Not Delia

Chilli chocolate – is it just a fashion fad?

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Not Delia
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Chilli chocolates

It’s not uncommon to see chilli chocolate on offer these days. Of course I had to try some to see what all the fuss was about, so we included a couple of chilli chocolates in the gift box we bought for ourselves in The Shop in Phnom Penh.

Mr ND says he “sort of liked it”, and quite honestly I wasn’t very keen on it at all. The chocolate itself was good but I thought that the flavour was spoiled by the heat of the chilli. I mean, what’s the point? Some foods go beautifully together – think Parma ham and sweet melon, or cheese and black grapes. But the chocolate and chilli just didn’t work for me. I doubt if I’ll buy it again.

You don’t have to look far on the internet to find people talking about chilli and chocolate together, but it just seems like a fashion fad to me. Walkers also tested the chilli chocolate flavour for its crisps – along with other amazing new flavours such as Cajun squirrel. I think that kinda sums it up.

Comments

4 responses to “Chilli chocolate – is it just a fashion fad?”

  1. Mr Not Delia

    I see that Lindt are selling a 100 g bar (70%) in their Excellence range – I’ll buy one next time I see one and investigate whether it’s any different.

    To be honest, I didn’t notice much heat from the chilli at all – it did start to kick in about half a minute after I’d put the chocolate into my mouth, but it never really got going as far as I was concerned; it certainly didn’t have me reaching for the beer.

    Maybe they only inject the chilli oil into one corner and ND got it all? I suppose I’d better investigate with the other one. Watch this space.

  2. Sammydre

    It seems to have increased in popularity over the last few years presumably because of the general trend of people being interested in “original”, “traditional” or similar foods. Wikipedia suggests the Aztecs may have added chilli to their chocolate drinks 4,000 years ago… But that’s hardly the same as the hard chocolate bars we have today!

    For my money, the Lindt stuff mentioned above is quite enjoyable.

  3. Not Delia

    Thanks for your comment, Sammy. Yeah, the Aztec chocolate was very different from ours today. They didn’t have sugar for starters. I like to try new things, even if they are modern interpretations of ancient ideas.

    Some more “traditional” things sound less than appetising, though. It’s amazing how much society has changed in only a hundred and fifty years or so. Have a look at this free cookbook from 1852.
    http://www.notdelia.co.uk/a-plain-cookery-book-for-the-working-classes/

  4. Mr Not Delia

    Well, I’ve just eaten the other one, and I must say the combination’s growing on me – it somehow brings out the bitterness of the chocolate, in a pleasant way. The sweetness of the sugar in the chocolate is still there too, but it’s not discordant at all.

    Can’t say I’d fancy it on crisps, though.

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