Chewy goodness

Right, let's get the unpleasantness out of the way with a firm ticking off. We've been neglecting ourselves my choccie friends. It's been almost three weeks since we committed to indulging in the chocathon, and we have barely sunk our teeth into one measly bar. Let's pull ourselves together people. Let us brandish our bars aloft and pledge never to let this kind of neglect (or nouglect, if you will) happen again.

Ok, back to business. For my part, I did buy and eat a Starbar. It was a Friday afternoon and I took it back to my desk after lunch to nibble on discreetly whilst answering emails. Inevitably, a colleague heard the rustle and popped her head over the partition to see what I was scoffing.

BUT, herein lies the beauty of a Starbar. Anything that can be broken into pieces like a Galaxy or Dairy Milk is too shareable, as are little pop-em-in-your-mouth things like smarties, maltesers and (yum yum) Aero bubbles. Starbars are great big gallumping things. The chocolate crumbles off and falls down your top, the toffee stretches unattractively in strings from your mouth. It's very unappealing to a third party.

Don't be rude though, offer a bite graciously of course. Wave it at your coveting colleague and let them see the saliva glistening on the chocolatey, peanuty nub that's just been in your mouth. I can guarantee they'll say no.

So, I was left to enjoy my Starbar in blissful solitude.

'Chocolate, meet peanut. Peanut, this is chocolate. Now run along you two and make each other very tasty indeed.'

That is how I imagine the chocolate/peanut introduction went. And it's one for which I think we have the Americans to thank.

Thanks Yanks.

But, enough, we'll cover all this later when we move on to Snickers.

For now, let's leave the peanut in peace and move on to a wee challenge in the miniature World of funsize. For next week, I propose we take a full size chocolate bar and pitch it against it's mini equivalent. What are the perks of downsizing, and what are the irks? Indeed, how many minis can you get inside a person? My hypotheses is that you need at least three to rival a full bar. We'll take Mars as a control test, but feel free to experiment with the rest - Snickers, Bounty, Twix etc... And let's be clear, we're talking funsize party packs here, not the uber-small offerings of Miniature Heros and Celebrations, delicious though they are.

Ok, chomp away my friends and let me know how you get on.

Starbar

Welcome to the chocolate blog. A forum for chocolate bar appreciation. We may occasionally dabble into cake, have a nibble on the odd biscuit and, damn it, possibly even delve into the frozen world of ice-cream bars but, our fundamental choccy allegiances will always lay with the bar - the sometimes fruity, sometimes nutty, occasionally chewy, but always very, very chocolatey, bar.

Ok, lets go. As it's week one, we'll start with a leisurely munch on one of my faves - the Cadbury's Starbar. Nut allergy sufferers will have to sit this one out I'm afraid, as it's crammed with nutty goodness. Be assured, I feel a great sense of shame at this. But, my nut-free friends, have patience, your day will come. On the plus side, Starbars are relatively soft, so old people can join in - hurrah!

So, homework for this week. Find, and buy, a Starbar. Eat it. Share your Starbar thoughts with us here at the chocolate blog. Savour the taste, explore the texture and tell us how you rate it, and don't be constrained by the rules of fairness. You are free to let your judgement be clouded by external influences. If you eat it sitting next to a smelly tramp on the tube and it impairs your enjoyment, then mark it down, that's fair play. It's all about the experience.

Right, get munching freestyle.