Le Sob! Le Candy, C'est Morte!

September 14, 2010 6:58 AM

After scouring formerly-reliable retail outlets and the web, it is time for me to face bitter facts: the best milk chocolate bar on earth, Valrhona's "Le Lacte", is no longer being manufactured. Help me find an acceptable substitute!

Le Lacte was special because of what it was and what it WASN'T. It was milky, malty, toasty, subtle, snuggly and comforting. It was NOT very sweet nor was it overly "dark"-tasting. It also possessed the "snap" and solidity of good chocolate (Valrhona ain't Palmer, after all).

I've tried many other high-end milk chocolate bars... Green & Black's, Michel Cluziel, Vosges, Scharffen-Berger, the replacement Le Lacte (Valrhona's "Jivara"), etc. None of 'em fit the bill - they're all either too sweet and/or too dark-chocolatey... and none of them have Le Lacte's glorious milky/malty/snuggly qualities. Have any members of the HiveMind encountered milk chocolate which WILL fit the bill?

posted by julthumbscrew to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Best answer: I think you may really enjoying trying the Noi Sirius 33% Milk Chocolate bar. It's chocolate from a family-owned Icelandic company, but you can get a large double bar for a reasonable price at Whole Foods (it's wrapped in a very plain, white, parchment wrapper).

It's predominately milky, incredibly smooth, but has a really beautiful structure and the sweetness is a kind of milk caramel-yness. It would not be wrong to ascribe "malty" to it's flavor, either. The cocoa hit is very quiet and mainly serves as a foundation to the richness.

It's the very first chocolate I thought of reading your requirements, and it's easy to find if you're near a Whole Foods.
posted by rumposinc at 7:15 AM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

You might try some of Bonnat's milk chocolate. They make three varieties, (Java, Asfarth, Surabaya) which are all 65%. It's a little higher than the Valrhona, but several of their dark chocolate bars are on the lighter, more flowery side (the Équateur especially tastes almost more like honey than dark chocolate), so the milk chocolate might not be overwhelming.
posted by clockwork at 7:27 AM on September 14, 2010

Best answer: Have you tried Côte d'Or? World Market typically has a few varieties.
posted by neushoorn at 7:54 AM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I asked my chocolate-loving sister on your behalf, and she said that although milk chocolate is not her area of expertise, the first thing that sprang to mind is the Seeds of Change Milk Chocolate with Puffed Grains bar.
posted by Squeak Attack at 10:16 AM on September 14, 2010

Not sure you'll like, but Cote d'Or Lait is my favorite chocolate bar of all time, and you didn't mention it in the "tried it" list. Elizabeth David agreed with me. Cafe Tasse Espresso is good too, not too dark...
posted by ifjuly at 10:10 AM on September 15, 2010

Response by poster: I just tried the Noi Sirius, and it is SPLENDID - a bit sweeter and not as toasty as the Le Lacte, but closer than I've ever gotten to it before! And I've had (and loved, and totally forgotten about) Cote d'Or - now I just need to find a Philly-area source for the stuff...
posted by julthumbscrew at 5:33 PM on September 20, 2010