Sunday, November 25, 2007

Guittard Akoma Fair Trade Chocolate Chips

Guittard Fair Trade ChipsOne of the great new products I picked up in San Francisco last weekend was the new Akoma Extra Semisweet Chocolate Chips from Guittard. They’re Fair Trade certified from beans sourced from West Africa (one of the hotspots of poor working and wage conditions for plantation workers).

Unlike the standard Guittard semisweet chips, these are 55% cacao ... just a smidge darker than the usual chips. They come in a sassy metallic pink package instead of the also-easy-to-spot gold package for regular Guittard Dark Chocolate Chips.

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The chips have a nice rounded chocolate flavor. Some strong berry notes, a little light smokiness and a good creamy melt. They maintain their shape when baked, as all good chips do. The ingredients are pretty simple as well: cacao beans (fair trade certified), sugar, soy lecithin and real vanilla.

I haven’t seen them in stores in Southern California yet, but you can definitely buy them at Chocosphere for the same price as their regular chips. So good fuzzy feelings for Fair Trade and still a decent price.

orangebreadpuddingMy choice to make something with these for Thanksgiving was a Cardamom, Orange & Chocolate Bread Pudding.

  • Peel of 1 large orange (about 1/4 cup)
  • 10 cardamom pods
  • 1 Loaf (16 ounces) of dried Bread (Brioche works best)
  • 4 cups of milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup of Cointreau or similar orange liqueur
  • 2/3 cup of sugar
  • Dice the peel of the orange and place in a microwave safe cup with 1 cup of milk with five crushed cardamom pods. Microwave until warm, stir and let sit for 30 minutes, then stir again and heat again. This can be done a day ahead of time and refrigerated (this will make the orange peel especially soft).

    In a sauce pan put the 1 cup of pre-made milk mix (dig out the cardamom pods) along with the other 3 cups of milk, sugar and the loosely beaten eggs. Clean and crush the cardamom in a mortar & pestle. Add to the mix, warm over low heat.

    Put half of the bread into the bottom of the baking pan. Add half of the milk/egg mixture to the pan. Stir to combine and get the bread soaked. Take half of the chips and cover the egg/bread mixture. Then put the rest of the bread into the saucepan to get it completely wet. Add that to the top of the baking pan. Sprinkle more chips on top.

    Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. The pudding will pull away from the sides when done and the center won’t move. It’s a pretty dry bread pudding, so try it warm with a little milk or perhaps some ice cream or whipped cream.

    Related Candies

    1. Mary Jane’s Bread Pudding
    2. Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter and Banana Cup
    3. Chocolate Hellfire Chip Cookies
    4. Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews
    5. Panda Bars

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:55 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyRecipesReviewGuittardChocolateUnited StatesFeatured News

    Comments
    1. I’m so excited about these! I had not heard about them yet. Now I just have to figure out who carries them in the Bay Area. Guittard needs to open their own store - like at the Jelly Belly Factory. Glad you had a good trip up here!

      Comment by KateC on 11/28/07 at 5:33 am #
    2. Ya know how those whacked out Canadians create line extensions by introducing never ending, albeit, uninventive flavors of their popular candy bars?

      Well, I’ll be damned, I want a bourbon flavored
      Coffee Crisp.

      What about it, eh?

      Comment by Paulard on 12/03/07 at 4:53 pm #
    3. We had the chocolate in our class. It was good.

      Comment by Shannon on 12/05/07 at 4:44 pm #
    4. I found these this weekend. They are quite nice! I’ve been eating them from the bag, savoring them. But I also put them in a banana bread. Lovely!

      Comment by KateC on 12/10/07 at 1:36 pm #
    5. Hey KateC,
      Where did you end up finding the Akoma Fair Trade Chips from Guittard? Andronico’s maybe?

      Have a good one,
      Robert

      Comment by Robert on 12/20/07 at 1:09 pm #
    6. HELP…...Does anyone know how to find a retailer for Guittard’s?? I have been searching for a vendor who carries A’Peels. Any Luck?  Thanks I need bulk.  Tricia

      Comment by Tricia on 5/03/08 at 6:50 am #
    7. We love this brand so much I based my whole business on them. Did you know See’s candy has been said to use Guittard? and so has Shari’s Berries.

      Comment by An Occasional Chocolate on 1/09/09 at 3:34 pm #
    8. in San Francisco, I’ve found the Akoma at Rainbow Grocery

      Comment by Anita / Married ...with Dinner on 3/22/09 at 9:39 am #
    9. After trying these a year ago when making chocolate chips cookies for an Earth Day bake sale at the high school I work at….I can no longer find them!  They are awesome and the cookies (their recipe) got raves.  Have contacted two local stores to see if they can carry them, since they carry other Guittard products.

      Comment by Katy on 4/20/09 at 12:12 pm #
    10. “In a Nutshell” is a San Leandro company that sells 50-pound boxes of Guittard Akoma chips for about $2.40/pound—which, astonishingly, is less than you can buy Nestle chips for at Costco.  We gather a group of a dozen friends who all want 3-5 pounds, go in together, and divvy them up!

      http://www.inanutshell.com/product_list.php

      Comment by Alex on 12/01/09 at 5:10 pm #
    11. Wondering if anyone knows if these or other fair trade chocolate chips are sold anywhere outside of CA or by mail?

      Comment by Julia on 10/14/10 at 9:09 pm #
    12. Yes!  I bought my first lot of Akomas from Chocosphere.  The price is okay—still much better than anywhere else other than a wholesaler.  Guittard will sell them to you directly if you buy 500 pounds or more grin

      http://www.chocosphere.com/Html/Products/guittard.html

      Comment by Alex on 10/16/10 at 9:38 pm #
    13. Hi Alex,

      It’s been a while, so maybe their prices have gone up. But at $2.40/lb, a 50-lb box would be $120, which is $30 less than what Guittard charges for the 500 lb box. Right now, inanutshell is charging $170 for 50 lbs. Have you found it cheaper recently? Thanks.

      Christopher

      Comment by Christopher on 4/12/11 at 3:32 pm #
    14. Yes—I purchase regularly from Inanutshell.  It’s still $133.50 per 50#.  But we get free delivery, as we are within their delivery area.  With shipping I imagine it might be $170.

      Comment by Alex on 4/12/11 at 3:46 pm #
    15. We have converted to fair trade. Happy to learn about these chips!

      Comment by Maria on 4/03/12 at 10:48 pm #
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