Vosges: The Final Chapter (and the strangest....mushrooms and chocolate!)

I promise, this is the end of my string of Vosges Haut Chocolat blog posts (well, for now...at least until they come up with a new flavour).  If you have ever tried a Vosges chocolate bar, you will know that they usually have unique flavours.  And the last one from my Vosges stash of bars is the most unique of all.  It is called the "Enchanted Mushroom" chocolate bar with Reishi mushrooms and walnuts in dark chocolate. Yup, you heard me. Mushrooms. And chocolate. Together.

I have been saving this strange chocolate bar since late Spring, when I bought a huge number of Vosges chocolate bars. I wish I could say that I saved it for a special occasion, but really I was just avoiding it. I am usually willing to taste any flavour of chocolate and as weird as it seems, I was actually enthusiastic about trying chocolate with mushrooms when I purchased the bar.  However, the more pregnant I became, the less enthusiastic I was to taste anything out of the ordinary.  My stomach was just not able to handle a variety of flavours during this last pregnancy. But now I am no longer pregnant, so I thought it was time to tackle this freaky-flavoured chocolate bar.

Part of the reason why I was avoiding this chocolate bar was because I thought the texture of the mushrooms might gross me out, but in fact it is made with mushroom powder. So there were no chewy chunks of mushrooms, just a hint of flavour.  In fact, I couldn't really taste much of the mushroom flavour, or the "slightly musty scent, reminiscent of wet soil" as mentioned on the tasting guide on the back of the package. However, the texture and taste are not bad.

I'm not entirely sure of the inspiration for the "Enchanted Mushroom" bar, although the back of the package mentions how cacao and mushrooms are two of the world's healthiest foods. According to some, Reishi mushrooms have healing powers that can: "boost your immune system, fight cancer, ward off heart disease, calm your nerves and relieve both allergies and inflammation" (source: http://www.naturalnews.com/021498.html). So perhaps Vosges' goal for this chocolate was to keep us healthy while we indulge.

The walnuts in this chocolate bar are just miniscule pieces, so there are no large chunks of walnuts. If you are like me, you may find that walnuts can sometimes be the grossest nut to eat and yet, at other times, they can taste wonderful.  I am always teetering on the edge of like/dislike when it comes to walnuts. This chocolate is certainly more enjoyable because the walnut pieces are so small.

Overall though, the chocolate is tasty, but not overwhelmingly unique-tasting. I throw this one into my it-was-a-good-experience-to-try-it category.  If you are curious about it, here is the direct link to buy it online: http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/organic_enchanted_mushroom_candy_bar/all_candy_bars.

So now that I've tasted the last of my Vosges chocolate bar stash, I may experience withdrawals from a lack of unique flavour experiences that Vosges has given me, like their Bacon + Chocolate bars, Lemon and Peppercorn bar or their Red Fire Bar.  However, after checking out their website again, I can see that there are many more new flavours that I still have not tried, but maybe I'll wait until 2012 before I order them...

As always, here are the package details from the chocolate that I tasted today:

Vosges Haut Chocolat "Organic Enchanted Mushroom" Dark Chocolate, 66% cacao, 3oz (85g)
Vosges IP, LLC (Chicago, IL, USA)
http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/
Ingredients: *Dark chocolate (*cocoa mass, *sugar, *cocoa butter, *reduced fat cocoa powder), 6% *Reishi mushroom powder, 6% *ealnuts.  Chocolate bar contains: 55% cocoa solids minimum. *Organic ingredients.  Contains: Walnuts.  Manufactured in a facility that handles tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, eggs, wheat, shelfish and soya.  Gluten-free.  Certified organic by Oregon Tilth.