At a recent dinner, a friend’s husband pulled me to one side. ‘Can I ask you something?’ he said quietly. ‘Oh God,’ I thought ‘not another request for a threesome. Country people!’ But, no; instead he said: ‘I just love Caramac, is that bad? Is there a more upmarket but easily available version?’
The answer to both those questions is respectively: no, and yes. I often get people talking to me sotto voce saying they really like X and Y chocolate (usually something highly commercial) and needing absolution. I think if that’s what you like it’s what you like, but also it’s never a bad idea to aim for something even tastier, is it?
So this week has been about a) wearing my new boiler suit so I can pretend I work in an industrial environment, ergo will be industrious, and b) testing yummy creamy caramelised whites again.
The name Caramac was determined by a public competition and came from the marriage of caramel (the flavouring) and Mackintosh (the original manufacturers). Rather disappointingly, I can’t better the two supermarket versions I’ve mentioned before. Namely M&S’s Golden Blond (£1, 100g), sold as a cooking chocolate but the best caramelised chocolate M&S does (ignore the others emblazoned with ‘Swiss’: just not as good in my opinion), and Asda’s Extra Special Blonde (£2, 150g). The likelihood of these bars being made by the same factory is strong, is all I can say without going on some International Most Wanted List in the chocolate world.
So those two are good, well priced, Caramac alternatives. But if you want to go several steps up in price but also taste, and fancy some inclusions, let me tell you about Lumi’s just launched The Salty One (£6.75, 100g). Caramelised white with salt roasted pecans. Sensational.
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