If you listed out every task in the kitchen and asked me which was my least favorite, chopping chocolate would be at the top. I hate the messiness and work of chopping chocolate; it seems to take forever to clean up! So I was absolutely delighted when Trader Joe's started carrying these chocolate callets. For their convenience and ease (not to mention tastiness) they are my favorite dessert pantry staple.
These callets are small discs of chocolate. They are a standard size (about 1/6 of an ounce each) so it's extremely easy to measure out the chocolate you need for a recipe. If it calls for 3 ounces of chocolate, just count out 18 callets and you're done. No weighing, no chopping.
These are so easy to pour into a saucepan and melt for dipping candy and fruit, or for brownies. These callets have singlehandedly made Katharine Hepburn's brownies a more frequent occurrence in my household!
The chocolate is inexpensive; this isn't the highest quality of the finest French chocolate. But it's still rich and very good.
I don't remember how much these 8-ounce bags cost (can anyone help me out?) but I don't think they are more than $3 apiece. They're a fabulous pantry staple for bakers and cooks — especially ones who, like me, don't like the mess of chopping chocolate.
Have you tried these callets? What do you think of them?
Related: Good Product: Callebaut Couverture Callets
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Comments (11)
They're great! I second that they're not for that super high quality chocolate dessert (for that I like Sharffen Berger the best), but they're pretty darn tasty and so easy.
It pains me to say this, but I disagree! I cannot stand these chocolates. I bought a bag last week and used them to make Joy the Baker's brown butter toasted coconut chocolate chip cookies. I opened the bag and snacked on a couple and thought there was an extreme "fake"/artificial taste to them. I used them in the cookies anyways, and the same artificial taste transferred to the cookies! I should have known better, but I really wanted to make those cookies. :)
As an aside - I am in no way a snob when it comes to chocolate chips or callets. I've used Trader Joe's and other store-brand chocolate chips with no problems. I was extremely disappointed with this product.
I was excited when I saw these but they are around $3 a bag and you only get 8 oz! I'd rather pay two dollars more and get the big 17 oz TJ's baking bar of chocolate and put forth the extra effort to chop the chocolate I need.
Good idea in theory, but for me the cost isn't worth the convenience.
I agree with ubi. Poor quality. Artificial feel and taste in the mouth.
I however very much enjoy TJ Semi-sweet baking chips/morsels.
Odd, huh.
How interesting! I think that perhaps my love for these comes from a) yes they are very convenient, and usually I'm willing to pay for that convenience in this area. b) I never use these whole or in chunks. I don't eat them straight, and I never put them in cookies. I always melt them for dipping fruit (where you do want a slightly waxier chocolate) or for baking.
For my purposes, they work great as I also hate the mess associated with chopping up a large bar of chocolate. I think the taste is good enough for the type of baking I do as well. As is the case with most good TJs products, they don't always have it in stock which causes a bit of a panic when I don't see it two visits in a row but sure enought, it resurfaces again and makes me buy an extra bag to withstand the occassional drought.
I was really disappointed with these too! There's just something funny about the taste.
Is there a reason I don't know about why you can't use regular chocolate chips if you don't feel like chopping a bar?
We just used these on Sunday as part of a recipe for chocolate waffles. I melted them in the microwave (with butter) at 50% power. They melted very smoothly and tasted great.
Is odd to hear folk panning these chocolates, relating how they taste "fake"...artificial, when they are just 65% cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and real vanilla. There is NOTHING artificial in them. My problem is that Trader Joe's in Georgia are few & in upscale areas. The people shopping may be used to having a variety of the best so they've become entitled. Now, with so many baker's chocolate choices at Trader Joe's (for these entitled people), I can't get these callets in Atlanta.
I loved these chocolates--to me they taste much better than the big TJ bar--but alas, they're discontinued! I blame you commenters above ;)