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Or what do you think is in it? Just a fun question. I'm thinking about making something and calling it Criollo. Maybe a fudge or brownie?

From the descriptions, I've always thought of Criollo/Theobroma as some type of fudge. But with the flakiness that you get on the top of a brownie.

Isn't it kind of funny that the females reacted more to it than the males? Take Yelena's initial reaction vs Valek's, for example. She couldn't wait to get more of it, while he was kind of 'eh' about it.

Re: different reactions, I think it has to do a lot with Valek's magic resistance. For example, mysteriously The Commander is susceptible to Criollo although he claims no magic ability (there is an explanation for this, if you haven't read the later books then you will find out eventually--I don't want to spoil it for you).

Me, I always thought of it like a peanut-flavored candy we had in the Philippines, ! It has kind of a flaky texture, then it melts in your mouth! It tastes like sweet peanuts and chocolate. Kind of like a Reese's, but without so much of the chocolate part? I dunno. Lostlishy might have it right with the fudge.

Theobroma is the scientific name for a family of trees that cacao is from. I looked it up on Wikipedia when i first read the books. It means Food of the Gods! Isn't that great! I love that the women were more affected by the theobroma than the men! Because WE DO LOVE CHOCOLATE and it can be a spiritual food! Alethea, I might need some of that Chocnut stuff! Or a return to the Best Chocolate Store in the Universe!

What about making Criollo be a chocolate peanut brittle! Or chocolate meringues like in France!
Or ...

oooh, I forgot truffles. I vote for truffles too!

I imagined it as a fudgey brownie...

From my understanding of the description the size is too small for a brownie. But somehow i can't imagine people swooning over pieces of Chocnut Alethea. But the factory for Criollo does resemble a factory in the Philippines. Poor working conditions, unsanitary environment and maximum profit. ~_~

I imagined it as a very soft chewy thin brownie.

Dude, I would *so* swoon over a piece of Chocnut right now. Especially since it's so expensive here, if you can even find it :)

I never thought of the chocolate aspect of it. I've always pictured it as a sort of Turkish Delight type food.

Wow! So many great ideas. I guess definitely something chocolate considering the origin of the name Theobroma: (Pumpkin, That's very interesting about the scientific name for Cacao. I guess culinary school had skipped right over that.)

Chocnut sounds good too--never had it. I was thinking something like Baklava, not as sweet, but with similar ingredients and texture. It's chewy, flaky, and has chocolate in it.

Don't forget the brandy-filled versions. Although I hate liqueur chocolates, I did have to put the book down just for a sec and contemplate how you would fill a Chocnut or a thin brownie with brandy!

All of these ideas sound yummy. I too was imagining something chocolate.

I thought maybe it was like a really rich chocolate truffle. Or at least something deeply deliciously chocolate-y.

I was thinking that Criollo was this: A mini chocolate version of this chocolate pie I once ate. It had this flakey sweet honey/corn syrup crust (I think it was some how made of phyllo dough) then it had different layers of chocolate mouse/creme fresh and at the center nuts... it was unbelievable... that's how I lost my tasting virginity lol.

OMG wait!! Criollo is like Ferro Rocher!!!! its flaky/crunchy but sumptuous and you can totally fill it with different filling like brandy or whatever! Jane I'm going on a hunt for the F.R. recipe! I will not let you down lol

The problem of course is that it has to be "sweet, bitter, nutty and fruity". Very few things have all four flavors. Perhaps a dark chocolate (bitter) haystack (coconut is nutty and fruity) with a honey (sweet) filling?

I figured it was chocolate from the description--more fudgy brownie then real fudge though.

Okay who likes baking? Why don't we just have a bake-off to find the version of Criollo that is the fan favorite? XD I want to put my hand in for panel judge right away--i'll take the hit for the team and gain the pounds :)

OK I have to say that I can't guess exactly what it is some kind of chocolate, but I can tell you every time I read about it, it makes me very hungry for chocolate. (are there some kid of hidden message in the book?)

i love it lexie, a criollo bake-off! i used to be in a book club that did something similar every year, a bake-off of foods from our favorite books. just like the baking contests at the fire festival!

I think bake-offs are good for any reason at any time XD I love when the local church has bake sales I'm right there bright and early buying all that home-made tastiness.

I was thinking something along the lines of a thin brittle. A Crillo bake off would be hilarious fun. I wonder what we would all come up with as an end product.

See that's what I wonder too. For most the description of chocolate is fine, its something we all know and can recall. But Crillo has all these other qualities, texture and feel and addictiveness and we all obviously have a different version of what makes it so good.

This is when teleporters would be handy--with how scattered many of us are a true bake off for the group would be nie on hard without expensive planning

Ah yes, just a few well placed beamers from Star Trek would be VERY helpful on saving costs. I wonder what Maria had in mind when she wrote about it...

In one of the interviews that Alethea linked I believe MVS mentions she had chocolate in mind. I know at the signings i've gone to she hands out chocolate candies in place of 'true Criollo' so that readers have a sort of idea.

Also another group member (possibly several) looked up theobroma (the ah sitian name for it) and found it to be a family of cacao trees. And cacao is the base ingredient in chocolate!

Just unfortunately there's a thousand and more ways ot make chocolate!

Hmmmm chocolately brittle... I imagine something more along those lines. I should really read through those interviews huh?

They are very interesting and give further insight into the world and MVS' thinking, especially if you're not able to go to a signing/Q&A session (since fans undoubtably ask the same Q's).

I have bad experiences with brittle unfortunately. I'm much more of a 'bark' person.

Oooh, I love Christmas time because there is an overabundance of Peppermint Bark available in all sorts of stores.

My mom makes 3 kinds--butterscotch, peppermint and toffee. Gosh do I go crazy! I'm gonna try to make some this year since I have a kitchen finally of decent size!

hello! ok, so a couple weeks ago I went to a chocolate festival where you get to try and taste the most amazing chocalate ever, but i digress...my point is that there was one called criollo from hawaii and let me tell you it was delicious! it was nutty, smooth, and totally mouthwatering. needless to say i bought some.

& if anyone wants to know where to get the one i have let me know!

::raises hand high:: I have to ask though, are their nuts in it? I'm allergic to some...

Oooooh me me! Tell me where to get it... that sounds yummy.

Tatevik, was it Whole Foods? I remember seeing a notice for a chocolate tasting event and I couldn't go! *pouts* (man, what people do for a paycheck... missing a chocolate tasting...)

::pats:: I know how you feel Alethea...I had to pull a double the day Fire Study was released, so I didn't pick it up until the day AFTER and as such was the last one to read it in my circle ;-; (which they found hiliarious since I got them hooked on it to begin with!)

please please please let me know, I am in love with chocolate, it comes in a very very close second to my hubby and I mean very close.

the chocolate festival was in pasadena. the hawaiian criollo has no nuts in it (even though it tastes a bit nutty) so yay! the website is . & it's dark chocolate (my fave). Apparently criollo is one of the 3 varieties of cocoa beans. who knew? =)

Tatevik you just became one of my favorite people. Dark Chocolate is always the best!

Tatevik! we should combine our passion for soup and chocolate and come up with a chocolate soup lol! I'm happy to see you on here! And giving these awesome suggestions =).

Oddly enough Liz I think I do have a chocolate soup recipe...shortly after the movie Chocolat came out (and after I read the book...I need that sequel come to think!) I was chocolate-mad. Still get that way anytime I watch it. Anyhow I won't make promises till I unearth my cookbooks from the move!

Thanks for your suggestions! Sorry it's taken me so long. I've considered everything that was posted here and the wording of the text and decided that fudge was the closest. First I started with a fudgy brownie, but the consistency was too chewy; Yelena describes it to melt in her mouth. Then I was thinking of the phyllo dough for flakiness--but again, when compared to the text, Yelena described the flakiness only on the edges where it looks like it was cut with a dull knife. Again, I'll still have a few people (probably members of YABC) to taste for accuracy. There's still the mixed flavors Yelena describes (fruity and nutty) to consider. Alethea is working on the packaging. We'll post pictures when we've finalized it. We might use it again in April when Storm Glass is released.

Hi, here in Puerto Rico we have a candy called "turron de coco" which is made with coconut milk and it is very brittle but when you bite into it it completely melts in your mouth. We also have another one "dulce de naranja" which is made with the white part of the orange. The result is a chewy bitter-sweet candy. So as I read I kept imagining all the texture and nuttiness of the "turron" with the bittersweetness of the "naranja" but with chocolate added in. Well, I'm off to the store to buy the ingredients to experiment!(getting kinda hungry :D)

Ok, so Jane and I, after much trial and delicious error decided to adapt an easy fudge recipe from Martha Stewart Kids magazine--I don't think we got "bitter" in there (used semi-sweet, not dark chocolate) but otherwise it's delicious! Refer to your copy of Poison Study for the description and let us know if we got close to your idea of it, at least.

Contest winners, expect your package soon--right now they're keeping in my fridge until I can get to the post office.
Without further ado, here's our "criollo":

Close up:


In the box:


Commander-approved packaging (at least, Alethea's interpretation of it)


Let me know when your box arrives (Lexie, Kristen, and Meme); we hope you like your treats!

Alethea & Jane

Alethea and Jane- I love your Criollo packaging! Very cute and imaginative. However...do they have sticky adhesives? Other than that I think you guys did a good job making it look like Criollo, but I suppose the real test is the taste and MVS's opinion. Could you ship some to her, too? She might get a kick out of it. :)

Thanks, Rachel! Yes, I used glue on the inside paper lining (though I think glue would be ok by Study World standards), sticker label paper on the Criollo label (which was made on the computer--I was going to hand-letter but been too busy!), which is definitely unavailable in Ixia/Sitia! Furthermore I had to wrap the criollo for hygienic/food safety reasons, and that was in lots o' plastic. ^_^ I did not, however, use any tape.

And yea, Maria is getting a special box of her own! With criollo and a white chocolate/cranberry fudge on the bottom layer.

That's cool that you used glue and no tape! I definitely think they would have some form of glue. As for the label created on the computer, that's perfectly fine. I can see them having a sort of printing press to create the labels-which is the modern printer-kinda lol :)
That's so sweet you guys are sending Maria a box. I can't wait to hear her response!

I always thought of Crillo as those Lindor Truffles. The ones that melt in your mouth and have that thick, liquid-y inside. I don't like them because they're too rich but that's what I always picture (in square form) when I read about Crillo. It's not bitter though so...ah well. I just thought it of those candies but more bittersweet and in square form.

My impression was that it was like chocolate Baklava -- flaky, layered and super sweet.

So, I ran into a snag with shipping the Criollo, it being Christmas and all, we were not expecting a UPS pickup until Monday--7 days after the day Jane and I prepared it, which was the shelf life of the fudge :(

No worries, I will be repeating the recipe exactly tomorrow morning so that the fresh new Criollo batch will be tasty and safely edible when it ships out on Monday. Jane, I was sending you some too and ended up feeding it to the crew. On the bright side, they loved it!