How to Navigate the Boxed Sampler

By Cindy Pavlos
Cape Cod Times, May 06, 2009

Your senses quiver with anticipation as you lift the first perfect square from the brimming box. Mmm. The outer layer gives way to the dense, dark, delicious interior. This is what you dreamed of. This is chocolate heaven.

But without proper training in how to choose this bite of bliss, those rows of chocolates nestled so innocently in the embrace of their paper beds could offer up exploding orange creams or, worse yet, molten cherries that drain down your chin and onto your lap. Fear makes you apprehensive and indecisive.

Where is that little map that will direct you to your chocolate dream? What happened to the Whitman's Samplers of your childhood, where each heart-shaped box opened to a pictorial placement chart to lead you through the maze of Brazil nuts and coconut-filled to that small square of perfect pleasure. Is there any help?

Yes. With sufficient motivation, you can learn how to traverse that chocolate mine field and to be on your way to sweet paradise. Let's begin with a chocolate primer.

Not so very long ago, chocolates came in only two varieties: milk and dark. Fillings consisted of nuts, caramel, fruit cream, marshmallow or coconut. Today's options boggle the mind. Those plump puffs of perfection may harbor shards of jalapeno pepper, nuggets of ginger, fennel, fiery wasabi — even sesame seeds.

These days, you must choose the provenance of your chocolate as well as the percentage of cocoa solids — and a map would be handy here as well. Sixty-five percent, intense dark from Colombia or 57-percent Maracaibo? Is 72-percent Quetzalcoatl a type of chocolate or an ancient myth?

There's also a new vocabulary to master. That crackling exterior is known as ganache, and the succulent creamy types are mousse. Truffle isn't just something pigs sniff from under trees; and praline, couverture or gianduja are cryptic code words to master.

Meanwhile, back at the box, you need to decide what you are looking for in a chocolate. Since touching is not an option, unless you're home alone, you will need to use your power of observation.

Color: This is the easy part. The light brown ones are milk chocolates and have a flavor reminiscent of your childhood Hershey bars. The dark ones have no milk, less sugar and deliver a more robust flavor.

Shape: There are three basic shapes: Round generally indicates a soft filling of some type. Squares are generally solid and rectangles can hide everything from nuts and praline to assorted firm fillings.

Size: Size does matter, but this is not an intuitive choice. The smaller the chocolate, the more intense the flavor. One bite can be sheer heaven. Beware seductive long bars that could easily hide something truly odd (smoked bacon or mascarpone, for example).

Surface texture: Texture gives useful clues. Bumpy bits are generally nuts. Piped chocolate whorls indicate a mousse filling. Flakes of coconut or shreds of orange or lemon speak for themselves. The more exotic the filling, the more likely a subtle clue on top will flag a warning.

OK. You are now armed with your cheat sheet. But what do you do if that mouth-watering, cinnamon-dusted bit of bliss conceals an explosion of fiery chipotle chilies? Whatever you do, don't put it back in the box. No one else may ever know, but your guilt will follow you, forever.

Choosing your chocolate should not be a stressful experience. With study, patience and a keen eye, you can attain your melting moment of chocolate nirvana.

Cindy Pavlos is a freelance writer, a mom and a chocolate lover.

Copyright Cape Cod Times, May 2009, All Rights Reserved