July 7th, 2008

Dear chocolate friends,

In a few days, I leave Ann Arbor for a long-awaited vacation to Morocco. Although I've been to Morocco before, I am especially excited because this time I'm traveling to the land of sweet mint tea and ksoo-ksoo (cous cous) as a bonafide Foodie (a self-bestowed title, by the way). Not that I did not appreciate the gustatory delights of Morocco when I visited before, but it will be different this time. Just like fashion-savvy people touch fabric without thinking, musicians hum all the time, and architects are always looking up, I'm going to be tuned in to my own special station in Morocco: It's the Food and Drink Station. The bread, spice and honey station. The fish, vegetable and olive oil station. The coffee, butter and oranges station. Since you are all reading this, I'm guessing that you, too, are tuned into this station wherever you go.

As the departure date nears, I am making lists left and right. The most frequently revised and reviewed of my lists is the gift list — the only list that truly matters. For those of you who visit friends or family far, far away, you understand the crucial importance of arriving with the right presents in tow. Last night, as I reviewed the list for the 15th time, wondering what I was missing, I was struck by what we at Zingerman's call a belated glimpse of the obvious. My realization was this: As a visitor from the land of Zing, and as the Chocolate Lady, I must go bearing sweets.

I am especially excited about this idea given the fact that my friends in Morocco haven't had the opportunity to experience really great American chocolate and confections. The kiosks in the souk are chock full of the well-known American brands — Snickers, Twix, etc. — but not much else. Certainly, they have no idea how much the industry has changed for us in the last ten years. They don't know about all the new artisan American chocolate makers and confectioners — producers working to make great products simply, traditionally and naturally, like we used to.

And so I've decided to take my friends a sampling of really great American treats. Bean-to-bar chocolates, soft caramels, old-fashioned candy bars, hard candies, and much more. Here is my shopping list — the ten chocolates and candies that I believe are helping to re-define our national sweets identity, both as producers and consumers.

Duff's Top Ten American-Made Sweets:

· 1. The Zzang! Original Candy Bar, MI: I was reading last month that before "candy bar" really came into vogue, the name "combination bar" was popular. Well, the Zzang! Original bar is homage to the combination bars of yore — homemade honey nougat, Spanish peanuts, caramel and dark chocolate. Could there be a candy bar more representative of the U.S? After all, this is the profile that we as a nation have cleaved to for almost 150 years: No one else in the world is as fond of caramel and peanut-sweets as us. Will this be the first time a Zzang! bar crosses the Moroccan border? I am guessing so. I better take an extra one for the plane ride...

· 2. Askinosie Chocolate Soconusco Nibble Bar, MO: The stats: This particular bar boasts a nice dark roast and light astringency. The cacao beans come from Soconusco, Mexico. There is no vanilla and no fancy flavorings: just a coating of toasted cacao nibs (of the same origin) on the outside to give it some crunch and amp up the flavor. Aside from personally liking this chocolate, I also like the fact that the company practices gain sharing with its farmers. So, when Shawn Askinosie and his team are profitable, they share a piece of the pie with the farmers they buy from. This connects the farmers to the final product in a very meaningful way... most cacao farmers never get to taste the chocolate made with their beans, let alone share in the earnings from its sale.

· 3. Yummy Earth Organic Candies, Mexico//NJ: This company makes wonderful hard candies in 21 flavors. Sergio and Rob (the two dads who started the company) chose not to use white sugar and corn syrup in their recipe. I guess they figure there's enough of that stuff out in the world already. Instead, they are using evaporated cane juice and tapioca syrup as sweeteners. With all-natural flavorings and colorings and no funny stuff added, these candies are great for kids with allergies. And for those of you who just really like sucking (or crunching) on flavorful sweets — look no further. I'm packing one bag each of the Blood Orange Cocktail and Tickled Pink Grapefruit.

· 4. Fran's Grey Salt Caramels, WA: Oh this one is going to be fun! A tidy little caramel enrobed in dark chocolate and sprinkled with a coarse sea salt. There is a magical balance to these caramels that everyone loves. They look kind of dainty, but they are the real deal. The sleeve of seven caramels is just what I need for the trip.

· 5. Béquet Soft Caramels, MT: Another opportunity to show off our caramel prowess! These caramels are just so, so good. Robin Béquet and her team make a simple product, but it is anything but simple to make great caramel. Their recipe uses lots of brown sugar and three types of dairy. The result is a caramel with depth (not just light and corn-syrupy), perfect richness and flawless mouth feel.

· 6. The Wally Bar, MI: This bar makes me feel famous, because it is named for one of my friends: Wally Al-Shamma, former manager of the Next Door and Chocolate Guy. This big slab of Ecuadorian dark chocolate is loaded with the following: dried cranberries, dried cherries, maple-syrup glazed almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and sea salt. Made right here in our great state!

· 7. Amano Chocolate, UT: Amano is one of several new wave bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the country and, as such, they serve as a nice example of a small company focused on doing a few things very, very well. They currently produce three dark chocolate bars (all 70%) at their workshop in Utah; two from Venezuela and one from Madagascar. I'm going to take the Madagascar.

· 8. Paris-Flyer Chocolate Caramel Bars, CT: We've been carrying these chocolates at the Deli for a long time — and for good reason. We love their caramel bars: Dark chocolate with caramel and pecans (my favorite), Dark chocolate with caramel, Milk chocolate with caramel and almonds, and Milk chocolate with caramel. They are just the right size at a little under 2 oz.

· 9. Vosges Red Fire Bar, IL: I'm not quite sure how my friends will react to this chocolate bar. They really enjoy cinnamon, so I expect they will like that part of the flavoring. As for the ancho and chipotle chilies? We'll have to see. It will at least be a hot topic of conversation (ha, ha).

· Charles Chocolate Triple-Dipped Hazelnuts, CA: Chuck Siegel loves hazelnuts, which is 90% of the reason he makes this product! As for me, I'm going to take a tin because the hazelnuts are grown in Oregon, the chocolate used to coat them is made in California, and because they are just so darn good.

This just might be the most delicious carry-on bag ever to cross the ocean-blue. I'll let you know if I clear customs! In the meanwhile, have a great July and I hope to see you at the end of the month for the Corallo Rendez-Vous!

Best,
Chocolate Lady Duff