Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Caffarel Figs & Chestnuts (Fico & Castagna)

Caffarel Figs & ChestnutsAs we head into December, I start looking at candy with an eye towards Christmas stockings. What makes good stocking candy? Well, small individually wrapped portions are a good start. Seasonal flavors, pretty packaging and some sort of exotic selling point also help.

When I was up in San Francisco, these little Caffarel Fig and Chestnut chocolates. I wasn’t quite sure what they’d be, they were sold at The Candy Store out of a pretty jar. There were several varieties (I think something walnut and a bunch of others that I’d tried before) so I went for these that were new to me. The pretty foil showed a green fig, a cut fig and a ripe fig bursting at the seams. Everything I got at The Candy Store was fresh and perfect, these were no exception.

At the bottom they have a little sticker with the Caffarel logo. The fig ones all say fico and the chestnut one says castagna. I was expecting a gianduia center with a fig flavor or chestnut flavor.

Caffarel Figs

Upon biting into the first fig one for this photo, I found that it was not a chocolate or nut paste center. Instead it was a molded dark chocolate piece with a flowing fig filling. Kind of like a syrup with real fig in it, it’s a pretty intense fig flavor like a jam. A little like honey, it’s a fresh taste of raisins and similar in smell as sitting next to a fresh pile of firewood.

I never cared much for figs as a kid. I had to make a very concerted effort to “like” Fig Newtons. It really wasn’t until I moved to my present house that has a fig tree and I started eating them fresh off the tree that I understood the appeal of them. (And the fact that the tree is so wonderfully fresh and fragrant nine months out of the year.)

There were little bits of fig in there, a few seeds to really sell the fact that it’s figs. I love these. I really, really love these. I love the shape, I love the size, I love the foil wrapping and the fact that they come in three different versions. I’ve eaten them all. I didn’t love the price, but I’m trying not to think about that ... I’m trying to figure out where to buy more of these. (I don’t recommend them for kids who haven’t already expressed a strong desire for figs though.)

The chestnut one also had a flowing center, though not quite as thin and gooey as the fig. This one was slightly textured, like a caramel or dulce de leche (but no cream, per se). Sweet and a little roasted, it tasted like a marron glace but without that worry that it’d be a tough one. It didn’t really thrill me, but I’m not a huge chestnut fan.

Now I have to apologize to everyone who now wants to try these and is in the same position as I am ... outta luck! If you know of another place (The Candy Store does not do web orders) that sells them online, please post!

Related Candies

  1. Wawel Chocolates
  2. CocoaBella “World’s Best Box”
  3. Trader Joe’s Figments
  4. Edelweiss Chocolates
  5. Pocky Decorer Torokeru Montblanc
  6. Figamajigs
Name: Caffarel Fico & Castagna
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Caffarel
Place Purchased: The Candy Store (San Francisco)
Price: $.75 each
Size: unknown
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, Nuts, Italy, Caffarel

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:33 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. I hope you are happy! you have me absolutely drooling over the thoughts of those candies and as soon as I find a way to get them they shall be mine!!!

    Comment by Gigi on 11/28/07 at 10:37 am #
  2. hi, I’m not sure of your name. I’ve read a few of your posts after trying candy cane kisses yesterday and trying to find out more about them I stumbled on your blog. I’ve seen you mention candy art a few times and it sounds really interesting, I’ve always loved all the shapes and bright colours of candies and wanted to play around with that but was never to sure how. Can you tell me a bit about what this candy art is. Thanks.

    Comment by Rochelle on 11/28/07 at 3:43 pm #
  3. I always liked Fig Newtons, especially the crunchiness of the tiny seeds.  I like raspberry stuff for the same reason.

    Comment by Dave on 11/28/07 at 5:03 pm #
  4. are the chesnut ones vegan? i know it’s a long shot but you said dark chocolate and no cream so i figured i’d try…

    Comment by Asmith on 11/28/07 at 10:44 pm #
  5. Oh how YUM.  I have a fig tree in my back yard, and absolutely adore them. Fresh, anyway. To have that sweet flavor available year round? In DARK CHOCOLATE? Oh YUM, I want some.

    Although if you like figs, do you like fig preserves?  My husband’s grandmother made a metric crapload of them, under the mistaken impression that because I like figs, I like preserves. A whole lot.

    Want some? I’ll send you some. smile

    Comment by Heather on 11/29/07 at 5:17 am #
  6. i tried to google the crap out of those and couldnt find any place that sold them in the states, online at least. found one or two other products they make, but not these.

    Comment by fluffy on 11/29/07 at 8:01 am #
  7. I think you have accidentally left out a few words in the second paragraph, first line:

    “When I was up in San Francisco, these little Caffarel Fig and Chestnut chocolates.”

    Comment by Erin on 11/29/07 at 3:19 pm #
  8. I think I have seen those here in Italy.  I will have to check but I’m sure I have seen them.  I will let you know!

    Comment by Megan on 11/30/07 at 12:35 am #
  9. I am wearing a sample of MadCitySoap.com’s soy souffle body cream—the scent is Figgy Pudding—and I’ve been wanting to taste one of these chocolates ALL DAY.

    Comment by Heidi on 12/01/07 at 1:46 pm #
  10. my fig tree is finally starting to bear more than one fruit at a time. this is definitely something i would love, even though the packaging reminds me of big monster eyeballs.

    Comment by santos. on 12/02/07 at 6:18 pm #
  11. I’d love to try a chestnut chocolate sometime.

    Comment by traderjanki on 12/06/07 at 3:27 am #
  12. I had Caffarel candies recently on a trip to italy and loved them.  have you found a place to buy them in the states?  Thanks!

    Comment by angel5565 on 12/07/07 at 3:55 pm #
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