Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

What the day is

Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day is observed on November 7. The subject is specific: dark chocolate with a high proportion of cocoa, combined with almonds.

Origin and background

The origin of the observance is not documented.

Bittersweet is a real category rather than marketing language, though a loosely regulated one. In the United States, chocolate labelled bittersweet or semisweet must contain at least 35 percent cocoa solids, and the two terms are legally interchangeable, which is why a bittersweet bar from one maker can be sweeter than a semisweet bar from another. The percentage on the wrapper is far more informative than the word.

The almond pairing has a basis beyond habit. Dark chocolate is astringent and bitter from its polyphenols, and fat softens both sensations; almonds are roughly half fat, so they round the chocolate's edges. Roasting the almonds adds Maillard compounds that echo those formed when cocoa beans are roasted, which is why toasted almonds suit chocolate better than raw ones. The textural contrast between snap and crunch does the rest.

Both are also long-established crops in the same trade routes. Almonds are among the oldest domesticated nuts, and the wild ancestor is bitter and toxic; edible sweet almonds result from a single genetic difference, and that mutation is what made the crop possible at all.

How to take part

• Read the percentage rather than the word on the label, and try a 70 percent against an 85 to find your range.
• Toast the almonds yourself. Ten minutes in a moderate oven makes a substantial difference.
• Add flaky salt. It suppresses bitterness perception and makes the chocolate taste rounder.
• Let chocolate come to room temperature before eating; cold mutes aroma considerably.
• Make your own bark: melted chocolate, toasted almonds, salt, set on parchment. It takes fifteen minutes.
• Store it cool, dry and sealed, away from anything aromatic.