Jo's Candies Dark Chocolate Salted Caramels

It is becoming more common for candy makers to combine the sweetness of chocolate with the saltiness of sea salt. Jo's Candies from Torrance, CA makes dark chocolate covered salted caramels that combine the bitterness of dark chocolate, the sweetness of caramel, and the saltiness of sea salt. The salted caramels by Jo's candies are the best salted caramel candies I have ever had.

The thing that I like most about Jo's Candies dark chocolate salted caramels is that these salted caramel candies use course, crunchy sea salt. I greatly prefer course salt to fine table salt, and the generous portion of course sea salt atop these salted caramels gives these candies not only a salty taste but also a slightly crunchy texture. In addition, course salt lingers on the palate longer fine salt, which means that the salt component in these salted caramels is more prominent than in similar candies.

Jo's Candies salted caramels consist of a square of caramel covered on all sides by silky dark chocolate. Although the dark chocolate is a good flavor complement to the sweetness of the caramel and the saltiness of the sea salt crowning the candy, the dark chocolate used by Jo's candies crumbles and breaks apart too much when you bit into the candy for the first time. While this is a minor flaw with the ingredients used by Jo's Candies to make the dark chocolate salted caramels, it is the only flaw I find with this brand of salted caramels. In fact, Jo's Candies dark chocolate salted caramels have become my favorite candy combining sweetness and saltiness in a single candy.

As mentioned above, Jo's Candies dark chocolate salted caramels are sprinkled with course sea salt. There is quite a bit of sea salt atop each piece of salted caramel candy, and a good balance is reached between the various flavor components. I would like to see slightly more salt atop each candy, but this is due mainly to the fact that some of the sea salt invariably gets dislodged from its resting place in the dark chocolate. I do not think there is a good way around this, except perhaps to have better packaging that prevents the chocolates from sliding around and rubbing off the salt from the top of the candy. The clear plastic box, which contains nine salted caramel candies, does not do an adequate job keeping the salt in place on top of the dark chocolate.

In conclusion, if you like the combination of sweetness and saltiness that salted caramels provide, you should try Jo's Candies dark chocolate salted caramels. These bite-sized caramels are covered in dark chocolate and sprinkled with course sea salt. While salty chocolate can take a little bit of getting used to, if you are not already familiar with this combination, the combination is well worth any potential reorienting that your taste buds must do in order to find this candy as delicious as it is to me. Jo's candies has done an excellent job with these caramels, and I only wish that they offered a greater selection of similar chocolates with sea salt.