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Chocolate ice cream

Haagen-Dazs Belgian Chocolate, £2 for 100ml tub

This surprised a few in the blind tasting. who were expecting something more artificial from this worldwide brand. In fact. the silky texture. rich taste and genuine chocolate flavour were fairly compelling and the flecks of chocolate through the ice-cream gave it an aftertaste that was even better than the first mouthful. It's probably better viewed as a luxury dessert than an ice cream for the beach. COCO

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S Luca Chocolate, price £1.55 for 1 70ml tub

Often hailed as an essential taste of Edinburgh. Luca's chocolate is actually made in Musselburgh. The Italian tradition (in Scotland at least) is for a milkier rather than creamier mix, which is obvious here. giving it a lightness and smoothness that isn't governed by the texture of the ice cream. Well-balanced in texture and flavour. it’s a sure crowd pleaser on a sunny day by the Firth of Forth. COO

Green a. Black’s Organic Chocolate, £1.39 for 100ml tub Mars and Snickers did it. so why not the posh chocolates too? This is the ice cream version of the market leading organic chocolate bar. except that its texture is so light it's really more of a cold mousse than an ice cream. Any dairy content is overwhelmed by the taste of dark, bitter, high cocoa-content chocolate. One taster said. 'If I wanted this taste. I'd just buy the chocolate bar'. 0.

Cream O’Galloway Chocolate To Die For, £1.39 for 120ml tub Apart from the colour, a slightly off- putting greyish brown. this organic. farmhouse ice cream from Dumfries & Galloway edged ahead thanks to its freshness. reassuring texture and pleasant. r0unded flavour. Creamy sweetness balances well with the chocolate taste without overpowering the palate. Chunks of fudge cake in the mix may make the purists frown. but they're not overdone. COCO.

Orkney Luxury Dairy Chocolate, £1.30 for 100ml tub

A bit of a disappointment all round. While it's well marketed, our tasters were blind to the brands they were trying. However. a few of our tasters reckoned that had they been blindfolded completely they wouldn't necessarily have realised this was chocolate. Peely wally in colour as well as flavour. the ultra-smooth texture meant it was more like a soft-serve ice cream. 0

"ha..,,_... .. Thortonhall Farmhouse Chocolate, £1.30 for 100ml tub This is made on the wonderfully named Meikle Dripps Farm just south of Glasgow and sold in small quantities to local delis and restaurants. or from their stall at Clarkston farmers' market. It has a natural dairy creaminess none of the others can match. the richness underlined with free range eggs in the recipe. It melts quickly in the mouth, making it feel a tad too heavy. though it's not overly sweet. CC.

COCKTAILkudos

Chris Stock. the newly appointed assistant bar manager of Edinburgh's Bramble Bar, shares his latest cocktail innovation with The List: ‘I invented this one especially for cocktail competitions. and call it The Green Dragon Julep. I make it by smashing two slices of fresh ginger. then mixing in 60ml of Glenfiddich 12 year-old Special Reserve. 15ml of honey water and eight leaves of apple-mint. Finally. I add a pinch of green tea powder. shake vigorously, and double strain over crushed ice into a Julep cup.’ Stock was inspired by a popular Chinese combination of green tea and whisky. He explains, ‘The Glenfiddich 12 year-old has a subtle sweetness. while the hints of apple. honey and ginger work perfectly with the refreshing tannins in the green tea and the gentle bite of fresh mint.‘ Stock hopes that anyone with preconceived opinions about whisky will try the drink and appreciate the adaptability and diversity of single malts.

(Katherine Adam)

I Bramble Bar, 168 Queen Street, Edinburgh.

News to nibble on

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I A! “ll FLOOD of Festival tourists on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile recedes, a handful of recent changes have shown up along the famous thoroughfare. Cafe Truva, the Turkish-themed café based on Leith’s shore for the last decade, has taken over Plaisir du Chocolat’s former site on the Canongate. Meanwhile Cafe Florentin on St Giles Street is now the St Giles Cafe Bar, with an upstairs bar section, and up by the Lawnmarket, Kurdish restaurant Hanam’s has moved from Tollcross into 3 Johnston Terrace, over the road from the Hub (0131 225 1329).

I SCD'I'TISII FOOD FDRTIIGII‘I' launches on Friday 5 September at the Countryside Festival in Glamis, with two weeks of food festivals. tastings and meals planned. In addition to larger regional events such as the Dundee Flower & Food Festival and Highland Feast 2008. a series of seminars will take place at the Scottish Parliament focusing on issues such as the provision of abattoirs around the country and how to assess food miles. There's also a special farmers' market taking place in the Parliament’s Garden Lobby on 17 September. Event listings and details at www.scottishfoodfortnight.co.uk.

l A'l' I'll: m IND in Edinburgh, amongst the fences and diversion signs of the Tram roadworks, the Rutland Hotel has reopened after a multi- million pound upgrade by the Signature Pub Group, also owners of Element on Rose Street. It incorporates a modern first-floor brasserie run by head chef David Haetzman plus two bars, one of which incorporates one of the first few iBars in the world, where the surface of the bar reacts to objects being placed onto it. The restaurant is open noon to 10pm daily (bookings on 0131 229 3402).

4—18 Sep 2008 THE LIST 1 1

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