Tag Archives: California Gourmet Foods

If the mention of chocolate covered raisins conjures up memories of an overpriced box of dry fruit covered in waxy chocolate at the movies, it’s time for a reboot.  Sconza’s Chocolate Caramelized Cashews rocked our candy jar, and it was just a matter of time before we tried another selection from their product line.  Allen isn’t a fan of raisins, so it fell to me to be the primary taste tester.  I’m always up to the challenge if chocolate is involved!

Sconza’s bag promises plump, oversized raisins and they deliver.  They are large, juicy, and delicious.  The chocolate?  Definitely dark, lusciously creamy and possibly addictive.  These candies bear no resemblance to their vending machine counterparts.  Although I enjoy a number of chocolate covered fruits, chocolate covered raisins have always been my favorite and Sconza’s Dark Chocolate Raisins are definitely the best I have ever eaten.  Not only are they delicious, they can also be part of a healthy snacking program.  Double bonus!  Raisins are a good source of iron, which is essential in producing hemoglobin to transport oxygen through the blood to all the cells.  They are a high fiber snack, so are a helpful digestive aid.  Women can benefit from the calcium and boron in raisins to maintain bone health.  Like other dried fruits, raisins provide beneficial antioxidants.  The oleanolic acid found in raisins destroys the bacteria that causes tooth decay.  To that impressive list, add the healthy aspects of eating dark chocolate (in moderation, of course), and this is a very low-guilt goody.

Three generations of the Sconza Family have been committed to providing high quality candies, following the traditions established by Italian immigrant Vincenzo Sconza in 1939 in San Francisco.  Visit the company’s website and order some treats for yourself or as a tasty stocking stuffer for someone special.

For me, every visit to a gourmet market involves an extended stop on the chocolate aisle.  Maybe I feel a tremendous responsibility to keep you informed of all the great chocolates available on the market today.  Maybe I’m just a chocoholic.  Yeah, it might be the latter.  John Kelly Chocolates caught my eye on a recent shopping trip.  The gold foil wrapping on the truffle fudge bars was just a hint of the decadent taste we were about to enjoy.  We chose their peanut butter and chipotle ancho chile flavors to try.

The silky chocolate coating on the handmade bars was beautiful.  We noticed the two bars had different designs, which is part of the John Kelly signature.  Each flavor has a distinct symbol swirled onto the top of the candy.  We sliced each bar to reveal a truffle fudge center coated generously with semi-sweet chocolate.  Both flavors were amazing.  Allen leaned toward the peanut butter (of course).  A thick layer of peanut butter fudge rested on dark chocolate fudge for a very classy upgrade of the ever-popular peanut butter and chocolate combination.  Because I love sweet and savory duos, the chipotle ancho chile was my first choice.  The dense fudge was a good match for the complex pepper flavors.  The wrapper indicated the peppers are “mild”, but some people might find them just a little too spicy.  Allen was one of those, so he happily agreed to finish off the peanut butter truffle fudge bar.  The 2-ounce bars we purchased are promoted as individual servings, but honestly, these chocolates are so rich they could easily be treats for two.

Of course, I was wondering how John Kelly got his start in the chocolate business.  I was surprised to learn there is no John Kelly; instead John Kelson and Kelly Green combined forces to create a luxury chocolate line, and combined their first names to identify their company.  According to a Foodcrafters video interview, they began with a friend’s usually smooth fudge recipe, elevating it almost to ganache status.  They have developed a very nice variety of additional flavors including cappuccino with walnuts, chocolate with walnuts, chocolate, dark chocolate with walnuts, dark chocolate, raspberry, white chocolate vanilla with walnuts, chocolate and caramel with Hawaiian alaea sea salt, dark chocolate with French grey sea salt, peanut butter with Himalayan pink salt, and walnut caramel clusters with Mediterranean sea salt.  Could you look through that list and honestly say you couldn’t find at least one you would love?  I don’t see one I wouldn’t love!

In addition to the 2-ounce bars, John Kelly Chocolates offers 8-ounce bars and 1-ounce “bites”.  Their products come in gorgeous packaging, which would impress your most discriminating business client or friend.  The candy is widely available in upscale retailers and gourmet markets, and you can also order directly from John Kelly Chocolates.

As we go into the holiday season, we may go a little heavy on reviewing sweet treats.  Finding stocking stuffers and thoughtful gifts for neighbors, teachers, friends and co-workers can be a real challenge if you want something a little different.  Our challenge is to provide you with some new options, from truly artisan, handmade treats to more traditionally manufactured goodies produced by family businesses.  One such family business is Sconza, a candy company established in 1939 in the San Francisco Bay area by Italian immigrants, Vincenzo and Maria Sconza.  The couple made and sold peanut brittle from their kitchen, and today a third generation of Sconzas is keeping the family promise to craft only the highest quality candies.  The Sconzas sell candy under their own label, but also contract with other companies, so we may have already eaten Sconza candies without being aware of it.  The company’s website features several videos about the candy-making process that are very interesting.  Watch them with your children!  It was also impressive to see the hands-on participation of Sconza family members in the day-to-day business.  Vincenzo and Maria Sconza would no doubt be proud of the way their tradition of quality has been upheld through the years.

We chose Sconza Chocolate Caramelized Cashews to try for two reasons.  First, Allen and I both really love cashews.  Second, I didn’t realize Sconza also offered Lemoncello Almonds:  roasted almonds covered in white chocolate and lemon cream!  I’ll be trying those soon..very soon.  The chocolate caramelized cashews were terrific, though.  The nuts are perfectly roasted and crisp.  They have a crunchy caramel coating, which seems similar a thin toffee shell.  The cashews are finished with a generous drenching in smooth milk chocolate.  Somewhere in the process, they receive a sprinkle of sea salt.  I don’t see how it could be possible to just eat one!

Sconza has a fantastic assortment of candies.  From premium chocolate covered fruits and nuts to their trademarked “Jordanettes” (Jordan almonds), there is something to appeal to every sweet tooth.  Their holiday candies include eggnog almonds, candy cane almonds, and spiced chocolate cranberries.  Yum!  The 5-ounce bags they offer are the perfect size for stocking stuffers.

Sconza does not sell products directly on their website; instead they direct customers to Groovy Candies online.  You can also purchase from Amazon if you can’t find them locally.