Chocolate Passions

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FIERA DEL CIOCCALATO ARTIGIANALE, January 21st, 2005

A friend accompanied me to a chocolate fair, for which we paid 8 euros to visit and to…taste. We were tempted by each stand, with chocolates artfully placed and seductively layed out in heaps, on platters or in careful stacks. We tasted (assagiato) several different types of FONDANTE (one at 50% cacao, 75% and indeed one PURE at 100%!). I was impressed not only by the quality of the chocolate, but also of their artistic creations! We saw colorfully detailed Carnivale masks in pure chocolate, as well as a 3D representation of an oven, espresso pot and dish of pasta ALL in FONDANTE chocolate! (I asked if they used dark chocolate because it was simply the best, and we agreed that not only is it the best, but because it has less milk, it is more durable and more accepting to being cast and molded! What a delicious art!)

The most intriguing of this experience was the display of chocolates pictured here…in rows and rows of beautifully detailed, glimmering chocolates with the ODDEST of names. I walked away with the following to taste in the safety of my own home: Lavanda (lavender), Frutta Secca (dried fruit), Pinoli e Vin Santo (pine nuts and Vin Santo wine), Safran (Saffron), China ( a type of herb). Some chocolates I left behind? Peperoncino (chile), Rosmarino (rosemary), Olio di olive e Salvia (olive oil and sage), Liquori di Menta, Arancia Mandorle (Orange and almond), Alle 5 Spezie (5 spices), Cumin, and more!!!!!

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