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The Gourmet Transformation of Chocolate

Valentine's Day is approaching and we explore the world of chocolate by talking to local food writer Caron Golden and Will Gustwiller, the owner and chocolatier of Eclipse Chocolat in San Diego. We ta

The Gourmet Transformation of Chocolate

Tom Fudge: You may plan to buy your sweetheart some chocolates for Valentine's Day, which is coming up on Thursday. But here's a very important question: what percentage of cocoa solids should the candy contain? Now, there was a day when we didn't think much about the percentage of cocoa solids. But Americans of a certain social class have gone about a gourmet transformation when it comes to a number of food items. It's happened with beer, with bread, with cooking oil, and now with chocolate.

Prior to today, our tastes in chocolate were a product of some very large candy companies with names like Hershey and Mars. But today, you can eat the chocolate of some small, artisan chocolate makers with names like Chuou and Eclipse.

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