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FAQ |
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Why do you put a cookie on the bottom of the truffle?If we didn’t, we couldn’t call it a Truffle Cookie, could we? It would just be a truffle, and all sorts of people make those (including us). As far as we know, we’re the only company producing a shortbread-truffle combination. But why this particular combination? After many, many years of truffle-tasting, we came to the conclusion that something was missing. And that something was texture. We love truffles — we love the smooth, creamy melt of a good truffle — but sometimes creamy is just not enough. So we decided, what better to go with a creamy, buttery truffle than a crisp, buttery cookie? So in addition to our unique flavor combinations, GrendelSweets™ Truffle Cookies also provide a unique visual and tactile experience. Layers of flavor and layers of texture. And according to our customers, the combination works!
What do you mean by “handcrafted”?We mean that our nimble little fingers mix, shape, dip, and decorate every single piece of chocolate we sell. We also hand-select every other ingredient we use, and once we even picked our own strawberries (though we won’t be doing that again). While this necessarily means we can produce only a very limited number of chocolates each day, we believe that this fanatical attention results in a much better product.
What kind of chocolate do you use?We use a variety of couvertures, which are blended in-house to achieve the optimal complement to the fruits, nuts, and spices used in our chocolates. The cocoa content of our dark chocolates ranges from 63% to 74%, and our milk chocolates average 36%.
What is couverture?Couverture is the term used for professional-quality chocolate that contains a high percentage of cocoa butter. A higher cocoa butter content produces a thinner, smoother coating.If you wish to know more about couverture and chocolate in general, visit these two very informative sites:
Aren’t single-origin chocolates better?We were once told, “The best chocolate is the one you like,” and we think this is a wise statement. Taste is so subjective. And with all the wonderful flavors in the world, we think you’d be missing out if you limited yourself to a single trend. There are some excellent single-origin chocolates, but there are also some excellent blends. As well, the flavor of a particular chocolate changes depending on what it’s combined with, and in our opinion, most single-origin chocolates are best enjoyed “straight up.” But in the end, it really depends on your own taste buds.
Where did you get the name?The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon saga Beowulf, and specifically from the character Grendel. If you wish to know more about this story, Seamus Heaney has written an excellent interpretation, and John Gardner presents a different interpretation in his book Grendel. As well, there are several film versions of the story, including Beowulf & Grendel, Beowulf, The 13th Warrior, and a truly atrocious Sci-Fi original movie called Grendel. If after all that research, you’re still curious about the name, feel free to ask again.
How long do your chocolates keep?On the inside of each box of GrendelSweets™ chocolates you’ll find a small certificate that includes the date by which you should enjoy your chocolates. But in general, if stored in a cool dry environment, our truffles and marzipans keep an average of 15 days, and our nut crunchies last at least 30 days. Of course, for the best experience, we recommend you eat the chocolates as quickly as possible. We’re always happy to send you more.
Are your chocolates organic?We are now happy to say that we've found an organic couverture that meets our standards. It's a 74% dark chocolate grown in the Dominican Republic and processed by a small privately owned Swiss company. We offer this chocolate in a truffle (our Dark Butter Truffle) and in bar form. As well, we continue to use as many organic ingredients as we possibly can, including our cream, butter, nuts, fruits, and spices.
What’s marzipan?This is a European confection made primarily from ground almonds and sugar. There are many types of marzipan, some of which are even made using ground apricot kernels. However, in general, the higher the almond content, the better the marzipan...and our marzipan contains close to 55% almonds. To learn more, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan.
Are you Swedish?No. (We’re not kidding. We get asked this a lot.)
If you have a question that was not answered here, please feel free to send it to us. And enjoy your chocolate adventure! |
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