Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Rice Milk Chocolate Bars

It seems kind of weird to want to find milk chocolate without milk in it, but I know that there are some folks that are dairy free and are looking for that creamy consistency of a milk chocolate without the milk in it. If you’re a vegan it’s not like you can’t have chocolate, after all, the cacao bean is just another seed. But in this day and age, you’d be amazed at how often dairy products are put into even what should be plain old dark chocolate.

Enter Terra Nostra which offers a non-dairy line made with Rice Milk which is also organic to boot!

imageRicemilk Choco - 57% cacao solids. The plain Ricemilk Choco has a pleasant sweet smell with a light chocolate aroma. The look of the bar is also pretty becoming, light and glossy with a good snap. On the tongue it has a good buttery melt, but it’s extremely sweet. There’s also a nutty taste to it, and upon looking at the ingredients I understand why, there are ground hazelnuts in there! It’s kind of like a super-mild guandujia.

The thick sweetness wasn’t quite to my liking, but I had high hopes for the rest of the line.

imageRicemilk Choco with Almonds - 57% cacao solids. The almonds make a huge difference in the flavor of this bar for me. The mellow nuts balance out the sweetness. There’s a more noticeable hit of salt in this bar too, even though I know it’s the same chocolate, the sweetness of the almonds gives it a great balance.

The almonds are just slivers and pieces, not full nuts, but I kind of prefer mine that way. They were rather light in color, not a toasty brown, so they added more texture than flavor.

imageRicemilk Choco Dark Truffle Center - 56% cacao solids. This bar has a ricemilk chocolate outside and a dark truffle inside. The truffle center is rather solid, though slightly softer than the chocolate itself. The light bar here is sweet and the filling is a little less so, but still very buttery. Most truffles are made with the addition of dairy fats (cream or butter) to chocolate to create that hyperfatty tongue-feel. Instead this truffle uses unknown vegetable fats, which I don’t usually care for, since they have a different melting point than dairy fats and of course cocoa butter (yes, cocoa butter is a vegetable fat, but it’s a very special vegetable fat).

Of the three bars, my first favorite was the Almond one, second is the Truffle. I really didn’t like the plain one at all, it was just too sweet without any interesting texture or other notes to it.

Overall, I have to say that I’m impressed and pleased with this vegan line. I usually approach dietary substitutions with trepidation - I’m the type of person who would rather drink their coffee black than use non-dairy creamer. When it comes to choosing between a mock product or nothing at all, I usually go for nothing and wait until I get get a hold of the real thing. But Terra Nostra has done a good job here of bringing the creaminess to their already great organic dark chocolate that emulates the milk chocolate experience pretty well. I’m guess the fact that rice milk is already pretty sweet is what makes the plain bar a little over the top for me.

All the bars are certified organic an stamped with the Equi-Trade fair trade symbol.

Name: Ricemilk Choco - Plain, Almond & Dark Truffle
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Terra Nostra
Place Purchased: samples from Terra Nostra
Price: unknown
Size: 3.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 163
Categories: Chocolate, Switzerland, Organic, Fair Trade

POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:08 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. Oh! Thanks for reviewing these! I think I’ve seen them at the only alternative grocery store anywhere near me. I’m actually happy they’re a bit overly sweet..after this lack of chocolate I’m looking for full fledged candy goodness. I can’t wait to pick some up!

    Comment by Julia on 11/07/06 at 11:47 am #
  2. I am going to recommend these to a few friends.

    Comment by claudia on 11/07/06 at 2:18 pm #
  3. Well, for the sake of those who are dairy-free, I’m glad there’s something out there for them that is at least “worth it.” All the same, I’m glad I’m not limited to ricemilk chocolate; it really sounds like it’s trying way too hard.

    Comment by Rozanne on 11/07/06 at 3:49 pm #
  4. My girlfriend brought home for an after dinner treat a ricemilk bar from Terra Nostra.  After eating most of it my girlfriend told me it was made of ricemilk. I was blow away. Great taste, very creamy and unique chocolate qualities. This bar rocks!

    Comment by Chris on 11/23/06 at 8:25 am #
  5. I’ve only had the plain ones, but I was amazed by how close they taste to regular milk chocolate (which I find too sweet anyway). It’s great to have these vegan options and I recommend them to everyone to try. Good taste without guilt!

    Comment by Dr. Marion on 4/04/08 at 4:31 pm #
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