Quality Street or Roses: that is the question!

Sorry computors got a mind of it's own

Thornton's chocs have always been lovely but in my neck of the woods a lot of the discount shops are selling Thorntons at reduced prices.I hope this isn't a sign that the company is in trouble.

Thornton's chocs have always been lovely but in my neck of the woods a lot of the discount shops are selling Thorntons at reduced prices.I hope this isn't a sign that the company is in trouble.

Thornton's chocs have always been lovely but in my neck of the woods a lot of the discount shops are selling Thorntons at reduced prices.I hope this isn't a sign that the company is in trouble.

Thornton's chocs have always been lovely but in my neck of the woods a lot of the discount shops are selling Thorntons at reduced prices.I hope this isn't a sign that the company is in trouble.

I love chocolate, but my favourite sweet treat would be a box of Maple Brazils - although they're getting harder and harder to find these days.

Lidl and Aldi - both great value for chocolate but in my opinion, Lidl has wider variety and higher quality.

Have fun- will be doing the same- about 600 miles away. Will be thinking of you- lol. And good quality chocolate (that actually does contain.... chocolate) is a great depression cure. Enjoy.

Very interesting! We shall be conducting a lightning reconnaissance of the lower slopes of Lidl's chocolate department to check out some of your recommendations. It may take some time!

Thanks Elegran, will do. I did say earlier in the thread I'd be going to the opening of the new Lidl near us tomorrow. I am open minded, and as said, personal choice and taste- but I do expect chocolate to contain at least some chocolate and cocoa butter, rather than tons to palm oil and chemicals. Thanks, will try.

You should try Lidl's chocolate, Granjura I think you would find it far better than you expect.

Quote from www.misi.se/hands-on-guides/misi-test-panel-chocolate-part-two-dark-chocolate/

"LIDL/BELLAROM: Dark Chocolate, 72%, 8 SEK
SCENT: quite sweet but a nice smell
SOUND: quite good sound and cracking
TASTE: It tasted bitter – much like cocoa but creamy anyway. One member thought the chocolate was too dark for her taste.
AFTERTASTE: quite a long aftertaste"

Quote from www.ciao.co.uk/Bellarom_chocolate__Review_5745417 (This was in 2007 but I assume the quality is the same)

"I am not a Lidl fan although some of their continental meats and cheeses are really good value. However I did ask someone to pick me up some of their Bellarom Deluxe Finest Alpine Chocolate one day to test !!!
She bought me 5x 40g bars wrapped together in cellophane for under £1. The little bars show snow covered mountains with green fields at the base of the mountains and has a focal point depicting three chuncks of the Bellarom milk chocolate. All very nice you say but what does it taste like?
The ingredients are sugar,cocoa butter, cream powder 14%, whole milk powder 13%, cocoa mass,flavouring,vanillin. This milk chocolate contains cocoa solids 34% minimum and milk solids 27%.
ALL VERY NICE BUT WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE ?
This is a first class smooth tasting, creamy chocolate that comes in milk, nut, and plain variety."

Ingredients of "Fin Carre" dark chocolate from Lidl, bought yesterday:-

50% cocoa solids minimum

Sugar
Cocoa Mass
Cocoa Butter
Emulsifier
Sunflower Lecithins
Natural Vanilla Flacouring

No mention of palm oil, artificial flavourings, or chemicals

Maggiemaybe- perhaps both ;). Is it really totally unreasonable to expect chocolates to contain .... chocolate and cocoa butter and sugar- rather than palm oil, artificial flavourings, emulsifiers and chemicals?

Bellarom chocolate from Lidl is delicious. I am not allowing myself to buy any at the moment (saving myself for Christmas).

I would say it's more about personal taste, granjura. Aldi does have some very tasty offerings, mrsmopp. And at incredible prices. I got all my Easter eggs there this year and they were very well received. In fact, I might be off there tomorrow myself, just to remind myself which range I liked best, you understand.

So many centres seem to be of the truffle type these days which does make them taste very samey. I used to love the Black Magic orange flavoured fillings, the coffee ones and the marzipan. Now all truffly...

I'm off to Aldi tomorrow, mrsmopp

I feel a tasting session coming on.

It's not about posh, Mrs Mopp- but basic ingredients. Will have a look at Lidl as the new one is opening tomorrow (in nearby France)

One of our wonderful neighbours in the UK was a Cadbury's - such a fantastic Quaker family with such high ethics and integrity- in her 80s now, she must despair at what has happened to their chocolate and 'their workers'. Palm oil, sugar, chemicals and emulsifiers do not a chocolate make- yuk.

Will be making our own chocolate truffles, as grandson is highly allergic to eggs and nuts- to make sure he can enjoy some with us. Again, quality over quantity I'm happy to say.

Lidl and Aldi have some lovely chocolates at the mo.
You might all like the posh ones, but don't knock these till you've tried them.
Well, we like them anyway

I did buy Thornton's last year, but the fillings did all taste the same. We have been given a couple of boxes already so I may not buy any more.

Perhaps I'll buy some lovely dried fruit and nuts as well instead

Who makes M&S chocolates? They are quite nice.

Not Cadbury's! That American woman, head of Kraft, took over and promised not to close the Bristol factory then promptly did so. A lot of their chocolates are made in Poland now.

Oh, I see that sunseeker has already said that, but worth reiterating!

The only thing Roses and Quality Street are good for is using instead of money in a game of Newmarket when my grandson is here! They don't actually taste of anything anymore. Come to that, neither do Thorntons Continentals. They used to make them not far from where I lived when I was growing up. You couldn't get them outside the North of England then, and they were considered to be a bit special. I once sent a German exchange student home with a box for her mother and she wrote and said they were among the best chocolates she had ever eaten. I love peppermint creams, plain or chocolate covered, and good rum truffles!

It'll be Quality Street for us this Christmas (more toffee than Roses). With a house full of chocolate loving teenage DGCs, expensive chocs would be hoovered up before I got a look in.

Quality Street every time. Just because they bring back so many childhood memories. Mum used to buy a quarter pound a week on the run up to Christmas and put them in a big jar which we would excitedly watch as it filled up. Then Dad would use cotton wool, paper and card to turn the jar into a snowman. No one was allowed to touch the sweets until after tea on Christmas Eve. Removing the snowman's hat and picking a sweet was the signal that Christmas had officially started.