Truffles!



Delicious offerings in Danville's Diamond Hill Store

Glorious, silken, scrumptious, two-part-chocolate-one-part-cream sweet dark velvet…. What more charming topic for the holidays than truffles?



Tiers of Truffles in the Diamond Hill Store

All thoughts of featuring exquisite local cheeses this month evaporated as one by one delightful chocolate ganache concoctions elbowed their way into my consciousness and clamored for attention.

Vermont is rich in chocolatiers. Since moving to Danville two years ago, I have embarked on an unsystematic quest to find the most delectable dark chocolate truffle within a reasonable radius. There are dozens left to try, but one contender for first place is embedded in New Hampshire 80 miles distant.

Needless to say, the quest got complicated when the parameters expanded of their own will to include whatever truffles appeared during my travels. A second contender for first place hails from Massachusetts. But first let’s concentrate on some favorites found close to home.





Fortunately for research’s sake, Danville’s premier specialty shop, the Diamond Hill Store, is a stone’s throw from my house.



The Diamond Hill Store

   





The promise of chocolate within



This charming shop on the corner of Route 2 and Hill Street offers a delectable array of truffles, large and small, from Green Mountain Chocolates.




Green Mountain Chocolates upon delivery

(Although the taste of Green Mountain Chocolates is exquisite, the choice to espouse this company, one of the proprietors explained, had a bit to do with packaging also. The small truffles arrive in convenient and attractive ready-to-display plastic trays, and the large truffles arrive already nestled in their own round papers, which allows easy transfer to the display cases. The wrappers can be grasped at the base without ever having to worry about touching the chocolate.) 

 

Trays of Green Mountain Chocolates small truffles

In my many months of passing by, the large dark chocolate truffle, with its rich, velveteen interior and deluctably meltable shell, has robustly demanded (and received)consecutive taste-testing.

  

Green Mountain Chocolate dark chocolate truffle

 The large champagne and hazelnut truffles offer delicious variety. These large truffles are truly delightful, and ample enough to divide into quarters at a tea party.

Hazelnut, Champagne, and Dark Truffles at Diamond Hill

Should you care to share the treasure with those disappointingly far away, Diamond Hill’s proprietors will impart transport advice to ensure a high-quality product upon delivery. Last summer (when temperature was worrisome), a box of the smaller truffles arrived in Scotland in mint condition.  

Green Mountain Chocolates have impressed not just local store managers and consumers, but other established chocolatiers as well. Their truffles happily line the shelves of Tuck’s Candies in Rockport, MA.

  

Tuck's in Rockport, MA



What a delightful surprise to walk into Tuck’s on Rockport's Main Street and encounter familiar spheres crowned with a signature drizzle.

Tuck’s has been a beloved chocolate and candy maker for almost a century – “famous since 1929,” as it's charming bags proclaim.   



Tuck's Kiss Cutting and Wrapping Machine



Their antique chocolate kiss cutting and wrapping machine still graces a corner window.

Tuck's Candy Counter

 And indeed, they make and offer an impressive array of saltwater taffy, candies, and chocolate. In fact, the employees explained, they make all their own chocolate except for their truffles.  

Fortunately for the truffles, Tuck’s Green Mountain Chocolate supplier is not in Vermont's Green Mountains but in Hopedale, MA, so the truffles do not arrive tired out.

A large dark truffle from Tuck’s shelves (surely larger than those found in Diamond Hill?) did not disappoint. Although it was light for dark chocolate, and perhaps on the sweet side, its generously thick shell graciously dissolved and coaxed forth a soft, creamy, entirely lickable center. This huge truffle was far too big to consume at once. It lasted two-thirds of the way up I-93.

A nice variation of Green Mountain Chocolate’s spherical truffles offered at Tuck’s are rectangular bite-sized ones. The two-toned dark chocolate / hazelnut truffle tasted like sweet velvet with just a hint of nuttiness. (It disappeared before it could be photographed.)

There must be something quite challenging about making truffles compared with making other types of chocolate. Rockport boasts two home-made chocolate shops, and both outsource their truffles.

Dante's Dark Chocolate Truffle

A stroll down Rockport’s Tuna Wharf leads to The Fudgery (featured in the recent Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock movie The Proposal). While it makes its own fudge, The Fudgery acquires its truffles from Dante Confections, based 40 miles away in North Billerica, MA. The man who hand-crafts The Fudgery’s truffles – “Sante from Dante,” as the proprietor revealed, is a true alchemist. For $2 and change, I was gifted with a mound of chocolate gold. This Dante’s dark chocolate truffle could be called overwhelming. It was the largest and most seductive I’ve come across – a deep, dark, rich, generous cone, 1 ½” tall and 1 ¾” wide at its base, with an alluring three-line grid patterning its crown.  

In the case of this truffle, quality matched quantity.

It’s solid-chocolate bottom was a full ¼” thick: ample support for its interior ganache, which was extraordinary, like a deep, nutty, rich cordial minus the liqueur. Dante Confections truffles are the kind to inspire suffering should any piece drop to the floor during indulgence.   

In case you are not travelling to Rockport or North Billerica in the foreseeable future, do not despair. Dante Confections ships its treasures nationwide. They are sought after to fill the truffle shelves of otherwise home-made chocolate shops. A wonderful confectionary shop in Boston’s Prudential Center is a case in point. A sign over the cashier announces the presence of Boston's Finest, Fresh Handmade Chocolates, and the magic of shelves and baskets teeming with creative chocolatery is palpable. (The hand-dipped kiwi is a treat!) This shop is a true feast for the senses. And, those curious to sample Sante's wizardry are in luck: the fresh handmade creations are conjured locally in Newton, and the large truffles are from North Billerica!

 

A Triage of Truffles from
the Bavarian Chocolate Haus

So, what is to date the most enchanting dark chocolate truffle within 80 miles from home? If you go on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you may find it in North Conway at the Bavarian Chocolate Haus. Four out of five times, the weekend tourist rush depletes the supply, and no amount of silent pleading with the white-coated chocolatier working behind the glass wall will re-plenish it ahead of schedule.



It is a precious treasure indeed.

 Bonus: For those of you who like assorted chocolate bark or creatively-covered pretzels rather than truffles, here are some of the many other delectable treats at the Diamond Hill Store!




Peppermint brittle and sprinkled and M&Med pretzels!

November's Feature: Nutty Steph's

A Triage of Truffles at Nutty Steph’s

What better way to celebrate a birthday than to indulge in a bit of beauty?

Just 5 minutes from Montpelier, Nutty Steph's in Middlesex, VT,

is a special destination whether you have cause to celebrate or not!

Jaquelyn, the owner, surrounded by her creations.

It’s a place of color, conversation, warmth, and surprises to the senses.

Drop in on a Thursday from 6 pm to midnight and listen to live music

while sampling local wine and key lime pie;

stop by mid-day and join the proprietress in her preferred lunch

of chocolate-dipped shortcake and a glass of milk.

Need something for breakfast? Buy a bag of Nutty Steph’s granola.

Have a sweet-tooth? Buy a bag of magic chunk granola

(which contains chocolate, of course)!  

Bags of Nutty Steph’s Vermont Granola line one wall.

In fact, Nutty Steph’s began with granola, which explains the shop’s name.

Jaquelyn, who is the owner and the original Steph, invented her own unique recipe and steadfastly resisted a friend’s urgings to mix it with chocolate until popular demand drove her to find a chocolatier. (This friend experimented on her own and brought a bowl of chocolate-dipped granola to a party, where it was consumed with great gusto.)

At a gathering of the Vermont Specialty Food Association, she found her collaborator in chocolate-shop owner Alllan Sirotkin, who supplied her with rich Belgian chocolate until she bought his business two-and-a-half years ago.



Jaquelyn with Allan Sirotkin, her former business partner, who is known to drop in for an occasional Caramel Explosion, which, as he tells customers who beg for a recommendation,

is an excellent choice “when you’re in the mood for fun.”

Jaquelyn arranging canisters of graduated chips and buttons, which come from her Californian wholesaler. Educating customers on the unique flavors of pure dark chocolate containing successively higher cocoa contents is an idea adopted from Allan Sirotkin, who sold his chocolate business to Jaquelyn.

In addition to the treat of making Jaquelyn’s and possibly Allan’s acquaintance, a visit to Nutty Steph’s may throw you into the company of the winsome behind-the-scenes crew. Pop your head through the doorway to the right of counter on any given evening, and you might find Bob (a.k.a. “B.O.B.”, pronounced “bee-YO-bee”) and Jo-Z hard at work concocting swirls of sweetness.



B.O.B. and Jo-Z pouring dark chocolate and cherries in the back room.

Nutty Steph’s also relies on additional local talent who contribute to the goods on offer. The shortbread, Italian pizzelles, butterfly cookies, and candied lemon peels that Jaquelyn dips in chocolate are all supplied by individuals from surrounding neighborhoods. The maple candies, though supplied by a company rather than by an individual, are also made in Vermont. Nutty Steph’s is without question a strong proponent of the local foods movement.

Allan, B.O.B., and Jo-Z bringing in a new marble-topped table perfect for the cooling of chocolate. Note the baskets of chocolate medallions in the foreground!

Perhaps the most delightful discovery involves a year-old local partnership of a different sort. Baskets of intriguing medallions – white, milk, and dark chocolate – fill the shelf-space to the left of the door upon entrance. There are several varieties: Prosperity Milk Chocolate, Full Moon White Chocolate, Aphrodisiac Milk Chocolate, New Moon Dark Chocolate…. Each variety is decorated with a different swirling design inspired by Celtic knot work and medieval marginalia. Paul Borda, the artistic force behind the metalworking – woodcarving – and jewelry-making enterprise of Dryad Designs, provides the patterns. Amela, a professional herbalist, provides the special mixture of lore-based ingredients that constitute each recipe.

"Aphrodisiac" -- a Dryad Design
Magical Chocolate

 The herbal additions are quite captivating. Aphrodisiac includes hazelnut, fig, cinnamon, elder, and meadowsweet. Although the ingredients are listed on the packaging, the mystery lies in the amounts. The ingredients for each Dryad Magical Chocolate variety arrive in a pre-mixed sealed package. Even Nutty Steph’s staff is kept uninformed!

Jaquelyn also draws on the inspiration of a creative friend responsible for recipes of many of the most popular selections displayed at the glass counter. The pistachio toffee is a recent best-seller. Customers who bought a generous bagful would reach the parking lot only to return immediately and declare, “I need another pound!”

A tray of the ever-popular pistachio toffee.

Author’s Choice:

For an alluring spicy surprise, try the New Moon in the Dryad Magical Chocolate series. It is easy to believe there is magic in this zesty creation! The whole energetic mixture of Nutty Steph’s dark chocolate with the perfect proportion of cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and kava kava is delectable. It will keep kissing your tongue long after the sugar has dissolved.

A second favorite is the lemon ginger dark pecan chocolate bar, found on the shelves of colorfully-wrapped 3 oz bars.

And the chocolate-covered pizzelle cookies, made only during the holiday season, shouldn’t be missed!

Additional Reasons to Visit:

A whole array of surprising flavorful combinations and goodies on the shelves…

…. and on the counters!

And, of course, the opportunity to meet Jaquelyn herself!

Nutty Steph's is open Tuesdays - Sundays 10 am - 6 pm, and Thursday 6 pm - midnight.

www.nuttystephs.com

Welcome to the Vermont Artisinal Cheese & Chocolate Online Review

Welcome, all gourmets, localvores, chocoholics, cheese fiends, bon vivants, and casual cyber travelers!

This online review features

Vermont's artisanal delicacies

and their master craftsmen.

Read and enjoy!

Your comments are always welcome.