As I have mentioned previously, I am not being altogether successful with posting my adventures in the correct order. In keeping with this, I have a huge backlog of chocolates to review yet absolutely cannot wait to post about the deliciousness of [one of] last night’s chocolates.
Vestri Girone dei Golosi – Bianco Pistacchi: White Chocolate Bar with Pistachios
Vestri Girone dei Golosi: White Chocolate with Pistachios
Oh. My. Heavens. Look, you all know by now that I’m a dark chocolate person. But when I do want something sweeter, I usually crave white rather than milk chocolate. In addition, I am helpless when faced with any intriguingly-flavoured or crazy-sounding chocolate bar, regardless of its base chocolate type.
I am also unable to resist anything with pistachios, yet I rarely come across a treat that allows the pistachio flavour to truly shine. More often than not, I’ll pick up a pistachio nougat, marzipan, or ice cream and be disappointed to taste little more than bland sweet with vague nuttiness.
The magic begins... 
This chocolate, my friends, this Girone dei Golosi/Bianco Pistacchi/White Chocolate with Pistachios (a mouthful in more ways than one) is another story. In fact, it’s the Anna Karenina to generic pistachio nougat’s Gossip Girl novels; it’s The Book Thief to fluoro-green pistachio ice cream’s LA Candy. I mean, just look at the colour of the chocolate, and the plethora of whole roasted pistachios studded throughout:
It's like a pistachio party, and everyone's invited.
The muted green-beige colour comes from the inclusion of not only whole pistachios in the bar but pistachio paste in the chocolate itself. As soon as the aroma hits, you know you’re in for the essence, the epitome, of pistachio, and from the first nibble the complex blend of sweet chocolate offset by roasted, nutty, almost savoury pistachios is amazing. Yes, I’m pulling out the superlatives here, but it really was that good. Just look!
Noms ahoy!
The texture is softer than pure chocolate, presumably from the pistachio paste. Good choice, Vestri. It melts in the mouth, almost like a cross between fudge and butter – at least until you hit (and you will hit, constantly) a roasted pistachio. These pistachios are very, very roasted – in fact, I think they’ve been taken absolutely as far as they could go before hitting the bitter stage, but this simply plays against the sweetness of white chocolate flawlessly.
Tasting this, I think the best and most accessible description I can come up with for the flavour is of Gianduja or Nutella made with pistachio and white chocolate instead of hazelnut and milk chocolate. The chocolate has some honey and spice notes, but let’s be honest here: it’s all about the pistachios…
The last food porn shot, I promise.
It’s also about the please-don’t-end.
oh my lord. in my stomach. please. must go. nowwww. waaaah!
articulate lizziiiiii 97483tyiuhauskdjakdghahhh!
Arrrgh. Evil temptress. So now I desperately need a chocolate which I hadn’t heard of 4 minutes ago. Frantic googling for an Australian source – appears nonexistent. May have to buy it from Florida. They don’t mention international shipping, but what can you do? In my google frenzy I did find this article- just in case you’re running out of places to try chocolate.
http://au.travel.yahoo.com/special-features/chocolate-paradises/index.html
That article gushes over the Vestri white chocolate with sesame seeds and Himalayan salt. Not one that I’d ordinarily pick, but it does sound interesting. Sadly I now have to go to work to try and earn enough for airfreight on italian chocolates.
L-Izzle: You and I really need to stop writing nonsense to each other when we discover something delicious… oh who am I kidding, it’s just like we have our own special language
Louise: Oh my, and this wasn’t even the chocolate I was referring to in my last comment to you! I too did some google-searching for it – but I didn’t come across the white chocolate with sesame seeds and himalayan sea salt. Oh, how I want that one now! Though I am likely going to spend a few days in Florida at some point…
P.S. I think you may be a kindred spirit. I too believe work exists purely to support chocolate-buying
Oh. My. Dog (ma)! I think I have found a new religion and it’s in a chocolate bar! :O
Pistachio chocolate! Yum! I can really tell you liked this one
I think I would too!
Lorraine: Chocolate is as good a religion as any, I think
Definitely does the trick at making you feel better when life’s thrown too many wacky things your way!
Helen: I think part of the reason I loved it so much was that it was so different to the chocolate I had been eating – going from a 91% dark to a sweet nutty white can certainly shock the senses!
I don’t usually like white chocolate, so far the only ones I’ve found that don’t have a disagreeable off-flavor (probably related to deodorizing the cocoa butter) are El Rey and Askinosie (who make a bar with cocoa nibs in it that you really need to try), but this sounds really good.
croquecamille: Oh how funny! I read the first few words of your comment and was already composing in my head how I agree for the most part “but you must try El Rey and Askinosie, as they don’t deodorize their cocoa butter” etc etc!
The addition of the goat’s milk in the Askinosie really helps, but I think I like the one with salted pistachios even more than the nib one (which is actually surprising, as nibs usually win out in my book).
But most white chocolate just tastes like sugar and milk to me – not pleasant…
Nibs usually win in my book, too. I’ll definitely have to keep my eyes open for the pistachio bar. I probably walked right past it when I was in Italy in November – talk about missed opportunities!
It’s a horrible feeling, missing opportunities like that!
But this may act as a small balm for your wounds… at least you probably didn’t have to pay $20 for each Askinosie bar, like I did in Australia!
hmmm, never heard of Askinosie either. There is clearly a whole world out there I don’t know about. Where did you buy this stuff in Australia Hannah?
Lousie: You should definitely check them out: http://www.askinosie.com/ Probably one of the first artisan chocolates I really fell in love with (and I even talked about them in ym thesis
). The dark single origins with and without nibs are all sublime, though I love how punchy the ones with nibs are. The whites are really worth checking out. And this reminds me that I have an Askinosie to blog at some point too!
In Canberra, I found Askinosie at Manuka Fine Foods (before it burnt down) and at As Nature Intended. I would actually recommend emailing Shawn Askinosie through his website and asking for retailers in your area – I can’t remember why, but I once sent an email about something to the website and the founder (Shawn) emailed me back almost straightaway. Worth a shot! (Or you get our mutual acquaintance in Canberra to send some to you
)