Palate Training: Two Figs and a Date


Palate Training for chocolate with Black Mission Figs, Calimyrna Figs, and Dates
Palate Training for Fig and Date Notes in Chocolate

I'm palate training with figs and dates this time, why?  I so often hear people say that they taste notes of figs in craft chocolate.  My question is, do we really taste figs?  If so, let's see what type of figs so we can be specific.


Palate training is really little more than learning to notice aromas and flavors then learning to remember them so you can recall and articulate your experience.  Although no two people have the same palate we can learn a common language.

Aromas and Flavors in Figs and Dates

Black Mission Figs: 
Aromas of dried fruit, molasses, almost tobacco.  Fragrant!  In the mouth tiny bit tart like a tart cherry or apricot.  Earthy, almost woody or tobacco notes.  

In the mouth the flavor is not nearly as sweet as the molasses fragrance suggested.  The tart carries all the way through to the finish which is full of notes of charred wood that linger for an extremely long time, even after trying to cleanse the palate.

Calimyrna Figs:  

Aromas are tart and sour reminding me of a vitamin C tablet or a kumquat with some herbal thyme scents too.  Just a bit floral.

In the mouth the Calimyrna isn't nearly as sour or tart as the aroma suggested.  It is almost like champagne or a sweet white wine.  Slight honey notes with marshmallow and malt.  The texture is very soft, except the seeds which are crunchy and release a little bitter.  The finish is mellow, sweet honey and as the flavors fade the tart and sour of the original scent seems to resurface.  

Dates:

Aromas are very difficult to detect in the date.  It seems there aren't too many aromas evaporating.

In the mouth there is a high level of sweet with hints of honey and maybe a little coconut.  Not acidic or tart at all compared to the figs.  

To Be Continued...

The next step will be looking over my collection of craft chocolate bars to see if I can remember which ones have similar aromas and flavors as the figs or dates.  Then tasting, and tasting again to make sure I've found the closest match I can.  If I can't find it in my collection I'll have to go searching at local craft chocolate shops.  This is a seriously tough job and someone's got to do it. :) 

I'm open to suggestions.

I'll report back soon and let you know what I find.  








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