Chocolate World Expo - More Than Just Cocoa

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! Add in a little cheese, maple syrup, pickles and spicy jams, and that was the scene yesterday at the Chocolate World Expo in New Jersey.

There were tons of vendors from the Northeast, with many based in New Jersey, the Hudson Valley, the Capital Region of New York and even the Adirondacks. Barkeater Chocolates, based in North Creek, N.Y. carried the Adirondack torch well, as did the fruit-and-nut-packed Adirondack peanut butter from the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company.

Other standouts included organic products from Breezie Maples, a maple farm just outside of Cooperstown, N.Y., Mostly Myrtle's from the Rockland County area, Pika's Farm Table from the Hudson Valley Region and Jacky's James and Jellies from my home-state of New Jersey.

There were a fair amount of vegan, organic and gluten-free options at the show, making it a definite buzz word. One aspect I really liked was that we ran into several business, like Mostly Myrtle's, who buys a host of their ingredients from other small businesses. For example, Pika's Farm Table tries to use support local farmers in the Hudson Valley region of New York by purchasing ingredients for their hearty soups and quiches from them.

Pika's daughter, Pia, was handing out samples of their Italian style basil pesto, which had a strong garlic kick at first, but finished with a smooth basil flavor. And, their spinach and goat cheese quiche was creamy, but you could still taste the spinach. It was a good balance, as neither one was too strong.

We also came across some not-so-chocolately vendors, like Picke Licious, which for the record was one of the most crowded booths at the show. And, yup, that is a chocolate covered pickle!

One of the most sociable vendors was J. Emanuel Chocolatier. It was also one of the first we visited before the doors opened to the public. They took a lot of time to make sure we understood all the chocolates, how they were made and kept feeding us so many sweets we had to keep reminding ourselves there was a whole expo full of other chocolates vendors we needed to stop at.

Their wine-filled truffles had a nice smooth flavor that wasn't too sweet, or too bitter. Sometimes chocolate filled delights, or ones made with wine, have a bitter taste, but this was a good ratio of each flavor.

They also had a nice chocolate-shaped champagne bottle that would make a great bridal shower, or wedding favor.

There are several other products we will be writing about later this week.

Need a chocolate fix? Check out our Facebook page for more pictures from the Expo!