{"id":412,"date":"2021-08-02T08:10:16","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T08:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/?p=412"},"modified":"2021-08-01T23:12:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-01T23:12:52","slug":"the-chocolate-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/the-chocolate-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chocolate World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Julia Androshchuk on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

It would be hard for me to believe if you said you have never had a piece of chocolate or a hot chocolate drink in your entire life. Chocolate is a very addictive treat and has a large pool of dedicated fans around the world, especially in western countries. Chocolate pairs well with wine. Chocolate tasting booths at wine tasting festivals can often be found.<\/p>\n

The Vietnamese world for chocolate is s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em>, a cognate, \u201cchocolat\u201d, borrowed from the French. The main ingredient for s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> is ca-cao<\/em>, another French cognate, \u201ccacao\u201d. You probably know how the roasted ca-cao<\/em> beans taste, but do you know what the fresh ca-cao<\/em> pulp taste like? I recently visited a ca-cao<\/em> plantation and was fortunate to have a chance to try the ca-cao<\/em> pulp from a ripe ca-cao<\/em> fruit pod. The taste was quite interesting. It was nowhere close to the flavor of chocolate. Instead, the texture and the taste were more like tr\u00e1i m\u00e3ng c\u1ea7u xi\u00eam<\/em> (Siamese soursop or custard-apple fruit).<\/p>\n

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Image taken and used with permission from Kandle Dart<\/p><\/div>\n

Please share with me your favorite brand of s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la <\/em>in the comments section below. I\u2019ll try yours but do try mine as well and let me know what you think. My favorite one is not the popular well-known Godiva or Leonidas, but Maison Marou Chocolat from Vietnam. Did you know Vietnam grows ca-cao<\/em> and makes their own s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la <\/em>as well? Besides Maison Marou Chocolat, other popular Vietnamese s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> makers include Belvie, Stone Hill, Alluvia Chocolatier, Pheva Chocolatier, and D\u2019Art Chocolate, to name a few. They all use ca-cao<\/em> sources within the country. The Vietnamese s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la <\/em>makers are pretty creative in terms of adapting to the local and Asian markets. I found they have all kinds of \u201cexotic\u201d blends such as s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la <\/em>tr\u00e0 xanh<\/em> (green tea chocolate), and s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la nh\u00e2n<\/em> h\u1ea1t sen <\/em>(chocolate with lotus seeds). Now, the next one is not for everyone, but for durian lovers only. Guess what, I found Stone Hill has a \u201cDurian Dark Chocolate\u201d bar! I haven\u2019t tasted it, but would like to try it when I have a chance since I love to eat the controversial durian.<\/p>\n

The Vietnamese sweet tooth is not as \u201csweet\u201d as people in western countries. The sugar level in Vietnamese brand s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> bars, candies, and drinks is a lot less than typical American and European brands. To me, the ca-cao<\/em> flavor in Vietnamese s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> stands out better. The s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la <\/em>industry in Vietnam is pretty young. I would say it\u2019s less than twenty years old. Most of the Vietnamese s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> makers in the current market are probably even less than ten years old. So, the s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> market is still small and the pool of the truly Vietnamese s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> lovers is very small as well. It\u2019s more of the trendy \u201cWestern food\u201d for the young generation, not so much for the older generation. In fact, I haven\u2019t met any Vietnamese in the older generation who have \u201ca crush\u201d on s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em>. It could be because of the high cost and the nationwide availability. In fact, you could only find the good quality Vietnamese s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> products in major metropolitan and tourist areas. I don\u2019t find them in the local open street markets in the countryside.<\/p>\n

A well-branded s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> is still considered a luxury item and is a very common gift to give for any occasion, especially on d\u1ecbp l\u1ec5 T\u00ecnh Y\u00eau<\/em> (Valentine occasion) and d\u1ecbp l\u1ec5 Gi\u00e1ng Sinh<\/em> (Christmas occasion). Here are some essential Vietnamese words about s<\/em>\u00f4-c\u00f4-la<\/em> for you.<\/p>\n