The Good: Great taste, Decent quantity, Generally natural ingredients, Beautifully dark, A decent value.
The Bad: Anytime Ghirardelli wants to make them less expensive without compromising quality, I will be all over that!
The Basics: Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares are worth the price and represent a perfect candy!
They have finally done it. Ghirardelli, whose chocolates I infrequently consume because of the expense and my waistline (in that order!) has finally created a chocolate square that I deem perfect. They came close with their dark chocolate with white mint filling square (reviewed here!), but the expense robbed it of an absolute perfect rating in my book. I just couldn’t do it. But today, as I sit feasting on Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares, I know they are worth every single penny.
Seriously. There is nothing quite like them on the market, so the price is well worth it, though I’ll always recommend bulking up on these!
The 60% Cacao chocolate squares are worth trying and stocking up on for anyone who likes dark chocolate or for whom “dark chocolate” either never quite lives up or goes into overkill (I recall trying a Lindt 99% Cacao bar that pretty much made me gag, reviewed here!). The 60% Cacao chocolate squares, though, seem to be the perfect mix.
Basics
Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares are one and a half inch squares of chocolate that are about three-eighths inches thick. Each of the squares comes individually wrapped in a maroon and bronze wrapper. It is worth noting that while I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine Ghirardelli chocolate squares not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.
Each chocolate square is a seamless square that is solid. In this form, the 5.32 oz. bag, the individually-wrapped chocolate squares are packaged together in a thick foil paper bag. This size has approximately eleven squares and the thick foil paper bag does little to protect the squares. The bag is not resealable, though this matters very little considering that the chocolate squares do not go bad as they are individually wrapped.
One of these bags tends to run in the $5.00 range and they are worth every penny.
Ease Of Preparation
These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as opening the bag and then opening one of the foil wrappers around the actual chocolate square one wishes to eat. There is no grand secret to eating Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares. This is a flavor that is good at room temperature or frozen; it has a delicious solid flavor to it that carries the taste in all temperatures.
Taste
The Ghirardelli 60% Cacao smells delicious. It smells rich and dark, but there is a faint scent at the very end of smelling the chocolate that implies sweetness. This makes it instantly inviting.
On the tongue, this chocolate lives up first to the latent scent, then bowls one over with the taste from the primary scent! The 60% Cacao is at first sweet, then dry and strong, like drinking a coffee that has a bit of sugar, but is way too dark anyway. This chocolate lulls one in with a delightful, slightly creamy taste before wrenching that flavor away and replacing it with a delightful, strong chocolate flavor that is reminiscent of a straight cocoa bean!
Nutrition
These are candy, so they are not healthy, but the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares are not nearly as bad as they could be. The primary ingredients are unsweetened chocolate, sugar and cocoa butter. There is nothing unpronounable in these candies and everything in these could be readily identified by me.
A serving of the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares is considered three squares. From three squares, one takes in 220 calories, including 17 grams of fat. There is no sodium, and 2 g protein, but no vitamins in these chocolate squares. There is, surprisingly enough, 15% of one's daily iron in three squares, so that is a plus.
These are not Vegan-compliant, nor are they recommended for anyone with a nut allergy as they are produced on the same equipment that peanuts pass over. They are, however, kosher.
Storage/Clean-up
The bags of these Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares remain fresh for quite some time. I could not find any expiration date on the bag. One assumes that if they are kept in a cool, dry environment they will not melt or go bad. Given that they are individually wrapped in a very sealed package, it is hard to imagine just what it would take for these to go bad outside melting and refreezing.
As for cleanup, I applaud those who actually throw the wrappers away in socially appropriate places, as opposed to litter. Outside that, there is no real cleanup needed, unless one is eating them in a hot environment. In that case, it is likely one would need to wash their hands. If these chocolate squares melt into most fabrics, they will stain. Getting them to melt is surprisingly easy.
Overall
Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate squares are not expensive; they are the right price for the quality of the chocolate! This is a great chocolate square and one well worth stocking up on!
For other Ghirardelli chocolate squares reviews, please check out:
Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate with Caramel
Milk Chocolate with peanut butter filling
Dark Chocolate And Raspberry chocolate squares
10/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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