A favorite for this hobbyist chocolatier
I'm a hobbyist chocolatier; I make a variety of chocolate confections for family and friends (and myself!), ranging from barks and molded solids to bon bons and truffles. I've tried dozens of couverture chocolate varieties over a decade or so, from well-known companies like Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Valrhona, Guittard, Cluizel, and Felchlin, and from smaller manufacturers I've discovered while traveling or online. I keep notes on them in a Tap Forms database; I have nearly a hundred entries.
I stumbled upon Fruition on a trip to Woodstock several years ago. At the time their bulk chocolate was only available in single blocks in-person at the factory. I bought a couple blocks, and soon found myself saddened that it was so hard to get, because it became an immediate favorite of mine and of my chocoholic family members. I took a detour on the return home from a subsequent trip to the Hudson valley to replenish my stock at the store (it's worth going out of the way for). Thankfully, a year or so later Fruition started making it available online; I now keep at least one block constantly in stock.
This chocolate has a unique texture in block form. It *looks* like a normal block of chocolate, but when you break it for use, it breaks into sheet-like shards, kind of like the mineral mica schist. So far I've only used it for truffles. The unusual texture has no effect on melting and emulsifying; it emulsifies very nicely for ganache.
The flavor of this chocolate is simply fantastic. It's become my go-to when I want to make just one or two varieties of plain chocolate truffles (coated or rolled). For my family, this Fruition 68%, and Fortunato #4 (also 68%) are the two favorites—the same cacao percentages, but very different flavors. My favorite recipe for them is the Force Noire vanilla-infused dark chocolate truffle recipe from the Recchiuti & Gage book, *Chocolate Obsession* (though I continually tweak the ratios). I have yet to use it for barks or solids. I wonder what the unusual texture would do for such use. But I certainly eat plain pieces when I break it up for making ganache, and it tastes fantastic just plain, so I suspect it would make great barks and solids.
For home hobbyist chocolatier use, this gets my highest recommendation.
