Alter Eco Deep Dark Sea Salt & Dark Salted Brown Butter Organic Chocolates
“We continually experiment with pure, classic ingredients for flavor and at the same time explore how we can push the bar on social responsibility in every aspect of what we do.”
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 15, 2014
In stores today - the latest additions to Alter Eco’s line of Swiss style organic and Fair Trade chocolate bars draw on iconic ingredients that Americans have had to learn to resist - until now. The words “buttery” and “salted” ignite our taste buds and with savory good reason, especially for these two new bars which join the healthy fat trend by featuring grass-fed butter for the “Dark Salted Brown Butter” bar, and the finest sea salt, Fleur de Sel Guérande - sought by chefs from around the world, in Alter Eco’s new “Deep Dark Sea Salt” bar. Both bars have a 70% cacao content, and are soy and gluten-free. These two new flavors join a coveted line-up of 8 other bars that rely on bold and authentic tasting classic flavors and embody goodness all around - from ingredients, to flavor, to company ethos.
“We continually experiment with pure, classic ingredients for flavor and at the same time explore how we can push the bar on social responsibility in every aspect of what we do,” said Edouard Rollet, Co-founder and President of Alter Eco.
Americans continue to seek global flavors to tempt their palates even in the sweets category, though comfort and familiarity are still what people seek the most. Alter Eco’s new “Dark Salted Brown Butter” and “Deep Dark Sea Salt” deliver on both trends - ingredients and flavor that are core to America’s cooking heritage, while playing on the savory sweet profile that is integral to cuisines of other cultures.
Alter Eco’s “Dark Salted Brown Butter” Chocolate Bar:
While food enthusiasts have been integrating brown butter into their baking for a couple of years now, Alter Eco’s “Dark Salted Brown Butter” is a first for pairing the flavor with standalone chocolate. In recent years, the health community has become full-circle to touting the benefits of “healthy fat” found in grass-fed, pastured ingredients like butter. This dark silky bar captures the melty texture and subtle-but-explosive flavor of organic grass-fed butter from lush Swiss pastures, browned until nutty and fragrant, and melted into rich bold fruity chocolate hand-crafted by master Swiss chocolatiers. A sprinkling of Fleur de Sel de Guérande takes things even further, heightening the whole combination. This chocolate bar makes it Ok to fall back in love with butter.
Alter Eco’s “Deep Dark Sea Salt” Chocolate Bar:
Alter Eco’s version of the most popular bar in the aisle - “sea salt” - stands apart from the rest. Like any other spice, salt has a full range of quality and taste, and as an enhancer - quality translates big time to flavor. One of the few remaining hand harvested sea salts, Fleur de Sel Guérande comes from a select area on the coast of France where during the summer harvest, salt ponds are skimmed when the air temperature and humidity are just right. The ultimate in finishing salt, Fleur de Sel Guérande, is noticeable throughout Alter Eco’s already distinctive 70% cacao bar, upping the ante for this popular sweet and savory combination.
Alter Eco’s Approach to Chocolate:
Refusing shortcuts, it takes about 30 hours of conching to produce the chocolate for Alter Eco’s line of bars in contrast to stabilizers and soy lecithin that others use to shorten the process. This stage of chocolate production is crucial because it defines the flavor and texture - making Alter Eco bars among the creamiest even at a high cacao ratio. It also means that Alter Eco bars are soy-free. Alter Eco uses single-origin cacao beans from co-ops selected both for their unique flavor AND ethos. Cacao Nacional beans, a heritage brand from Ecuador, provide a flavorful, pungent yet balanced backdrop for these latest flavor additions.
Priced at $3.99/ea or $44.28 for a 12-pack, the bars are initially available at most Whole Foods Markets nationwide, all natural grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Raley's supermarkets, and various independent natural food stores, with more retailers being added, they are also available online.
Above the Baseline for Sustainability:
Alter Eco selects every ingredient with intention not only in flavor and quality, but using Fair Trade, organic and Non-GMO as a baseline for social responsibility throughout operations. In addition to sourcing all ingredients from small-holder farmers, Alter Eco believes in nurturing the ecosystems where it does business by reinvesting in the land and communities of its partners. Sales from Alter Eco chocolate bars contribute to a PUR Project initiative that’s preserving and reforesting Martin Sagrado, a biodiverse hotspot and one of the most deforested provinces in the Amazon Jungle in Peru.
ABOUT ALTER ECO:
Alter Eco is a values-based brand of specialty food products that brings delicious, exotic, high-quality and healthy foods from around the world to consumers in the United States, while directly benefitting small producers in the Global South. A certified Benefit Corporation, we apply full-circle sustainability throughout our operations and supply chain comprising four pillars: sourcing using Fair Trade principles, production of only organic and non-GMO foods, minimal waste by working towards 100% compostable packaging, and reinvesting in communities where we do business through reforestation initiatives and technical assistance and financing for farmers. These principals are entwined with Alter Eco’s commitment to the highest quality and taste in everything we bring to the table: Bolivian Royal quinoa, Swiss-made chocolate bars and truffles, heirloom rice varietals and Mascobado sugar from the Philippines. More information is available at http://www.alterecofoods.com.
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