Rookie Mistake

Several weeks ago I was able to get some chocolate for an outstanding deal. The only one that caught my eye was this Ghirardelli Toffee Interlude bar.

Dark chocolate, toffee bits, and carmalized almonds.

Sounds fantastic, right?

I’ve had Ghirardelli in the past and it’s a pretty sound chocolate.  Not the best ever but decent and their ingredients list is typically on the up and up.

I didn’t think much of it and pick up a few bars because like I said, this was on sale for a crazy deal.

A little while goes by and I try a square.  And I disliked it.

“Scott, for dark chocolate this tastes ridiculously sweet. Ick.”

I don’t care for “sweets” which is why I love to eat dark chocolate.

I decided maybe my taster was off and gave it another taste a few days later.  Again, I really didn’t like it.  It was over-poweringly sweet.  The toffee and almond bits were so small I didn’t think it could be from that.

I finally decided to read the ingredient list.

I’m not sure if you can read that but if you click on the picture you should be able to.  Ghirardelli was nice to bold the ingredients that could be allergy causing.

Below, I’ve typed out the ingredients list and bolded what I think the problem is.

Bittersweet chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin – an emulsifier, vanilla), toffee (sugar, butter, high fructose corn syrup, salt, soy lecithin – an emulsifier), almonds, sugar, salt, corn syrup, natural flavor.

HOLY CRAP

Sugar is listed 5 times.

Let me repeat, there is sugar listed in this ingredient label 5 times.

No wonder this “dark chocolate” bar tasted so sweet to me.  Look at all that sugar!  And it contains HFCS which is a huge no-no in this house.

I was terribly annoyed with myself for making such a rookie mistake.  Because I’ve had Ghirardelli in the past with no issue, I thought I could get by without reading the label.

Wrong.

The lesson to be learned here is that one always has to be sure of what they are buying.  Always take time to read the ingredients labels on everything you buy.  Even, and most especially when it’s a brand or product you’ve purchased before.  Because maybe something’s different and you want to catch it before you spend money on it.

10 thoughts on “Rookie Mistake

  1. Nicole says:

    I’ve done that with flavored sparkling water. Gotta watch that ingredient list to make sure there’s no sugar, or even worse, FAKE sugar. Gross! I just want my bubbles and a hint of fruit, please.

    • Nicole, If you like seltzer, whole foods has some that is flavored and doesn’t use sugar. Their sparkling mineral water isn’t too shabby either. :)

      • MJM says:

        Go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and buy your own carbonator. Then just make carbonated water and add some juice from a fruit of your choosing.

  2. I’m guessing that they’re trying to jump on the Dark Chocolate=healthy bandwagon by making a unhealthier type of dark chocolate for those with a sweet tooth. It’d be interesting to see how they their marketing for it is pitched. As to HFCS? I’ve almost given up on looking at labels. Darn near everything that comes in a box, bottle or bag contains heaps of sugar and these days unless the label specifically states “NO HFCS” you can almost be assured that it’s in there. Several companies have learned that no hfcs is a selling point (Aunt Millie’s breads, for example).

    • Mike, I think you’re right and that’s kind of sad companies are doing that. I know HFCS is in everything and it’s crazy. When I started omitting it a few years back I was surprised by the things I found it in, like canned tomatoes. Ick!

  3. It doesn’t help that they print those ingredient lists smaller and smaller – it’s not me, I know it’s those companies trying to hide their sugar!

  4. I’m guilty of this as well. I find brands I trust and fail to read the label only to be surprised later. Biggest culprits are definitely HFCS and artificial sweeteners. I find a. sweeteners in things that also have sugar and it makes no sense to me at all!

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