Chocolate for Passover

This evening at sundown, the Jewish Passover will begin so your Chocolate Priestess wanted to reveal a few of the chocolate products she found in her local Kroger that claim to be suitable for the holiday.  Let's check them out one by one to see if they are also suitable for a chocolate lover.

The first are a small bag of chocolate coins wrapped in a plastic net from Lieber's.  This bag has four silver wrapped coins in it and collectively they are made from ingredients including cocoa mass and cocoa butter.  They contain 83 calories 3g saturated fat, 4mg cholesterol, 4mg sodium, 7.5g sugars, and 1g protein.  What I really like about this is that the label lists the rabbi in charge of their production which I suspect may be reassuring if I were Jewish.

The coins come in two sizes but here you see the bigger one with the other two treats I'll be looking at soon.  This is just simply surprising dark looking and tasting chocolate with no added dairy or oils in it so it is also vegan.  It melted in my mouth and actually produced a slight buzz.  While I notice that Kosher products are more expensive compared to the cheap Easter choices I revealed on Sunday this is much, much better quality chocolate.

Manischewitz's Milk Chocolate Swiss Mints are the next product I found and bought.  This two has milk chocolate and darker coating made with cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate liquor.  8 pieces come in this 6oz box and one equals a serving with 80 calories, 2g saturated fat, 10mg sodium, <1g fiber, 13g sugars, 1g protein, 2% calcium and iron as well.

Inside these 1inch diameter mounds are a lighter cocoa filling and a strong mint scent mixing with cocoa fragrance.  The center is dry but not powdering and the overwhelming flavor is mint that leaves my mouth tingling immediately.  In fact in a few chews, the mint with a strange aftertaste is the only flavor.  I never taste the chocolate and this is disappointing.

Finally I have the Joyva Marshmallow Twists that are basically cherry flavored marshmallows covered in chocolate of cocoa butter and chocolate solids.  There are 12 pieces of sort of wavy looking sticks just under 3 inches long.  Two pieces equal 1 serving with 190 calories, 2g saturated fat, 20mg sodium, 23g sugars, 1g protein, and 1% iron.

Inside these twists is a bright pink, very sticky marshmallow.  Oddly, very oddly the cherry scent fade very quickly and the dark coating has no flavor. The color is primarily from dye according to the label but there is unspecified "natural flavor" though it doesn't say it is cherry.  It sort of tastes cherry but mostly like sugar and again the chocolate really isn't part of the flavors in my mouth as I chew.  I can't say I'm thrilled with the marshmallow either, it isn't too sugary but also it was stale tasting.  Overall not impressed.

That makes this identical to the Easter review of products you can find easily in stores around you -- two aren't really worth it, one is pretty good.  Actually I'll go farther than that and say the coins here are good, not as good as others I've reviewed for you, but good.

Sisters and Brothers, may you, too, take the time to slowly appreciate what the Divine and human ingenuity have offered you in chocolate.