vosges toffee...huh?

[ciaolette]

I was at Surfas supply yesterday buying road trip treats. Bought some fleur de sel caramels, a couple amadei bars, and a box of vosges toffee.
None of the vosges bars flavors struck my fancy...I like soft flavors, nuts, tea, fruit, carmel in my choc, not chile or wasabe so much. I am all for great combinations though....and
I wanted to try something vosges, so the toffee (with himalayan red salt) , covered in choc and nuts sounded good.
Had to sneek a taste, so cracked the toffee box, and cut open the sealed pouch inside. First of all I noticed that there was NO delightful chocolate , butter, and toffee scent emanating from this package.
Then, apon inspecting the pieces, I notice that the enrobing chocolate does not adhere well to the toffee. When you crunch into a piece, the chocolate shards off as a layer. The nuts are so finely chopped as to lose their identity and crunch, and had a faintly stale taste.
I know that vosges is all about the spicey flavor combos, but I have to say, that if you are having a toffee jones and hope vosges will provide a taste revelation, um...no.
Pricing...at $11- for 8 oz for the vosges , I could have had a 1 lb box of Enstroms shipped.....

[dml]

As long as we're discussing mail order toffee, also try Vern's from Fort Collins, Colorado. (The low humidity makes Colorado an excellent place for making toffee--can you say 'hygroscopic', anyone?). And it's cheaper, too.

[Lucia]

I'm not a fan of Vosges's chocolates or hot chocolate, so I'm not surprised by your lackluster experience.

[violet]

totally agreed. i believe vosges is the most overrated chocolatier in the present times.

[toodie jane]

the chocolate coming off is fairly typical of a good buttery toffee. (oil & oil). but the nut dust and lack of flavor are unforgivable in a good toffee. I'm surprised at this lack of quality control. I'd ask for a refund.

[ciaolette]

I agree, there is always some chocolate coming off toffee, but this is more noticable with the vosges . I attribute it to the vosges toffee having an extremely even manufactured surface texture. I believe Enstroms, which is my prefered toffee standard, has nuts in the toffee as well as the coating, and this textural addition must help the coating adhere.
I think the flaw lies in the conception. From this, my first taste of vosges, I am thinking it is more about packaging and clever promo copy, than absolute flavor. The choice to use such finely chopped nuts speaks to the visual of the product, not the texture or taste. And possibly toffee is such a butter based product, it should be cold stored and not packaged for counter sale. Unlike dark chocolate bars, which are pretty durable. This product has no packaged on or use by date.
The store I purchased it at, has a no refund policy, and generally turns product over quickly.
I am considering sending an email comment to the company itself. After all, it is printed right on the box... " what did you expect? "

[toodie jane]

while I know not of Vosges (how do you pronounce that anyway?) the nut dust may be coming from cheaper, broken nuts that are then reprocessed. These would inherently be stale tasting. Mechanical chopping can also grind the nut surfaces, exposing more of the oils to spoilage and off flavors.

When making toffee, I start while whole fresh almonds, toast them and hand chop them with a chef's knife. A real pain, but it really makes a superior product over prepackaged chopped nuts, or nuts carefully run through the processor. The sharp angles make the nuts stick better in the chocolate, too! Toffee is all about the nuts--inside and out!

I'd like to try the Enstrom's--is it mail-orderable?

[shortstop]

Yes, and I heartily second the rec above, it is divine. I prefer the milk to the dark.

Here is the URL:
http://www.enstrom.com/

Also, the Enstrom's toffee keeps quite well in the freezer.