Lindt bittersweet chocolate

[I82Much]

I was at the mall today and was thinking about where to finally get some bittersweet chocolate. I went to the lindt store (the only real chocolate place in the mall) and found they had some baking supplies. The salesman reccomended the big (10~ ounce) bittersweet bar, so I bought it for around $6. Now, I've never had bittersweet chocolate before so I didn't know quite to expect but my impression was that it would be ..bitter and sweet. This stuff tastes GOOD, undoubtedly, but it doesn't taste at all bitter. It tastes like hershey dark chocolate or the semisweet chocolate chips my mother buys. Basically, what should a bittersweet chocolate taste like, and is Lindt a true bittersweet?

Also, any experience baking with Lindt? The salesman admitted he didn't know much about cooking (ie can it be used for couverture or be tempered) so he wasn't of too much use.

Here's hoping I didn't just buy an expensive candy bar

[merstar]

There are several different Lindt bittersweet bars on the market, each with a different cocoa percentage. Which one did you buy? The two most bittersweet are the Lindt Excellence 85% and 70%, each sells for about $2.99 for a 3 1/2 oz bar. These are top quality and very bittersweet, with the 85% one obviously being the more bitter of the two. BTW, Scharffen Berger also makes an excellent 70% bittersweet bar.

Edited May 31, 2004 by merstar (log)

[I82Much]

it reads

Chocolat Lindt

cree a berne

Rod. Lindt fils

Swiss bittersweet chocolate

net wt 10.58 oz. 300 g

Ingredients are sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soya lecithin( emulsifier), vanilla.

The way it's divided into blocks looks more like a candy bar than a baking bar..

from lindt's website-

http://www.lindtusa.com/shop-product-detai...tart=17&PgNum=3

Edited May 31, 2004 by I82Much (log)

[chromedome]

This is the one that most of us would be familiar with, and use.

I'm not immediately familiar with the one you've shown, but I've had a similar bar in a blue/silver wrapper. Those were a good-quality candy bar, I'd guess them to be at around the 50% mark (SWAG* only, not to be counted on).

Best suggestion I can make is to try it out and see what you think. If nothing else, it'll be great for dipping strawberries in!

*SWAG, if you are unfamiliar with the term, is "Scientific Wild-Ass Guess"

[aidensnd2]

In my experience Lindt seems to taste sweeter and creamier than other chocolate with similar % of cocoa solids.

I've used a bunch of Lindt couverture and it's not bad, not my favorite but not anything to be ashamed of.

[Moopheus]

It tastes like hershey dark chocolate or the semisweet chocolate chips my mother buys. Basically, what should a bittersweet chocolate taste like, and is Lindt a true bittersweet?

There aren't strict definitions, and the terms "bittersweet" and "semisweet" can be used in packaging more or less interchangeably. In general, though, most chocolate sold as bittersweet has between 55 and 85% cocoa mass and the rest is mostly sugar. Chocolate sold as "dark" and has no percentage specified is probably at the lower end of this range. So the taste can vary quite a bit, and which to use depends a lot on preference and what you're using it for.

[ComeUndone]

I82Much, the chocolate that you bought contains 55% cocoa solids. It tastes significantly sweeter than the 85% Excellence that chromedome posted. Personally, I find the 85% Excellence and the 70% Excellence behave very differently when I use them to make ganache. I normally avoid using this 55% chocolate bar for ganache. Instead, I prefer to coarsely chop it and use the chocolate chunks for baking cookies.

[Alex]

I've used both Lindt Excellence chocolates for baking (primarily tortes), with reliable results. They're often on sale here (Grand Rapids) for $1.00-1.50 a bar. That's about the same price as bulk Callebaut. The advantage over Callebaut is not having to chop and weigh the chocolate. The disadvantage is that they're much more convenient to eat.