Do you hide your chocolate? [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

smilingcat

01-18-2008, 11:34 AM

hi alpinerabbit,

You might find this interesting. There is an American chocolate company name Neuchatel. They did get a license from town of Neuchatel Switzerland to use the name and they are required to use only Swiss ingredients. http://www.neuchatelchocolates.com/

Not bad chocolate. Lindt is pretty good too.

Smilingcat

alpinerabbit

01-18-2008, 11:37 AM

that is pretty weird indeed.

han-grrl

01-18-2008, 11:38 AM

I always keep a good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa or better). I can only really eat a small square at a time of that stuff and it helps with the chocoholic in me. No hiding.

SadieKate

01-18-2008, 11:40 AM

How to Calculate Your Age by Chocolate (http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Your-Age-by-Chocolate)

han-grrl

01-18-2008, 11:50 AM

i like this one better :D:D:D
http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Chocolate

HillSlugger

01-18-2008, 12:16 PM

My son is 16 and pretty much eats anything that's not nailed down. I hide the good stuff from him! :rolleyes:

GLC1968

01-18-2008, 12:26 PM

I hide it in the store. Read don't buy it. Well. Most of the time.

/sneaks off for some 80% cocoa / chili Lindt

I have to locate this in the US. Lindt is my favorite chocolate but I've never had their Chili version. I LOVE chili chocolate (and can leave it out because DH won't touch the stuff)...so I MUST try this! YUM!

Off to search the internet now...

Triskeliongirl

01-18-2008, 12:43 PM

I love the Lindt 85% chocolate. Its the only one that doesn't raise my blood sugar, and satisfies my chocolate cravings.......... No need to hide it from anyone!

tulip

01-18-2008, 12:45 PM

My BF and I keep dark chocolate chips in the freezer for special treats. It's nice to know that they are there just in case I have a chocolate attack (like right now and I'm 400 miles away with no stash!)

sundial

01-18-2008, 12:50 PM

Oooh, speaking of evil chocolate here's a devil of a brownie recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 brownie mix
3 eggs
3 lg. Symphony candy bars (movie theater size)
PREPARATION:
Mix brownies per package directions. Use 3 eggs rather than the 2 the mix calls for. Pour 1/2 batter into a greased 9x13” baking pan. Lay candy bars on top of the batter. Pour remaining batter over the candy bars. Bake according to directions for mix. Cool and enjoy!

Note: Keep Pepcid handy.

7rider

01-18-2008, 01:04 PM

I hide chocolate in my mouth! :p

crazycanuck

01-18-2008, 01:22 PM

I normally leave my chocolate in the freezer. mmmm..chocolate...mmmmmm

mtbdarby

01-18-2008, 01:25 PM

Awww, come on here. If you put the chocolate in the high cupboard and you only have a 5 yo in the house is it really "hiding" the chocolate? I mean please.....:D

solobiker

01-18-2008, 05:18 PM

I hide mine too. DH husband would pick on me if he knew:p. I usually buy the dark chocolate which I some how manage to justify eating because it is "healthier" then milk chocolate.;)

Blueberry

01-18-2008, 05:24 PM

I have to locate this in the US. Lindt is my favorite chocolate but I've never had their Chili version. I LOVE chili chocolate (and can leave it out because DH won't touch the stuff)...so I MUST try this! YUM!

Off to search the internet now...

I bet a Southern Season in Chapel Hill has it - I'll try to remember to check next time I'm in there (we just got back from a run....) I know they have other chili dark choc.

We have a special part of a cabinet for the good stuff:)

CA

smilingcat

01-18-2008, 07:22 PM

I noticed several of you freeze or worse deep freeze your chocolate. Freezing or even refridgerating causes chocolate to bloom which is not a good thing.

Proper way to store your chocolate:

Chocolate should be stored in its wrapper and/or box and stored in a cool, dry, dark place. If storing an open bar, wrap in its paper and then in a sealed plastic bag. The best storage temperature is 62F to 70F. I do not recommend refrigeration because condensation that occures can cause sugar bloom. If you live in a hot place without air conditioning, however, there may be no option...

The whitish color that can rise to the top of the chocolate is called a fat bloom. It means the cocoa butter has separated and risen to the top due to heat... final taste is not affected, because when the chocolate is melted, the cocoa butter will be redistributed throughout the chocolate.
by Fran Biglow with Helen Siegel , Pure Chocolate, Broadway Book, 2004 ISBN 0-779-1658-1

It is difficult to predict the shelf life of any preservative-free product. Proper storage plays a large role in extending that life. Unless stated otherwise, the chocolates and confections... should be stored in an air tight container at 60F to 65F for no longer than two weeks
by Andrew Garrison Shotts, Making Artisan Chocolates Flavor-Infused chocolates, truffles, and Confection, Quarry Books 2007, ISBN 1-59253-310-8 (pbk)

both authors are considered experts and Andrew Shotts is also an award winning pastry chef/chocolatier.

I'm especially fond of the second book. It gives me idea on paves, truffles and chocolate desert.

Smilingcat

Possegal

01-18-2008, 07:54 PM

My mother used to hide hers, she was quite the chocoholic. I used to be able to sniff it out when we were kids. Then when it was grandkids coming over, I used to laugh at her as she would say "the kids are coming over, I have to hide my candy", so NOT very grandmotherly of her!

A few years before she died she started losing weight and we couldn't figure out why. My brothers were driving with her to Canada and she was in the backseat and they were chatting and she said something like, maybe she was losing weight because she wasn't eating as much chocolate lately. My brothers say, well on average, how much chocolate do you eat in a week? She thinks and then says, maybe 10 lbs. My brother nearly drove off the highway. Even if she was overestimating, and I'm sure she was, but still, this is no chocolate bar a day habit!

I miss that crazy lady. :D

snapdragen

01-18-2008, 08:09 PM

I do not hide my chocolate. Stay away from that bottom drawer, there is nothing there! I SAID there is nothing stashed in that bottom drawer!!:rolleyes: *gasp* [innocent eyes]Where did that Scharffen-Berger come from?[/innocent eyes]

teigyr

01-18-2008, 08:28 PM

Ok, true confession time. A long time ago, I was dating this guy. We had went wine tasting for the weekend and stopped by a chocolate store. I got truffles and all sorts of yummy things. We also stopped by a bookstore and I got a book. He had to go to work the next day so he stayed at my house. All night I thought of the truffles and book. Out of decorum, I hadn't ripped into any of it yet. He left my house at 4am monday morning (finally!) and I pretended like I was asleep. The minute he left, I grabbed the chocolate, the book, and proceeded to eat chocolate and read in bed.

He came back in because he forgot something :o

I ducked under the covers and feigned sleep again. He leaned over to kiss me good night and said "oh my god, you've been in the chocolate!" I had to acknowledge at that point that I wasn't really asleep. He also found the book under the covers.

I appreciate age though. Now I do that stuff in front of DH and I really don't care but back then I was sooooo embarrassed :D

KnottedYet

01-18-2008, 08:38 PM

I don't hide my chocolate. I eat it.

And those 85% cacao Lindt bars are FABULOUS! I never found anything better until I ran into (over, and through) Theo chocolate. http://www.theochocolate.com/

sigh.

(and Theo just *happens* to be across the street from a great steel bike shop. Free Range Cycles. Talk about two addictions in one spot!)

Zen

01-18-2008, 10:12 PM

"oh my god, you've been in the chocolate!"

Great story.
hey, at least it was just chocolate. It's not like you were waiting for him to leave so you could break out the scotch and cigarettes.

mimitabby

01-19-2008, 05:56 AM

yes, I hide my chocolate. we even have his and hers chocolate here. Raleighdon likes coffee in his chocolate, so his coffee laiden pieces sit out for ever. Mine, hidden in my desk slowly get eaten. I never (well, almost never) eat a lot at once, but I have some nearly every day.
Possegal, Teigyr, great stories!

Lots of times (ahem, cough, choke) I have been busted
when someone decides to give me a kiss. Ah, you've been eating chocolate!!

Hub

01-19-2008, 07:16 AM

Yes.

I buy chocolate for the house and sometimes special stuff for myself. THat's what I stash away.

I work with a group of women and I am the keeper of emergency chocolate. We usually keep a semi= exotic (for Cleveland MS) dark chocolate bar stashed for long and stressful &/or hormonal days.

shootingstar

01-19-2008, 07:31 AM

There's a box of wrapped chocolates from this Christmas ....unopened on coffee table. And another box..about 4 years old, unopened in pantry plus a few chocolate bars. It's a bit lost among all the other (better) groceries.

We did eat a small box ...between the 2 of us over 4 days last month.

We're not purists ....we just buy and eat our desserts at restaurants and cafes. :rolleyes::)

OUr chocolate storage shares same area as our bottles of wine --cool, dark place with closed door. :)

bmccasland

01-19-2008, 07:41 AM

I am eagerly waiting for my Christmas box from my pen-pal in Paris, which she has informed me that it will contain chocolates from a chocolatier in Paris....

At home, there's just me... so the chocolate is stored in the cupboard.
At the office, it's in a little box in my cube, near the coffee maker (far side of my cube), but to raid it you have to get past me. :D I usually keep Doves Dark in that box.

tulip

01-19-2008, 08:58 AM

Yes, I put my chocolate in the freezer because I like it that way, frozen. It does not stay in the freezer long enough to "bloom" however. It's very short-term storage.

Crankin

01-19-2008, 09:16 AM

My husband buys Nestle 70% dark choc. bars when he goes to Europe. They do not have these bars in the US. You can't even order them over the Internet. He usually buys 12-15 at a time. Since he doesn't usually travel in the winter we are down to 3. We each eat one piece (2 squares) after dinner, which pretty much eliminates any cravings for me. If I am going out to dinner, I eat one after lunch.
If we run out of these, we buy Lindt bars, not sure which one. And our chocolate is not hidden. As long as I eat my one piece a day, I'm fine. I never eat candy otherwise. I do have a chocolate dessert once in awhile, mostly on special occasions, or if we are at a really nice restaurant. Most of the time, I'd rather pig out on a pizza!

emily_in_nc

01-19-2008, 02:13 PM

I was gifted with a lot of nice chocolates for Christmas, 70% cacao and up. I don't hide it. If I did, I might not be able to find it when I need it.

And I need it often. Nightly. Anti-oxidants, you know.

Emily :p :D

Jolt

01-19-2008, 03:03 PM

For those of you who like dark chocolate, I found some today at the local natural-food store that is 88% cacao content--it's called Endangered Species Extreme Dark and it is really good (I just finished eating a piece)!!

sgtiger

01-19-2008, 04:11 PM

I have to hide my chocolate because if it's around Dh eats it all. Then I have none when I have a late night craving when he's out of town.:( It's not like I can wake the kids to go to the store just to satisfy my chocolate craving. (Okay, I've considered doing that a time or two.) It's easier to eat a piece when the craving starts otherwise I'll gorge on the entire bar later.:o

smilingcat

01-19-2008, 08:04 PM

if the chocolate is really good, what is the point of hiding it. If I know where it is, it will be gone. But if its a ho-hum chocolate, it will be around a long long time. Like 4 year old easter bunny. I think the chocolate went rancid so my partner got a bag, scoop it up and threw it all away.

BTW, are you one to nibble away from the ear then the head or do you start from the foot and tail? Easter is not that far away...

Smilingcat

SouthernBelle

01-20-2008, 04:27 AM

My grocery carries Endangered Species. I restrict myself by buying only when it's on sale, which they periodically do.

sundial

01-20-2008, 04:53 AM

BTW, are you one to nibble away from the ear then the head or do you start from the foot and tail? Smilingcat

I start with the ears. And I prefer hollow ones. :p

Brandi

01-20-2008, 07:48 AM

I am a chocolate snob!
I decided a long time ago if Iwas going to eat chocolate and the calories that come with it it had to be good chocolate. So I am always trying new kinds. I like dark and milk. I eat the dark more cause i know it is better for me.

Here is california we have World Market and Trader Joe's. Both stores have quite a selection of chocolates to choose from.
I won't eat a regular candy bar unless I am super hungery and there is nothing else.

We don't hide our choclate in our house but we have a special shelf for it.

For christmas gifts last year (that sounds wierd since it was only a few weeks ago) I made home made truffles with a dusting of chipotle powder. They were sooooooooo good. I made them a few years ago for gifts as well. then skipped a year. People were asking for them last year.
I decorated chinese take out box's and put them in them. Really cute! And oh so good.

sundial

01-20-2008, 01:46 PM

I like to treat myself to chocolate covered espresso beans. Talk about getting a boost! :eek:

Pedal Wench

01-20-2008, 05:07 PM

I noticed several of you freeze or worse deep freeze your chocolate. Freezing or even refridgerating causes chocolate to bloom which is not a good thing.

Proper storage plays a large role in extending that life. Unless stated otherwise, the chocolates and confections... should be stored in an air tight container at 60F to 65F for no longer than two weeks

Smilingcat

No longer than two weeks? Guess I better start eating -- I've got alot of chocolate in my hidden stash!

smilingcat

01-20-2008, 05:12 PM

Oh dear, I wrote too quickly... Chocolate confection such as truffles, and paves have a shelf life of about two weeks if it doesn't have preservatives. Chocolate without any infusion or made into ganach will last 6 month or more.

Lindt, Gadiva have preservatives so they will last a lot longer than 2 weeks

sorry for not checking before I posted,
embarassed,
smilingcat

Pedal Wench

01-20-2008, 05:18 PM

My bf and I went to Switzerland in 2001 and we each brought back bars of Toblerone chocolates that sat in our fridges ever since.

Last September, a very dear friend of mine passed away. After she died, we were hanging out at her house, we discovered two bottles of amazing champagne that she had been saving for a special occasion. We drank the champagne at her memorial.

My bf and I have both finished, bit by bit, our Toblerone chocolate bars.

KnottedYet

01-20-2008, 05:19 PM

I like to treat myself to chocolate covered espresso beans. Talk about getting a boost! :eek:

I broke a tooth on those. $1500 down the tubes for a crown.
(that's a bike!!!)

northstar

01-21-2008, 09:48 AM

I usually only have a stash of super dark chocolate in my desk at work, where I tend to need the "hard stuff." :D

I probably should keep a stash at home, though, because there have been several regrettable times where I've had to dip into the chocolate chips :p. DH leaves the sweets alone (he's so weird!) so no need to hide them from him...I think he knows I need it more than he does! ;)

mimitabby

01-21-2008, 10:22 AM

I broke a tooth on those. $1500 down the tubes for a crown.
(that's a bike!!!)

a really really small bike! Knot, we'd like to see that crown. :D:D:D:D

bmccasland

01-21-2008, 03:09 PM

Anyone on the west coast seen Cowgirl Chocolates? Bought a small bar once while visiting Eureka, CA. Dark chocolate with ceyenne pepper. Chocolate with a bite.... I haven't seen anything of the sort in my local chocolatier - they have chocolates from all over as well as making their own. Of course I could talk to them about creating something....:rolleyes:

Have a stash of chocolate covered espresso beans at the office. Took some to a meeting once. The local sponsor (big wig) was sitting across from me, and wanted to try one. Made a funny face and muttered about not liking them very much. Half an hour later, he's begging like a dog. He wound up buying me a small bag to make up for what he ate.