Put your sweet tooth to the test
Clark Howard, WSB-TV consumer adviser
Valentine's Day is here and the grocery stores are full of heart-shaped chocolate. But is that discount chocolate as good as the gourmet brands? It's a question that consumer adviser Clark Howard has always wanted to answer. Tonight he does, by putting chocolates of all prices to the Clark Howard taste test.
So what's the secret to great tasting chocolate? The folks at Chamberlian's Chocolates in Dunwoody say it's quality ingredients.
"If they are using pure butter, or pure cream and the freshness, it's just that smoothness, and creaminess, that's the difference," said customer Andrea Harris.
Sure, these hand-dipped chocolate cherries, and freshly poured turtles are born winners, but what about the boxes of bargain chocolates sitting on store shelves? Are they destined to leave your valentine dissapointed?
Harris says a cheap chocolate has a waxy taste.
To find out, we conducted a taste test.
We first recruited four chocolate lovers. Peter Kaiser, is the Exective Chef at Pano's and Paul's, our test site. Kevin Rathbun is the Executive Chef at Nava in Buckhead. Our other two testers are Tiffany and Rochelle, two women with Valetine's Day experience.
Now for the contenders.
We purchased four boxes of 1-pound assorted chocolates.
The most expensive is this decadent box of Godiva, at $33. Next most pricey, is the $18 Chamberlain's assortment. And, of course, the bargain chocolates: an 8 dollar Whitman's Sampler, and a $7 box of Russel Stover.
We took them out of the boxes, and put them on a plate. Each tester gets a plate with four different pieces from each box for a total of 16 samples. Did I mention that they would be doing it blindfolded? First up is chocolate "A".
Chocolate "A" was the 18 dollar Chamberlains. It gets mixed reviews. A quick rinse with Perrier, and it's on to chocolate "B".
The $8 dollar Whitman's sampler gets early praise. Now to the other bargain chocolate, chocolate "C".
The $7 dollar Russel Stover isn't a hit. Now for chocolate "D", the $33 Godiva.
The Godiva impressed the guys, but chocolate "B" scored the highest. And when they were all unveiled, the winning $8 Whitman Sampler turned some heads.
How about that. An $8 chocolate that tested as well as the $33 one. So what's the difference? Marketing and brand name.
If you want to pay more, go ahead, but I'm sticking with the $8 winner!
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