Taste testing for Niederegger!
So before I continue on with my trip through San Francisco, I thought I'd finish up this earlier blog I did on Marzipan. Recently, I was one of 50 people picked to taste test 4 new variations of Marzipan, created by my favorite brand, Niederegger. I can't tell you how awesome it was getting that email :)
Here's the Official Letter that came with the package.
The letter basically congratulated me on being one of the 50 testers. And they gave an explanation on how to taste test. How to take a moment between eating the different kinds, and to drink water in between to cleanse the pallet.
The 4 kinds I'd be trying were Tiramisu, Helene Birne (Chocolate Pear), Pflaume Portwein (Plum port wine), and Kaffee Orange (Orange Coffee).
When they were picking people, they asked questions as to why I should be picked, and what kind of flavors would I like to see Niederegger create for their "Creation of the Year 2013." Ironically, I mentioned Tiramisu. I think the nickname, "Marzipanprinz" helped too.
Here was my weapon of choice.
Yes I have a Niederegger Marzipan knife. A bit overkill? maybe... but it did the job.
The first one I tried was Tiramisu.
The Tiramisu was covered in milk chocolate, and had a very strong and distinct flavor of espresso and amaretto. The aftertaste was definitely Tiramisu with a hint of Marzipan. I loved it! I only wish they gave me an option to try it with dark chocolate as well.
Next up, Helene Birne.
I was a bit skeptical of this one. I like pears but i'm not the biggest fan. You'll notice in the picture on the right, that inside, they insert a pear pureé of some kind. You definitely taste the pear in this, and I found it overwhelming. This too was covered in milk chocolate. Overall, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.
Next up, Pflaume Portwein.
Now this one was interesting. It was covered in Dark Chocolate (Yay!) and had a very distinct plum wine taste. But it wasn't strong. I kind of wished it was stronger as I enjoyed the taste. Niederegger likes to bundle their marzipan here with a bottle of red wine and I think this goes to show, that wine and marzipan, do mix well. I liked it!
Finally, Kaffee Orange.
Immediately, I had huge doubts about this one. A lot of people are loving the orange chocolate fad going on right now. I for one, am not overly fond of this combination. Niederegger did accomplish the task with this one. There was a very strong coffee/espresso taste, followed by an orange aftertaste that lingers awhile. Not a fan. But if you are a fan of that kind of thing, I'd think you would have loved this.
In the end, I ranked the marzipans I tried as follows,
1. Tiramisu
2. Pflaume Portwein (Plum Port Wine)
3. Helene Birne (Chocolate Pear)
4. Kaffee Orange (Coffee Orange)
Once I finalized my picks, I went to the URL on the letter and filled everything in. A few weeks later, they had their first results. Helene Birne and Pflaume Portwein were out.
So it ended up being a battle between Tiramisu vs. Kaffee Orange. Niederegger even posted about it on their Facebook page. They allowed people online to also voice their opinions as to which one should be the "Creation of the Year."
The final result... with 66% 'Drum roll please....' Tiramisu!!!! The one I hoped they would one day make, the one that they DID make, and the one I hoped would win, won! Here's their facebook post https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=276428399130413&set=a.103968666376388.4487.100632856709969&type=1&theater
This was a great experience for me, and one that ended up being very rewarding. They plan on sending me 25x2 packages of the Tiramisu Marzipan once it enters production. When it does, and if you find me, I will share some with you :) This is something that HAS to be shared, it's that damn good!