Thursday, May 23, 2013

Swiss Chocolate: The Best of the Best

Last Friday Grady returned from his two-week adventure in Switzerland. Although he didn't bring back Swiss watches or Swiss army knives, he did bring back an arsenal of Swiss chocolate! Rather than consume the numerous bars with mindless gluttony, Grady turned our Swiss chocolate extraordinaire into a family taste test. And, boy oh boy, did we taste!

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate with almonds, chocolate with fruit - you name it. Grady divided all the chocolates into five pieces and as we tried each type, we rated the chocolate on packaging and presentation and then on taste. 

It came as no surprise that the Sprungli bar won in both categories. The outer package was wrapped in red paper and ribbon and topped with a Swiss air jet and flag. Inside, the chocolate bars were buried in layers of glossy, gold wrapping. But, for (a mere) $25 a bar, I suppose it deserved to have all the packaging detail.

Grady Lee took his rating very seriously and took his time to think about each answer. Being a fruit lover, he was crushed when he bit into a chocolate cranberry bar and hated the taste. He ran the garbage can and couldn't get it out of his mouth fast enough. 

Micah was usually too busy licking his fingers and chin to stay caught up. And, his typical response was "a one if it wasn't totally amazing and a 10 if it was the best chocolate I've ever tasted in my entire life." 

Annalyse enjoyed her hour of taste testing glory to the fullest. For a child who never gets sweets because I can't tell you the last time she ate a vegetable or a piece or meat, getting a full buffet of chocolates "just because" was beyond her comprehension but she sure wasn't going to argue about it! She was a total mess of brown stickiness. And, because everyone else in the family was busy writing numbers on papers, she tried her hardest as well.
The only teeny-tiny problem now is all the left-over chocolate. It's sitting in a pile on the kitchen counter. Right by the fruit bowl. And every time I walk into the kitchen I see it. Dilemma: take an apple or take a chocolate slice? Walk past the temptation or submit to my hedonistic desire because, after all, it's a special gift from my man? Real life problems, I tell you.

5 comments:

  1. how fun! go for the chocolate!!

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  2. Leave it to Grady to come up with a reason to combine the use of a spreadsheet with eating chocolate! :) Looks like lots of yummy fun...and I hear there is more Switzerland fun coming up again soon??

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  3. Sarah: He is so creative and does a great job of making simple things become big family celebrations! Yes, we leave on Sunday - I'll be with him for eight of his 14 days.

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  4. Yummmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy!!! Can you bring some home for the Jimenez "family" (really just me) to taste test???

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  5. I am so totally laughing at the comment about Grady & the chocolate spreadsheet! I love it! These pics are just so cute! And I love this idea for enjoying a special treat & really taking a moment to savor it, instead of just gobbling it all up without a thought! Super idea!

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