Z at work graciously shared with us some chocolates straight from Kazakhstan. She promised that, contrary to what Borat would have us believe, the chocolate contained no fermented animal byproducts. :) Of course, that comment really wasn't meant for my benefit. It's no secret that I have yet to meet anything I would not eat, and I have met quite a lot. Aside from the usual Asian "delicacies" such as chicken feet, pig's ears, durian, stinky tofu, congealed blood, bird's nest, and duck intestines, I've also being lucky enough, in my twenty eight years on this planet, to have tasted such snacks as roasted African silk worms, fried beetles, stewed bear paws and, yes, deer penises. So, the point is, Borat does not scare me. :)I wanted to say that these chocolates were the same as any other you'd find here, but, you know what, there was a nuance that was quite familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place when I first tasted it. Then it came to me in the early hours of the morning, when I was lying in bed half awake (many things come to me during those minutes of half consciousness). There was a toasted dairy flavor that I enjoyed in the chocolate, a flavor that was reminiscent of my earliest memory of experiencing chocolate as a youngster in China. It's the flavor of toasted milk powder. I am not talking about milk. No, I am speaking of milk powder. If you've grown up in a third world country, where the stuff was rationed to kids, or have tried milk skin, the layer that forms when boiled unpasteurized whole milk is cooled, you'd also recognize the taste. It's completely different from that of milk, in a way that is much more concentrated and earthy. I really enjoyed this, not because it's the most complex or smooth milk chocolate I've ever had, but because it reminded me of a time when life was simple and having chocolate was the ultimate joy in life. :)
Ever once in a while, we all deserve a moment like that. Thanks Z!
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