May 30th: Zotter Bacon Bits

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

Having really enjoyed my first bar from Zotter I decided to be a little more adventurous with my next pick from their range. 2008 seemed to be the year of the chocolate and chilli combinations - 2009 looks set to be the year of the chocolate and bacon concoction with more and more products appearing on the market. Today I got to grips with Zotter's Bacon Bits bar which came described as 'dark chocolate filled with nougat and pork crackling'. I can't say I am the biggest fan of pork crackling as a pub snack let alone as an ingredient to a chocolate bar - this one was going to be interesting.

In keeping with the rest of the Zotter range this bar came in a 70.0g serving size - thank god the nutritional values were not given - I have a feeling they may have been as high as anything we have seen yet. Once again I was very impressed with presentation of the product. The outer paper wrapper gave the bar a sophisticated look, whilst the inner foil wrapper maintained the chocolate nicely. The smell was like nothing I have smelt before - it had a nice backbone of sweet cocoa scents though in their midst I could detect undertones of nut and other more savoury influences.

I really was a bit cautious about this product as I didn't know what the hell to expect. Thankfully on the whole everything was really rather good. The outer chocolate was formed of a 70% recipe though was more subdued in its flavours than I was expecting. It managed to substantiate a nice degree of cocoa flavours in the mouth, though I perhaps would have expected just a touch more strength. Frankly this mattered very little as once the outer chocolate had smoothly melted the lighter nougat filling was revealed and it was bursting with flavours. The nougat filling started off with a very hazelnut centric taste with the woody elements of the nuts coming through strongly. Amongst the nougat though were small granule sized pieces of pork crackling and they brought some wonderful and interesting developments to the taste. The predominantly sweet flavours of the chocolate and nougat were built upon nicely by the crackling pieces that released bursts of salty, smokey flavours that certainly didn't fail to make a positive impression. The overall taste was very rich indeed as the flavours seemed to continually develop in the mouth before leaving a pleasant aftertaste of cocoa and what seemed like a note of cinnamon spice. 

Overall this was another fantastic bar from the Zotter range and the contrast of the flavours brought a taste experience that was as unique as it was diverse. Much like we thought last year with chilli and chocolate, the combination of bacon and chocolate is one that doesn't make all that much sense in your head. As this bar proves though the mixture of the two can certainly work when put in the hands of a high class manufacturer - this product was simply delicious and one that I would definitely have again. If you are curious about trying a bacon chocolate bar I honestly suggest you try this one - its exceptional.

8.6 out of 10