Drinks With Chocolate - Richart's Suggestions

I just received a box of Richart's Petit Intense chocolates. They have several new flavors this year. There was a booklet that gave suggestions for drinks with their chocolates. Keep in mind that the plain and filled chocolates made by this company are not as sweet as many and use chocolate with a high cocoa content, but yet are very smooth and complex and not bitter.

Concerning wine, they suggest that it should not be too dry, too acid, too tannic, too astringent, or too acid. They suggest Vin Jaune from Jura with a full bodied Venezuela or a praline. Banyuls Grand Cru or a Maury is suggested with a chocolate dessert. Tokaji is suggested with filled milk chocolate genache or a caramel made with slightly salted butter. A Pedro Jiminez is suggested with an almond praline. Tawny port is suggested with plain dark chocolate. A Juracon is suggested with filled pralines or spice-flavored genaches.

Some spirits also are suggested. An 18 year old Macallan is suggested with hazelnut praline. A 21 year old Glenfarclas is suggested with chocolate with a 85% Pruvian cocoa content. Some bourbons with more delicate chocolates and desserts are suggested. Old Cognacs and Armagnacs that are very rounded, and have little astringency, are suggested with plain and less sweet filled chocolates. Old and very old rums, such as pre 1940 Bailly, are suggested. They also suggest that water may be the perfect accompaniment because it perfectly cleanses the palate between tastings.

They especially suggest coffee including Maragogype and Jamaican Blue Mountain. (But beware of Blue Mountain. Only a small amount of it comes from the few top estates that produce the quality that made it famous. Much is quite ordinary and highly overpriced. Also beware of "blend" or "type" associated with the name).

Tea is supposed to be a very difficult match. Oolong may work better than many teas.

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Reply to
Cwdjrx _
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Bloody idiocy.

The person that wrote that should eat a last chocolate, then light up a Cohiba, give it a few puffs to get it glowing really well and ram it up his fundament to teach himself not to be such an fool in future and spread such tripe to people who might not know any better.

It is entirely possible that some gullible reader might follow his advise and destroy a great malt in the process. In which case he would also merit a swift kick in the goolies for his sins!

Reply to
Bill Spohn

Hi Bill. I thought some of the Scotch suggestions might get a rather unfriendly response. I am not for sure the Cognac suggestion would be to my taste either. You will have to contact Richart at Paris 75007 - 258 bd St Germain or one of their several other locations and tell them what you think. I save the chocolates until the very end of the meal or between meals and have coffee with them. Some of the wine suggestionns may work fairly well, but I usually have had all of the wine I want before I eat chocolates.

It would seem the Richart suggestions are nothing new. The section starts out as: "Some recommendations Richard has fund pleasing over the past 15 years:".

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Reply to
Cwdjrx _

Late harvest zinfandel is a good match for chocolate.

Dimitri

Reply to
D. Gerasimatos

I save them until the end of the meal, and then give them to SWMBO while I have a nice dram of single malt ;-)

Reply to
Bill Spohn

With high cocoa content plain chocolates, my tasting group tend to go for really huge over the top Australian Shiraz. The combination sounds strange to many but does work.

If someone wants a malt with their whisky then let it be an ordinary bottling. Speysides like Macallan and Glenfarclas would be killed by most chocolate. The Glenfarclas 105 might survive but why spoil it by eating chocolate.

My latest dram - the Ardbeg Uigeadail - would survive, but the chocolate wouldn't.

James James Dempster (remove nospam to reply by email)

You know you've had a good night when you wake up and someone's outlining you in chalk.

Reply to
James Dempster

Afull bodied red doesn't sound like it would be a match for chocolates, but WOW!!! I had a fullbodied aged Cal Zinfandel (red of course) with some dark chocolate & what an explosion of flavor. Unbelievably complex. In addtition to you who have Cholesterol & Triglyceride problems when you have to haveblood work done grab 1/2 lb DARK chocolate & 2 or 3 glasses of Cabernet or Zin. etc. for desert the 2 nights before bloodwork & your LDL & Triglycerides will be considerably improved. A Heshey"s dark choc bar. & a glass of red each night after dinner would help your day to day Chol. (but of course not your waist line)

After Malvern Hill Pres. Lincoln visited with Gens. Mc Clellen & Sumner as well as Col. Nugent (Commander of the Irish Brigade.)` A Lt. James. M. Birmingham, Adjutant of the 88th N. Y. came from a swim in the James R. & with his underwear drying on his body saw them talking. He ducked behind some cover to eavesdrop in time to see & hear Pres. Lincoln (overcome with emotion at the bravery & sacrifice of the Irish Brigade.) as he lifted a corner of the 69th N. Y.'s flag, kissed it & said "God bless this Irish flag" From Joseph Bilby's book "Remember Fontenoy" on the Irish Brigade Lancaster Civil War Round Table Website

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Carl Speros webmaster.

Reply to
E. Carl Speros

] >An 18 year old Macallan is suggested ] >with hazelnut praline. A 21 year old Glenfarclas is suggested with ] >chocolate with a 85% Pruvian cocoa content. ] ] Bloody idiocy. ]

Darn right. These are some pretty good malts. I actually prefer the older Glenfarclas (although I like the 21 year better than the 25), but a younger Macallan. Never can notice a lot of difference between the 15 and 18 year Macallan, except to the wallet.

The jurancon suggestion leaves me cold, too.

On the chocolate note, I wonder if Richart is really worth the money. They are very finely made: the craftsmanship is wonderful. But I think there is better quality available at 1/2 the price. Are they available in the US? If you have them shipped from Paris, I'd suggest giving Regis a try... wonderful stuff!

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Richart can be shipped in the US from New York and San Francisco. Le Maison du Chocolat ships from New York, and makes especially good genache filled chocolates and truffles. Filled chocolates from neither of these firms are suitable for mass distributon because they only have a shelf life of 2 weeks or slightly more. Of course their plain, unfilled chocolates will last much longer. You can order Demel chocolates directly from Vienna on their web site, and they ship all over the world. The Demel chocolates are quite different than the 2 mentioned French ones. They probably are the much the same as 100 years ago. The chocolate is very creamy and milder and more refined. Some of their fillings, such as the fruit-marzipan combinations are the best I have tasted. Unfortunately the Demel chocolates are even more expensive than the 2 mentioned French ones on a cost per weight basis. Now if we could get Demel to make most of the fillings, Le Maison du Chocolat to make genache fillngs and dip the centers, and Richart to decorate them and design the boxes, we would have something better than any of the three produce alone, at least to my taste. Of course such a joint effort would never work as egos would be bruised and the various factions might chase the others with knives and meat cleavers.

My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net from my email address. Then add snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com . I do not check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.

Reply to
Cwdjrx _

] Richart can be shipped in the US from New York and San Francisco. Le ] Maison du Chocolat ships from New York, and makes especially good ] genache filled chocolates and truffles. Filled chocolates from neither ] of these firms are suitable for mass distributon because they only have ] a shelf life of 2 weeks or slightly more. Of course their plain, ] unfilled chocolates will last much longer. You can order Demel ] chocolates directly from Vienna on their web site, and they ship all ] over the world. The Demel chocolates are quite different than the 2 ] mentioned French ones. They probably are the much the same as 100 years ] ago. The chocolate is very creamy and milder and more refined. Some of ] their fillings, such as the fruit-marzipan combinations are the best I ] have tasted. Unfortunately the Demel chocolates are even more expensive ] than the 2 mentioned French ones on a cost per weight basis. Now if we ] could get Demel to make most of the fillings, Le Maison du Chocolat to ] make genache fillngs and dip the centers, and Richart to decorate them ] and design the boxes, we would have something better than any of the ] three produce alone, at least to my taste. Of course such a joint effort ] would never work as egos would be bruised and the various factions might ] chase the others with knives and meat cleavers. ]

I don't doubt you're right about the cleavers! I don't know Demel, but were we able to "combine at will," some interesting things might happen... or not. Sometimes it is better to let the expert artisan practice, then take the performance, warts and all.

I am not a fan of La Maison du Chocolat, frankly I think it's overpriced tourist fare. I know they do ship widely. Idon't believe either they or Richart make their own chocolate, but rather -- as is widely practiced here -- blend from one of 4 or 5 sources available in the country. So it all comes down to the confection, as it were.

Next time you're coming to Paris, give us a yell and I'll point out some chocolate highlights! :)

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Why would you want to lower your lipid panel readings aritficially? Sure, drink red wine as part of a regimen designed to lower your LDL and triglycerides, but the idea of speficially lowering your readings defeats the entire purpose of getting blood work done. Your doctor needs the most accurate information possible to make the best recommendations for your health. Fooling them will do nothing to prolong your life or improve your health, Carl. If you're not interested in getting the best advice, don't go to the doctor...

Also, could you please add the standard delimiter for your signature? Right now, everyone who responds to you will end up quoting your sig. This can be remedied by adding a line with "-- " immediately before your sig. Even WebTV should have an option for doing that.

TIA Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

I've seen more nonsense written about matching wine & chocolate than on almost any other subject. (Second only to matching wine and spicy asian food).

Personally I feel that the best you can hope for is a grudging 3/5, neither are harmed by the experience. I think good chocolate is so complete in itself that it's not really enhanced by anything else you drink it with. A plain high cocoa content choc will go adequately well with black coffee, but I'd not cleaim that either are much improved. I can't say I find filled and flavoured chocolates to go with anything.

Of course as a searcher after truth, I'm always open to invitations designed to make me change my mind!

All the best Ian (To reply by email PLEASE don't use "Reply to" bu use my name at wanadoo.fr) Thanks.

Reply to
Anthony Hoare

Anthony Hoare wrote: ^^^^^^^

Sorry to bother you, Ian, but what happened to your first name?!

M.

Reply to
Michael Pronay

I'm in the UK, using my brother's account and couldn't be bothered to switch the parameters every time I go on line. As long as everyone recongises my deathless prose!!

All the best Ian (To reply by email PLEASE don't use "Reply to" but use my name at wanadoo.fr) Thanks.

Reply to
Anthony Hoare

I agree. That's why I almost never order chocolate for desert - I'd rather have wine or port after a meal, and the only thing I like with chocolate is black coffee. Same for cheesecake. Mmmmm... It's too early in the day for such things.

Reply to
Greg Sumner

I see, thank you.

M.

Reply to
Michael Pronay

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