MILKA RAISIN & HAZELNUT

Oh yes my lovelies, we are right back to cow land, an ultimate favourite place of mine, beloved Switzerland. This is where the birth of Milka commenced, on November 17, 1825. The Choco is therefore exactly 193 years old, and one of the oldest to date. 
 
Philippe Suchard is the beautiful mind behind the creation. His spent endless hours to craft this patisserie from the stunning city of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where I have personally danced the night away! The year to follow, Suchard expanded production. Due to the high demand of chocolate, a whooping 25 – 30 kg daily, he decided to move the company to a larger facility. Wow, at that time, this might have seemed gigantic but for today’s standards, this is a meager amount. During the 1890s, milk was at last added to Suchard’s recipe. What? Am I hearing this correctly, a vegan chocolate in the 1800s? You mean veganism was around much longer than this current, 21st century hype that everybody is taking credit for! Finally, someone else's recognition!
 
In 1970, Suchard and Tobler literally became one, or as the famous saying goes, happily married. Interfood is what came out of their merger, and in 1982, Interfood moved on to begin a relationship with Jacobs. Ohhhhhh! From there forward, Kraft Foods acquired Jacobs Suchard, including Milka in the year 1990. I promise, I am almost done. In October 2012, Kraft snack division was renamed to be what is currently branded as Mondelez International. Ahhhhh, it is like a brick has been lifted off my chest. That was a whole lot of history and at the same time, it all sounds like too many promiscuous relationships. Dumping one for the other. Yikes! It never stops, even in the business world. Short and final outline, Milka has been internationally manufactured by Mondelez (formerly known as Kraft Foods) since 1990. In conclusion: Suchard S.A. 1925 -1970, Interfood S.A. (1970 - 1892), Jacobs Suchard AG (1982 - 1990), Kraft General Foods (1990 - 2012), and currently - Kraft: Mondelez International division.
 
Milka markets for chocolates are: Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States.
 
For over 100 years, Milka has been mostly crafted in Lörrach, Germany where, a “howling” 140,000 tonnes of chocolate was put together just in the year 2012 alone. There are also novelty shaped chocolates for the Easter and Christmas Celebrations which makes the brand incredibly festive. Milka decided to be a bit more diverse than their rivals by also producing cookies and biscuits. Now we are seriously getting down to business!
 
At last, the tasting! First impression upon one small bite, succulently delicious. The chocolate itself is of utmost quality, but unfortunately there is not much of it. The melt is complete in just under 45 seconds, and yes, I timed it. The leftover in the palate is a complete surprise, an enormous number of hazelnuts and raisins. Milka has been quite generous, or maybe someone was having a happily drunken day at work one day when they decided to just dump the whole bin full of fruit and nuts in the chocolate bath. “Why not, let‘s make history!” The raisins though promote a sweeter taste than what I would consider balanced. Milka should have laid off the saccharine by at least 30% since the raisins provide for that in a naturally occurring state. The smoothness of the chocolate itself is just not there, and the extra embellishments of course do not help. On the upside, you get a good amount of chocolate for a budget friendly wallet. It does not though, cure my craving for when I desperately need a rush of “diabetes“, but it will temporarily dampen the desire. 
 
Let’s rip the ingredient list apart. Watch out Chocolate Makers, there is a new Chocolatier in town. Soriah has no pity and is outright witty! 
 
Sugar happens to be the very first item on the list which clearly “screams” that it is going to be a lot of it. Next to follow are the raisins, once again, on the sweet side. Just from these two ingredients alone, and them both being on the very top of the list should clearly indicate that this chocolate is going to be a sugar intoxication. Cocoa Butter, next on the list, is a vegetable fat derived from the cacao bean. The beans are dried, fermented, roasted, and finally, separated from their hulls. This process produces cocoa nibs. 54 - 58% of the cacao nibs are cacao butter (mostly a high amount of saturated and monounsaturated oldie acid types of fats). Watch and monitor your cholesterol levels people, plaque transpires one chocolate at a time. Next ingredient is the skimmed milk powder, which is nothing more than evaporating the milk into dryness. This preserves the milk, and when in powder form, it has a longer shelf life. Go figure, makes sense! Okay, here we are, at last, cocoa mass! Why is this core ingredient so far down the list? It should have been at the very top since guess what, without cocoa, there is no chocolate. Are you going to play an oblivious game here, come on now! Hmmmm. What then went wrong? Why be so discounted with your ingredients Milka? I am starting to think that it is a huge money saver tip for them and a human sickness induction for us. Absolutely awful. Whey Powder is as simple as this; a by-product of cheese production. I know that it sounds repulsive because it actually is, in a peculiarly weird way. Whey is the leftover from milk coagulating during the cheese production. Yuck! The protein in cow’s milk is 20% whey protein and 80% casein protein, FIY. Next are the hazelnuts, which once again, should have been at the least 2nd on the ingredient list. No need to elaborate, it is a nut. Only warning: watch for allergies. Milk fat is the naturally occurring fat in milk. Whenever I see milk in the form of Skim, 1 %, and 2 %, it makes me wonder why take the fat out and make it unnatural and unhealthy? What is the purpose of leaving behind only carbohydrates that are then just digested as sugar which in turn, spikes the insulin level? There is a reason behind the fat in milk. Actually, the same goes for all foods in their natural state, why tinker, why do we have to alter it all, why so greedy, why, why, why… I just do understand, and will most likely never agree with some of the methods that are being utilized by the food chain. It is for the sole purpose of making themselves rich, and the rest of the human body sick. Let’s move this discussion as my annoyance is starting to kick in, he he he! The next ingredient is soy lecithin, which is obtained from raw soybeans, and composed mainly of choline, fatty acids, glycerol, glycolipids, phospholipids, phosphoric acid, and triglycerides. Presently, lecithin is extracted from cottonseed, milk, marine life, rapeseed, sunflower, and soybeans but that was not always the case. Lecithin helps to provide products with a polished and consistent presentation. It also has the capability to emulsify fats, an excellent ingredient for non-stick cooking sprays. Hazelnut Paste one would think is just that, hazelnuts overly grounded while killing the Vitamix. Been there, done that, personal experience, not good! That is almost the case except take one step back; mildly roasting the hazelnuts. This is of utmost importance as it brings out the much more intense flavours of the hazelnuts. Lastly, artificial flavours (vanillin) – oh, my favourite part of the list, I just “squirm” at the word “artificial.” Vanillin is the main element of the extract of the vanilla bean. Artificial vanillin is presently used more and more often in foods, refreshments, and pharmaceuticals. Due to vanilla extract’s scarcity and its expensiveness, vanillin is instead heavily utilized. I will never understand why companies decide that it is okay to add substandard ingredients to their products and then label them as the best. To make matters worse, they have the nerve to fiercely commercialize and sell it all as something so incredibly special, and that it will bring you joy, save your marriage, make you fit, or popular, or good-looking, or successful. Seriously, what a bunch of ……….. Absolutely dreadful, ravening, corrupt, deceitful, deceptive, shady, shall I go on? Here you have it, exposed and disclosed!
 
Chocolisciously Delightful Milka Raisin & Hazelnut Ingredients: Sugar, Raisin, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Whey Powder (from Milk), Hazelnut, Milk Fat, Soya Lecithin (Emulsifier), Hazelnut Paste, Artificial Flavours (Vanillin)
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May contain: Wheat, other Nuts
 
Chocolisciously Delightful Rating: 1.5 / 5.0
 
 NUTRITION FACTS
 
Per Portion (16.7 g)
 
AMOUNT                          Per Portion (16.7 g)                       % DAILY VALUE
 
Calories                                      80
Fat                                            4 g                                       6 %
Saturated                                   2 g                                      10 %
Trans                                         0 g 
Cholesterol                                 0 g
Sodium                                  20 mg                                      1 %
Carbohydrate                             10 g                                      3 %
Fibre                                        0.5 g                                      2 %
Sugars                                        9 g 
Protein                                        1 g
Vitamin A                                                                              0 %
Vitamin C                                                                              0 %
Calcium                                                                                 0 %
Iron                                                                                       0 %
 
Milka Raisin & Hazelnut is made in Germany