Although I only recently bought my first Trader Joe's truffle bar, they have a somewhat epic presence in the chocolate related area of my mind. While living with my friend Mary, I would often open the fridge to find one or two of these stashed on the second shelf. I never thought much of them. Mary always bought the milk chocolate variety. She let me try a piece once, and while it was tasty, it's just not the kind of chocolate I usually go for. It didn't even occur to me that they might offer a dark chocolate bar of the same, so I was surprised and delighted to come across exactly that on my latest trip to Trader Joe's.
A truffle bar is by definition going to be an indulgent bar. I mean, it's a truffle for goodness sake. There are many different varieties of truffles, but basically anything that is chocolate ganache coated in something else, (even if it's just more chocolate or cocoa powder), constitutes a truffle. Chocolate ganache is traditionally defined as chocolate mixed with cream. It is an over-the-top-yummy, endorphin-summoning, super smooth chocolate. However, this ganache-esque effect can be achieved multiple ways, and in most cases today, your "truffle" will not be made in this way. If you're buying French truffles, it's safe to bet you're getting real ganache. If you're buying any other kind, you might be getting chocolate mixed with a number of different things, such as coconut oil, butterfat, or in the case of this bar, an uncertain mixture of vegetable oils. The label reads "organic canola oil and/or organic safflower oil and/or organic sunflower oil." If you're curious about what a safflower is, as I was, I highly recommend Googling it. They have an expressive, vibrant and slightly alien look to them. I was a little turned off by the substitution of vegetable oil for cream, but discovering the beauty of its source made this realization much easier to bear.
I enjoyed this bar very much. I did not taste the notes of jasmine and coconut that the label said I would. I was already about halfway through the bar when I actually read the label, and I was surprised that this was what you were expected to taste. As I was researching truffles and learned that they are often made with coconut oil, I turned to the ingredient list, thinking that perhaps this was where they had gotten the idea for coconut notes. But no--all of the extra ingredients in this bar are relatively neutral-tasting, letting the actual chocolate take center stage. And the actual chocolate, chocophiles, is wonderful. It is fruity and bold with a slightly tart finish, kind of like when you eat a raspberry and it starts off soft and sweet and then turns a little--and not unpleasantly--sour at the end. The ganache center is the stuff of melt-in-your-mouth legend, and the surrounding chocolate provides a contrasting firmness and slight crunch. At $2 for a bar that is organic and has outstanding flavor and texture, this one is a steal.
A truffle bar is by definition going to be an indulgent bar. I mean, it's a truffle for goodness sake. There are many different varieties of truffles, but basically anything that is chocolate ganache coated in something else, (even if it's just more chocolate or cocoa powder), constitutes a truffle. Chocolate ganache is traditionally defined as chocolate mixed with cream. It is an over-the-top-yummy, endorphin-summoning, super smooth chocolate. However, this ganache-esque effect can be achieved multiple ways, and in most cases today, your "truffle" will not be made in this way. If you're buying French truffles, it's safe to bet you're getting real ganache. If you're buying any other kind, you might be getting chocolate mixed with a number of different things, such as coconut oil, butterfat, or in the case of this bar, an uncertain mixture of vegetable oils. The label reads "organic canola oil and/or organic safflower oil and/or organic sunflower oil." If you're curious about what a safflower is, as I was, I highly recommend Googling it. They have an expressive, vibrant and slightly alien look to them. I was a little turned off by the substitution of vegetable oil for cream, but discovering the beauty of its source made this realization much easier to bear.
I enjoyed this bar very much. I did not taste the notes of jasmine and coconut that the label said I would. I was already about halfway through the bar when I actually read the label, and I was surprised that this was what you were expected to taste. As I was researching truffles and learned that they are often made with coconut oil, I turned to the ingredient list, thinking that perhaps this was where they had gotten the idea for coconut notes. But no--all of the extra ingredients in this bar are relatively neutral-tasting, letting the actual chocolate take center stage. And the actual chocolate, chocophiles, is wonderful. It is fruity and bold with a slightly tart finish, kind of like when you eat a raspberry and it starts off soft and sweet and then turns a little--and not unpleasantly--sour at the end. The ganache center is the stuff of melt-in-your-mouth legend, and the surrounding chocolate provides a contrasting firmness and slight crunch. At $2 for a bar that is organic and has outstanding flavor and texture, this one is a steal.