolate Beads. They also made an egg nog flavor. This stuff tasted great, and mied into cold milk almost instantly. Sadly, it is no longer made. It was made by the same people that make Oval tine. I also loved adding malt powder to my chocolate milk. But you had to use the right technique, or have very lumpy chocolate/malted milk. Now as an adult, Oval tine, IMO, rules. The name just isn't kid-friendly.

hot cocoa was made on the stove-top with milk, Hershey's dutched cocoa powder, and sugar. And after a day of sledding all day long, until our clothes were stiff with ice, it was fabulous. There was no Swiss Miss, or other pre-sweetened hot coca products out yet. Now, I prefer to make my hot cocoa with cocoa powder, milk, cream, and a good Lindt 70% cacao chocolate bar melted in, or at least I did when I could still have chocolate.

Oh, and the first tempered chocolate bar I ever had was a Russel Stover French Silk Chocolate bar. I found it in a drug store, and loved it, with its snap, and perfectly smooth texture, all dark and yummy. I have not seen another since that one, so many years back.

This thread doesn't even touch on the wonderful chocolate pastry creams, puddings, custards, pies, cakes, ganache, and so many other amazing chocolate wonders. I do have to share with you an extraordinary choclatier out of Florida. I found her site just wandering around Google, was intrigued by what I read, and purchased some of her product for my daughter. It is nut and gluten free, and certified no allergens, except in the milk chocolate, if you have ptoblems with dairy. Here is the site - https://www.castronovochocolate.com/

This is not cheap chocolate mind you. It is the most unique chocolate I've had, and the site is worth looking at, if nothing else. aslo, look up the history of Dove Chocolate. It's pretty interesting.

So, What is your chocolate history, and [resent chocolate love?

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
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