Olio d’Oliva Truffle from Vosges Haut Chocolat
Item Purchased: Olio d’Oliva Truffle
Location Purchased: Vosges Haut Chocolat / North Bridge Mall / 520 N. Michigan Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: Gratis
Purchased on: 10/09/08
Review: I’m not a big fan of chocolate. I’m an even smaller fan of white chocolate (not even chocolate!). Still, how can one resist sampling a high-end and highly inventive chocolate while purchasing a gift for someone who does enjoy chocolate? Not me.
Vosge’s chocolate works hard to combine passion for chocolate and fine spices with expanding awareness of the world’s cultures through fine ingredients from all over the world. Owner, Katrina Markoff, trained formally at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and strives to bring French confectionery artistry as well as organic and sustainable practice to the luxury dessert market. Spending $3.00+ for a tiny truffle may seem obscene to some (including myself), but everyone has their vice. Besides, Vosges was offering a free truffle to anyone who declined to take one of their shopping bags or used their own, so I used the opportunity to try some of the more interesting sounding truffles in their jewelry store style glass display case.
The Olio d’Oliva truffle is made with first pressing extra virgin olive oil, white chocolate and dried Kalamata olives. It was the olives that got me. I have always enjoyed a salty/sweet chocolate, yet couldn’t quite imagine what kind of flavor olives might bring to the mix.
Despite my rather strong hatred of white chocolate, the addition of the olive oil smoothed out the strong and sickly sweet flavors usually associated with this byproduct. In addition to the milder and more welcoming flavor, the texture of the truffle itself was truly melt-in-your-mouth. Placing the truffle in my mouth upside down (as suggested by the saleswoman), really brought out the flavor of the dried Kalamata. Yes, it tasted like olives and, yes, it was the perfect accompaniment to the re-formulated white object of my ire. Sweet, salty and very, very Mediterranean, I actually feel my palette was challenged and pleased by this little luxury truffle.
Perhaps all these people who can afford to drop a fiver on each nibble of sweetness are on to something, though I think treats such as this one would be best if saved for special occasions.
Rating: 4 / 5
October 15th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Jayzuz…olives…make it STOP! I place the blame squarely on Iron Chef and making people do such things as pair squid with a dessert. I just knew olives and truffles were next… :p
Perhaps they got confused over the word. Truffle is the thing the pig sniffs up. CHOCOLATE truffle is: whipping cream, chocolate, butter. PERIOD. Damn!
I weep. :p