Waggoner Chocolates Set of 2 Assorted or Soft Center Box Set

Designer Chocolate:
Known as the food of the gods, nearly two-thirds of women eat chocolate candy or desserts weekly. Chocolate surely is a trend that has taken hold and has the masses clamoring for more; and the latest trend is not just any old chocolate... it's designer chocolate.

Scrumptious, smooth, creamy, rich, delectable and indulgent are just some of the adjectives often used to describe chocolate, the delightful substance of which the average American consumes 10 pounds each year. A cultural pastime and a sweet-tooth favorite, chocolate's taste and texture incite passion unlike any other confection. From hot chocolate to truffles to cookies to cakes, chocolate is well established as a substance Americans love to love. It makes some of the best gifts for just about any occasion.

Making Designer Chocolate:
Especially passionate for chocolate are chocolatiers, those who create fine chocolate with masterpiece-like artistry. Here's how they do it:

Chocolate's pleasure comes from the painstaking process that yields the finest varieties. Chocolate begins with the seeds from inside the fruit of the cacao tree, native to regions that include South America, Africa and Indonesia. These seeds are known as cocoa beans.

The beans are fermented and dried in the sun before they are ready to go to the chocolate maker. The chocolate maker roasts the beans, sorting and blending beans from different locales to create their own distinct flavors. Next, the beans are winnowed, a process that removes the meat, also known as the nib, of the cocoa bean from the shell. The meat or nib is then ground into a substance called chocolate liquor, which is pure, unsweetened chocolate.

Much talent is required to turn this chocolate liquor into fanciful and delectable treats. The chocolate maker adds sugar, flavoring (such as vanilla) and milk (found in milk chocolate) according to his or her own special recipe. Then conching occurs; this is done with a special machine that blends ingredients. The process can take from two to six days. Next, chocolate is tempered. This involves slowly heating the chocolate then slowly cooling the chocolate in order to let the cocoa butter solidify without separating from the rest of the ingredients. The exact processes and ingredients used by each chocolate maker determine the texture, quality and taste of the final product.

Ingredients: Assorted-Ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, milk, chocolate liquor, chocolate liquor (processed with alkali), milk fat, vegetable oil (palm kernel oil and hydrogenated palm kernel oil), whey powder, whole milk solids, nonfat dry milk solids, salt, peanuts (roasted in peanut oil), corn syrup, numoline, coconut oil, palm oil, hydrogenated (cottonseed, rapeseed and/or palm kernel oil), nonfat milk powder, sea salt, cream of tartar, cream, evaporated milk, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, canola oil, malt, yeast, soda, unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin b1], riboflavin [vitamin b2], folic acid), leavening (calcium phosphate, baking soda), high fructose corn syrup, coconut, propylene glycol, sodium metabisulfite, modified food starch [corn], gelatin, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, cocoa (processed with alkali), pure cane sugar, invert sugar, invertase, whey, dextrose, citric acid, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), natural and artificial flavors, potassium sorbate. Manufactured in a facility and on shared equipment that processes peanut, tree nuts, soy, wheat and dairy products. Contains: peanuts, milk, wheat, tree nuts (coconut) and soy. May contain: tree nutsSoft Centers - Soft Center ingredients: sugar, milk, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, chocolate liquor (processed with alkali), cocoa (processed with alkali), corn syrup, water, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel oil, butter, canola oil, palm oil, nonfat milk powder, whey powder, palm oil, brown sugar, cherry, orange, lemon, lime, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon, pineapple, propylene glycol, glycerin, egg whites, ethyl alcohol, citric acid, triacetin, caramel color, turmeric, tapioca, xanthan gum, gum arabic, soy lecithin, vanilla, vanillin-an artificial flavor, polysorbate 80, salt, natural and artificial flavor, FD&C artificial colors (blue 1, red 40, yellow 6, yellow 5). Manufactured in a facility and on shared equipment that processes peanut, tree nuts, soy, wheat and dairy products.