..but we think it is kinder to give you this honest feedback than to say nothing.
we were grateful to see the Salted Caramel, our new favorite, back in stock, and for the kind jar (thank you, Haupt!).
we noticed these formerly medium brown little milk chocolate liquorice balls are now a very light beige color, swirled in parts with uneven white, and, most inportantly, with no chocolate taste at all this first batch back (not even the familiar taste of sweetened cacao butter that white chocolate has and is). they also now have a very different, colder, creamier and more whipped consistency--almost like soft Crisco.
as it is no longer summer, we could not put our finger on why they should seem softer at room temp..
we ate a few and put the rest in the fridge, as we always do. when we took then out again, we found our explanation when we found them to now be rock solid, like hard plastic.
we read the ingredients list and found the cacao butter is missing, now replaced with "RAPE SEED oil" (as a woman, I cringe at that supposedly "better" sounding new industry name for what is a well-known, heart-unfriendly ingredient--CANOLA oil).
we had originally come across these Scandinavian types of salted liquorice balls when we discovered the regular (not slow crafted) Danish ones by Bulow. but since their ingredients list showed they used canola oil, and Haupt used cacao butter, we went with Haupt, and fell in LOVE--so did our friends, who we gifted a few jars to.
while we understand cacao is becoming a more precious ingredient now, how can you still describe something as being "milk chocolate" when the main ingredient is an unhealthy vegetable fat, with cacao hardly at all present? we would prefer to be asked to pay a little bit more, to help offset the new reality for helping creative candymakers to continue to create and offer us these very special chocolate treats.
no price can be low enough for us to risk our health, though--please know this is not what anyone wants.
please continue to source real cacao and butter, and we will be happy to support your cost, knowing you did what you could to keep it fair. but, please, no more Crisco balls. we deserve better, and we know you can do better than this. <3
