Ritter Sport – Dark Chocolate with Almond & Orange
Some combinations of chocolate remind me of certain times of seasons of the year. The combination of chocolate and candied orange peels for example, brings back memories of a happier time, specifically Christmas.
The chocolate seems to be the semi-sweet kind, that nice snackable range of dark chocolate between 55% to 65%. The kind you can chew and snack on it, as opposed to the ones you kind of leave in your mouth to melt and let percolate across your minds tongue.
As with other Ritter Sport flavours, they seem to have a decent helping of the fillings inside. Just looking at the cross section you can see the almond pieces and orange peels are ever present. The strongest scent is definitely those candied orange peels. It’s like taking a jar of marmalade, leaving it open for a few days and throwing in some chocolate sauce on top. Maybe not the most appetizing mental image, but I assure you it smells good, assuming you like oranges.
Ritter Sport chocolates aren’t exactly soft, and are tempered in such a way that if the filling is the same chocolate consistency, the entire piece is quite hard and not overly prone to melting, at least not in the same way as some of the chocolates we find here in the North. The downside is that they can be a bit tough to bite through if you’re not careful. This is especially true for the darker varieties, I’m guessing because there is less sugar and milk ingredients. But I ain’t no food chemist. Equally likely I am way off. The important takeaway is it’s firm. I personally prefer my dark chocolates to be a bit firmer. I’m also the kind of person that tends to like leaving the dark chocolate in my mouth to melt, instead of going all in right away.
Because the chocolate itself is very firm, I prefer to let it melt. Given that the filling is almond pieces and orange peel though, I imagine I should still try and bite through and see what the experience is like. I find that the texture works great with the almonds, and in general almonds, whether in pieces or whole, work great with dark chocolate. Candied orange peels and dark chocolate are also a great combination as well, where you get that kind of candied texture that’s kind of firm, but gives way to a somewhat chewy rind. The problem is when you combine almond and orange peel. You end up with a contrasting chew from the almond, being pretty firm and nice, and then getting to the orange peel which is not quite hard, but not soft either and is in that weird middle ground. Getting both of those in the same mouthfeel ends up with a few bites where it feels a little jarring, and the clean chew of the almond doesn’t quite go well with the stickier, not so clean bite of the peel. Think of it as eating a fruitcake with chunks of roasted almonds. Maybe not the best example…because realistically who still eats that stuff? It’s a good paperweight at best. Also, the amount of moisture would probably soften the almonds to a similar texture as the fruits anyways. Bottom line, texture is a bit off.
Flavour wise, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. The candied orange peels are fairly standard, and the sweetness lends itself well to the semi-sweet nature of the dark chocolate. The almonds are just kind of an extra texture, and don’t contribute too much to the flavour; it’s mostly the orange’s time to shine. Unlike the texture, the orange and almonds work very well with the dark chocolate, and they all play nicely. The flavours compliment each other smashingly, and I would call it a success in this aspect.
Despite the fact that it’s currently the second half of the year, aka the period that is farthest from both the last Christmas and the upcoming one, this bar has me missing the season. While I don’t think this bar is mass market appeal worthy, it is definitely worth a try, assuming the slightly off texture isn’t too off putting for you. The flavour makes up for it, I feel. It’s by no means revolutionary or creative, but it does a good job of paying homage to a classic, timeless combination that is usually found in more festive snacks like brownies. That shouldn’t stop you from trying it off season though.
