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Ask HN: Why are the swiss so great at making chocolate?

2 points by ajoy 5y ago

codevark 5y ago
The Swiss are good at a lot of things. I suspect it may have something to do with not wasting time, money, and lives on mindless warfare.
Tomte 5y ago
They were first and then it has become a brand. There is fantastic chocolate made being elsewhere. Lindt is good, but mass-market, not the benchmark. I love Taza chocolate from America, for example. The non-conche one. Its crystalline texture is really nice. (https://www.tazachocolate.com/pages/our-process https://www.tazachocolate.com/pages/our-process)
- ajoy 5y ago
  wow! looks great!
ajoy 5y ago
Wonder if its more than just brand. Eg.https://www.chobachoba.com/direct-from-our-farms/ https://www.chobachoba.com/direct-from-our-farms/. They ship the ferment and dry the beans, but then it gets shipped to Switzerland to be made into chocolate. Similarly Belgian chocolate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_chocolate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_chocolate) has also developed into a brand.
simonblack 5y ago
Good chocolate is made from real ingredients: cocoa, cocoa-butter, sugar, plus real milk if making milk chocolate. The place where it is produced is irrelevant. Poor chocolate is made by replacing some, if not all, of the real ingredients with cheaper substitutes. Read the ingredients list on the back of the packet and learn what's in the good stuff and what's in the bad stuff. Then buy accordingly.
- muzani 5y ago
  Techniques matter a lot too. All the tacos here in Malaysia are mediocre, because the standards are very low - Taco Bell was swarmed for weeks when they opened because nobody ever tasted one. It's all just standard ingredients, but done differently. Richer countries tend to have better agriculture, with more spent on researching quality rather than just quantity. So the milk is probably better too.
herveleger 5y ago
Using the best cocoa in the world, the precision of Swiss production, the perfect proportion of ingredients

2 points by ajoy 5y ago

The Swiss are good at a lot of things. I suspect it may have something to do with not wasting time, money, and lives on mindless warfare.

Tomte 5y ago

They were first and then it has become a brand. There is fantastic chocolate made being elsewhere. Lindt is good, but mass-market, not the benchmark. I love Taza chocolate from America, for example. The non-conche one. Its crystalline texture is really nice. (https://www.tazachocolate.com/pages/our-process https://www.tazachocolate.com/pages/our-process)

ajoy 5y ago
wow! looks great!

ajoy 5y ago

Wonder if its more than just brand. Eg.https://www.chobachoba.com/direct-from-our-farms/ https://www.chobachoba.com/direct-from-our-farms/. They ship the ferment and dry the beans, but then it gets shipped to Switzerland to be made into chocolate. Similarly Belgian chocolate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_chocolate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_chocolate) has also developed into a brand.

simonblack 5y ago

Good chocolate is made from real ingredients: cocoa, cocoa-butter, sugar, plus real milk if making milk chocolate. The place where it is produced is irrelevant. Poor chocolate is made by replacing some, if not all, of the real ingredients with cheaper substitutes. Read the ingredients list on the back of the packet and learn what's in the good stuff and what's in the bad stuff. Then buy accordingly.

muzani 5y ago
Techniques matter a lot too. All the tacos here in Malaysia are mediocre, because the standards are very low - Taco Bell was swarmed for weeks when they opened because nobody ever tasted one. It's all just standard ingredients, but done differently. Richer countries tend to have better agriculture, with more spent on researching quality rather than just quantity. So the milk is probably better too.

herveleger 5y ago

Using the best cocoa in the world, the precision of Swiss production, the perfect proportion of ingredients