“Why read an elitist publication like Salon when the rest of America is satisfied with USA Today and network news?”

Matt,

It's highly unlikely that vanillin is responsible for the sour taste you're discerning. (Actually, Hershey uses a soured milk for much of its milk chocolate, and always has. Ref: "The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey's and Mars," by Joël Glenn Brenner; a marvelous book that should be required reading for any chocoholic.)

Cook's Illustrated, if you've never heard of it, is a magazine that accepts no advertising and which has extraordinarily high standards for their recipes and articles (they read more like engineering reports than recipes). They have, more than once since the magazine's inception, extensively tested vanillas and vanillins with a panel of pastry and dessert chefs, some of whom have names you would immediately recognize. The results of the tests -- much to their chagrin (since they, along with most other cookbooks, typically specify "pure vanilla extract" in their recipes -- have been the same: you cannot tell the difference between vanilla and vanillin in a finished product. The main chemical that comprises vanillin is the same chemical that gives true vanilla much of its flavor. And while it's true that real vanilla has scores of other chemicals that contribute subtleties, these are not detecable in finished products, especially in chocolate -- where vanilla is present in incredibly minute quantities to begin with, and where chocolate flavor is so overwhelmingly powerful and predominant.

The sour taste more likely comes from the milk (esp. if it's Hershey's chocolate), from poor storage, or from higher cacao content, which definitely adds astringency.

BTW, to all those who favor Hershey's Special Dark: be aware that Hershey's Special Dark is MILK chocolate, not dark chocolate, despite the name. Read the ingredients.

--Josh

Most disturbingly of all, the author of an article that takes note of a buying trend becomes a target of hate (not just the article -- its author!).

Is this the first time you've read the letters section? The letters inspired by this article are downright tame compared to those you'll typically find on Salon. I also didn't see anyone say they hated the author. People disagreed with his premise and expressed it. What is disturbing about that?

I'll never forget the time, ten years ago, when I showed my sister-in-law the light when it came to iceberg lettuce. She had never had arugula, raw spinach, mizuna, romaine or any of the lovely greens that make up a delicious salad. She had never been exposed to anything other than iceberg. She thanks me to this day for getting her off the iceberg! She buys the bagged salads at the regular grocery store when she can.

I also remember the first time I ever had a $100 bottle of wine. It was a special occasion. We were visiting friends in San Francisco who happened to work at a winery in Napa Valley. I don't really care for wine or drink it that much; in fact I'm a real wine ignoramus, but the experience of sipping from that glass, that night was almost sublime. I could really understand the difference between good wine and all the other stuff I've had over the course of my life. I have never had an expensive bottle again. I haven't sought it out. I don't care that much to save up for one, but that taste-memory will be with me forever.

I thought the article was quite interesting; this trend hasn't percolated through to my particular circle of friends yet. But I was more interested in the harsh reactions that the article provoked!

There's nothing wrong with being a connoisseur or enjoying the finer things in life. I'm glad that so many people can get so much pleasure out of fine wine, beer, chocolate, etc. But what I don't like is the pitying attitude of some people that if I enjoy a Kit Kat bar or a Labatt 50 I must be woefully ignorant and in need of an education -- that's what irritates me. Why do some people insist that they know my own taste better than myself? There's big difference between snobbery and telling a person "This is something I enjoy. Would you like to try it?"

What exactly is the point of this article?

Yes, there is a difference between lower quality, mass produced fare and higher quality, "fancier" fare. This is true of so many things people enjoy -- chocolate, wine, music (talk to an "audiophile" sometime), beer. I myself love beer, love microbrews, real ale, handcrafted, attention to detail type stuff -- real beer. However, there's also room in my world, and the world at large for a six pack of Budweiser, for a Hershey bar, for the $8 bottle of supermarket wine, or a cheap boombox, and there's nothing wrong if that's what you prefer.

I suppose my point is that I find it a waste of Salon's space to harangue people for enjoying what they enjoy, whether they do it for reasons of pure taste or bourgeois attempts at social mobility. I dislike pretension as much as the next person, but being a hater can be just as bad.

it was overrated when it was independently owned and it's really gotten poor since herseys bought it and dumbed it down even further.

Actually, hedonism is about extending the range of your sensual discernment and enjoying the full use of your perception (see Pater, Keats), not about shoving a bunch of sugar-loaded crap into your mouth. These chocolate conoisseurs who are taking the time and making the effort to discern every last particle of flavour, and don't care about paying extra for quality, are the true Epicureans.

And don't worry, there will always be sins left for the reverse snob to commit. For example - stopping by Starbucks for a Tazo Passion Tea Lemonade (one of my favourites). Or, for that matter, indulding in a bit of gourmet chocolate.

...insist on serving an "artisanal cheese course" with "vintage port" at the end of a meal? Why, it's obscene. Sometimes they even discuss the alleged "complex flavors," of each. Invariably, somebody will ooh and aaah over this pretentious assemblage of overpriced, overblown bastardization of otherwise downwardly mobile honest consumables.

It is to laugh.

Kraft Singles, Velveeta, Gallo, and Christian Brothers are all quite comparable.

What is WRONG with these snobs?

(IMHO, those who demonstrably lack taste buds should not endeavor to be food critics).