Chocolate

As I type this, I am crunching on a bag of peanut M&Ms that Allan sneaked out of the pantry after I tucked Todd into bed. They are delicious, and certainly satisfy this chocolate lover's sweet tooth when nothing else is available, but... it's still American chocolate. And hence, not all that great.

I never realized what I was missing until I went to Germany after college. There, I was exposed to chocolates made in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium. Even the cheap Milka bars at the local German grocery were far more divine and came in many more interesting flavors than anything you'd ever find in American chocolate.

Here, pretty much all you'll find are milk, dark or white chocolate. "Fillings" consist of standard fare such as nuts. Not very imaginative.

But European chocolate? There are unique fillings such as yogurt (and different flavors thereof), hazelnuts, pralines, truffles, milk (yes, think powdered milk in creamy form) and best of all, marzipan. Flavors include various coffees and even vanilla. Yes, you might say that these varieties are also available in specialty chocolates here, but that's my point-- these were the big, flat $1 bars stocked in your local grocery aisle. Even the plain milk chocolate bars taste far superior to your standard Hershey bar.

You can bet that when it was time to leave Germany, I stocked a couple of copy-paper boxes with chocolates and coffees you could only find in Europe, and let the Army ship them back along with the rest of my household goods. Most of these were doled out to friends and family, so I stretched out my enjoyment of what remained.

When I returned to the States, I discovered that Ritter Sport was now readily available-- but only in 3 measly flavors, and not the hearty variety I was used to. And certainly more expensive than I was used to! Better than nothing, and good for an occasional treat, I suppose, but I missed my coffee-flavored or marzipan-filled chocolates!

Ah well. Now that I've been back for 10 years, I've resigned myself to the fact that my chocolate cravings will have to be satisfied with bland American chocolate. Now hand over that Mr. Goodbar before anyone gets hurt :-P