Camel-Milk Chocolate? We Drome-Dare You To Try It....
Do you yearn for chocolate, yet find most of it is full of saturated fat and depressingly lacking in essential vitamins? Well, meet Al Nassma camel-milk chocolate, the self-styled "Godiva of the Middle East", coming soon to America, Europe, and Japan.
Camels' milk is virtually fat free, rich in vitamins B and C, contains 10 times the amount of iron found in regular cow's milk, and is even thought to have aphrodisiac qualities. What could be better, right? Well, um, it tastes kinda funny. Salty, smoky, makes you run to the bathroom, and if you drink too much at once it's like "some form of electric shock". But it's low in lactose and high in insulin, which means Americans are going to love it — especially in the form of cute camel-shaped chocolates!
Al Nassma, owned by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and recently partnered with Austrian chocolate-maker Manner, aims to produce 100 tons of premium camels' milk chocolate a year. The chocolates are all preservative-free and contain no additives other than nuts, honey, vanilla, and various Middle-Eastern spices. It's available online at alnassma.com.
If you try it, please send us some!
World's first camel-milk chocolates going global [Reuters]
(Photo: Al Nassma)
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Comments:
wvFrugan-You're in luck then, local Millie Hinkle is starting a camel milk dairy right here in good ol' North Carolina
I've tried camel milk, its pretty good (we keep goats and drink fresh goats milk so appreciate milk that is not bland and watery)
Drome-Dare? Shouldn't that be a triple dog dare?
I forsee a marketing opportunity:
p.s. Please don't turn over IP logs to the Sheikh. thanks.
it's low in lactose
But it sends you to the bathroom anyway. Also, the description of the taste, salty and smokey, kinda makes me wanna vomit.
So no help in the lactose intolerance department.
They had a segment on camel's milk on the "f word" (BBC America) and I can't wait to try it. The UN calls it a superfood as it is more nutritious than cow or goat milk with almost no fat and the animals are far kinder to the land than cows and more flexible in where they can be herded. They did mention an aftertaste and smoky flavor, but that might actually work in favor for some recipes.
Anything that is a more sustainable way of delivering high-quality food to people who need it deserves a look.
I might try it. I've been going to the little Latino/International market downtown so I'm getting kind of adventurous.
So far I've tried chorizo (good but waaaaay too greasy to eat often), plantains (yum!) and Turkish delight (the rose flavor - they will have this in Heaven).
Properly spiced, I'm sure camel-milk chocolate can probably be pretty tasty. I love arabic/persian food for the most part (I live in a heavily middle-eastern part of the US, so that helps). And considering the health and environmental benefits, I'm totally going to try it.
Am I the only one who saw this article title and thought it was going to be about the evils of flavored cigarettes?
@Rectilinear Propagation: Wait, sends you to the bathroom as in too much beer, or sends you to the bathroom as in "I'm taking Alli and just ate three Varsity chili dogs with extra large onion rings?"
I would totally try it, just to see how it tastes and if I like it.
That's how I wound up eating cow brains.
Now, I don't particularly LIKE cow brains, but hey- I tried it, right?
@HogwartsAlum: If you like Turkish delight, you might be interested in trying muhalebi / muhallebi. It's like a thickened milk pudding with rose water, cinnamon, and is wonderful.
I've seen it served as a thick custard (thick enough that it can hold it's own shape) or whipped & served with foamed milk. You can also add coffee or shaved chocolate to it, so there are endless variations (my favorite has sesame paste). The Turks/Lebanese/Cypriots/Iranians may object to this, since I think they each have their own authentic ways of making it, but if you ever come across any variety, give it a try. It has a haunting flavor.
Harper's had an interesting story that mentioned this:
It's subscriber only past the first paragraph, unfortunately. This is one of my favorite parts:
[Al Nassma] continues, "What goes through your head when you hear the words 'goat milk'? Nothing, right? But say the word 'camel' and people's eyes light up. They are the most charming animals! And what's more, they are part of the local heritage. They have three sets of eyelids, you know. Because of the sand."
@oneandone: Ohhhhh that sounds GOOOOD. Thank you!! I will check and see if the guy at the market can order me rosewater. I bet he can.
They also sometimes have those great big yellow Mexican cookies with sprinkles all over them. I freaking LOVE those. :)
Persian food FTW. My boyfriend is from Iran and I am addicted to all that is saffron rice and barberries. That and Persian sweets. SOOOO yum.
I would try this chocolate because I have been told repeatedly over the past year "if Middle Easterners eat it, it is high quality, if Americans eat it, it has good advertising!" The BF is usually right. If I see arabic on the packaging, I usually eat it and like it. It sure beats the English food we have been stuck with here in the UK for the past year :-P
you should try the lemon turkish delight. it's sooooo much better imo.
then again you like plantains and i can't stand them.
@trujunglist: He never has the lemon; just some weird one with nuts and the rose.
I want one of those cookies now. :P
Camels are wonderful in many aspects. I am sure the chocolate will find fans.
I have a hard enough time buying stuff from predatory capitalists, so I sure as hell am not going to buy anything from a King, or whatever that dictator calls himself.