Chocolate with Alpine Rose Honey by Tiroler Edle, floral
Chocolate with Alpine Rose honey by Tiroler Edle is a dark bar with a soft filling made from Alpine rose honey and fresh cream from Grey cattle. A drop of balsamic vinegar counteracts the sweetness and keeps the floral note clearly identifiable.
Chocolate with Alpine Rose honey is the most alpine variety in the Tiroler Edle range: fifty grams of dark chocolate from the confectionery in Landeck over a cream made from 12 percent Alpine rose honey, fresh cream, and vanilla. The Alpine rose honey comes from the shrubs of the Verwall group.
A dark shell over soft floral sweetness
The shell snaps dark and dry; underneath lies a cream that melts immediately in the mouth. On the cross-section, the light filling is visible as a narrow band.
The honey provides a light, floral sweetness only found in mountain meadow honey, backed by the tart foundation of the dark chocolate. The cream binds both elements together, making the filling soft without feeling heavy.
At the very end, a fine acidity appears, tasting of grapes and balancing the sweetness. What remains is a floral tone that lingers on the palate, tasting more of a meadow than of candy.
The Alpine rose and its short summer
The Alpine rose, botanically a rhododendron, is a low-growing shrub that carpets slopes above the timberline in midsummer. Its flowers grow in dense clusters, yet each individual bloom yields very little nectar.
It blooms for only a few weeks in midsummer, during which time the bees must travel high up for the honey to be pure enough. This makes it rare, and the quality varies greatly depending on the mountain weather; in some years, there is no harvest at all.
It is collected in the Verwall group, a rugged Tyrolean mountain range between Arlberg and Paznaun, where little else grows. Its taste is mild and light, with a note reminiscent of fresh hay and blossoms.
A drop of balsamic in the filling
The fact that vinegar is in a bar is surprising when reading the ingredients, but it makes perfect sense upon the first bite.
Honey and cream together can easily become cloying, and that is exactly where the balsamic comes in: its acidity highlights the floral notes and keeps the flavor profile lively without tasting like vinegar itself. It works similarly to a chef adding a splash of vinegar to a finished dish.
It is dosed in tiny amounts, as a single drop too many would drown out the flower. Anyone comparing it to a purely sweet filling will immediately notice what the vinegar achieves. Tiroler Edle stirs the filling by hand in Landeck, using cream from Grey cattle.
With herbal tea, cheese, or after a hike
At room temperature, the cream is softest and the honey most distinct; when chilled, the dark shell takes center stage. The floral notes pair well with herbal tea, and alongside an aged hard cheese, it shows just how well honey and salt complement each other. It also pairs perfectly with a glass of dessert wine in the evening.
After a hike, a piece of it tastes different than at the kitchen table, where one can only imagine the mountain summer. Store the bar in a cool, dry place to keep the filling firm.
The chocolate with apricot also features a fruity filling; in addition, there are further chocolate bars and the complete assortment from Tiroler Edle.
