Milk Chocolate Pecan Myrtles — DUMP
Munch or Dump rates Milk Chocolate Pecan Myrtles by Long Grove Chocolates DUMP — score 17/90.
Long Grove sells the Myrtle as copper-kettle, handcrafted nostalgia — then puts palm kernel oil third on the list, ahead of the actual chocolate. Add corn syrup, carrageenan, and dipotassium phosphate and the 'candy kitchen' starts looking a lot like a factory. The pecans are real; the romance isn't.
Why this verdict
- Palm kernel oil is the #3 ingredient — listed above chocolate liquor, a compound-coating shortcut, not 'rich milk chocolate'
- Dual sweetener system: sugar plus corn syrup stacked at the top of the list
- Stabilizer stack of soy lecithin, carrageenan, and dipotassium phosphate — industrial caramel engineering, not copper-kettle craft
- Roughly 14 ingredients for what a home kitchen makes with six (chocolate, pecans, cream, butter, sugar, vanilla)
- Sugar and saturated fat dominate; the pecans are the only thing here with nutritional redemption
Ingredients (14)
- Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
- Corn Syrup (caution) — Added sugar baked into the crust.
- Palm Kernel Oil (moderate) — Extremely saturated tropical fat used for the fudge coating's snap.
- CHOCOLATE LIQUOR (safe) — Real cocoa mass providing genuine chocolate flavor.
- Cocoa Butter (safe) — The natural fat of the cacao bean.
- pecans (safe) — Antioxidant-rich, high in monounsaturated fat.
- Whole milk / evaporated milk / whipping cream / butter (moderate) — Dairy fats add richness and a little protein and calcium, but also saturated fat and calories.
- Soy Lecithin (safe) — Common emulsifier, generally benign in these amounts.
- Carrageenan (moderate) — Seaweed-derived stabilizer; some people report digestive sensitivity.
- Dipotassium Phosphate (moderate) — Buffer and stabilizer; added phosphates are worth limiting for people managing kidney health.
- Egg Albumen (safe) — Egg white used to aerate the caramel — minor, mostly protein.
- Whey powder / nonfat milk powder (moderate) — Dried dairy in the coating, mostly there for body and sweetness carrier.
- Salt (moderate) — Used in moderation, might exceed necessary amount.
- vanilla (safe) — Standard chocolate flavoring.