Monthly Flavors for June – Born This Way
Happy June! This month, we celebrate love. I am personally out and proud (which is why the pansexual flag always appears in my June chocolates),
Happy June! This month, we celebrate love. I am personally out and proud (which is why the pansexual flag always appears in my June chocolates), but I recognize that many people do not share this privilege. Especially given the current climate, I think visibility and support matter even more. Above all, love is love, and everyone deserves the freedom to be themselves. As in many years past, I will donate 15% of proceeds this month to The Trevor Project — an amazing organization that provides crisis counseling to LGBT+ youth 24/7/365.
The flavors of each chocolate are influenced by the flag they represent. Let me know what other combinations and flags you would like to see!
Chinese Five Spice Coconut Caramel
We are starting off strong this month with the rainbow pride flag! Originally, the flag had 8 stripes instead of the 6 we see today (designers dropped pink and turquoise along the way). The rainbow symbolizes all the beautiful diversity of the LGBT+ community. This caramel is complex and deep, with coconut adding a creamy nuttiness and Chinese five spice adding a little heat and wonderful evolution.
Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit with Orange Milk Chocolate Ganache
The lesbian flag, reminiscent of a sunset, features pinks and oranges. Lesbians make up the first letter in the LGBT initialism. When people first celebrated pride, L held the second position. The community moved it to the front after the AIDS epidemic to thank all the lesbians who supported and helped gay men when no one else would. This one is a ghost because of the “Summerween” trend that exploded last year — lesbian-colored ghosts were everywhere! The trend is making a comeback this year, and I think it is so fun. The rhubarb cuts nice and tart against the sweet and bright ganache.
Rosemary Apple Milk Chocolate Ganache
The gay men’s flag, or MLM flag, is not used very widely. It is based off the lesbian flag with greens and blues instead of oranges and pinks. Personally, I had a hard time finding blue foods that would really shine in a ganache, so I leaned into the green instead The rosemary adds a lovely earthiness and the apples are roasted before being added to the ganache for extra depth of flavor.
Yogurt White Chocolate Ganache with Berry Almond Crunch
Transgender people are those who identify as a different gender than the one assigned at birth. This includes people who fall outside the woman/man binary, such as non-binary, genderqueer, and gender fluid individuals. Currently, this group faces the most vicious attacks from lawmakers in the US. In fact, several states have started passing legislation preventing trans people from transitioning, accessing appropriate health care, and even competing in sports. Yet only about 10% of American LGBT adults identify as trans, meaning less than 1% of all American adults. Despite this small number, the discrimination and hate they face is abhorrent. The ganache is tart and creamy with a touch of orange blossom water for complexity. Additionally, the crunch echoes the ganache with a little yogurt tartness, dried berries, and caramelized almonds.
Lemon Marmalade with Lemon Raspberry White Chocolate Ganache
Pansexuals are people who feel attraction regardless of gender. Together with bisexuals and other non-monosexual identities, we fall under the bisexual umbrella. Personally, I identify as pansexual, which is why this lovely flag always graces the June chocolates. As for the flavor, the lemon marmalade is tangy and sweet and adds a nice texture to the smooth ganache. The ganache is bright and bold and sour and sweet — so good!
Fig Gelee with Blackberry Dark Chocolate Ganache
Asexuals (often shortened to “ace”) are people who do not experience or have low sexual attraction. Their flag was created in 2010 by the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network. The black stripe represents asexuality, the grey stripe representing the grey-area between sexual and asexual, the white stripe sexuality, and the purple stripe community. Here, the gelee is full of fig seed crunch and sweetness to balance to lovely dark and earthy ganache.
Happy June! This month, we celebrate love. I am personally out and proud (which is why the pansexual flag always appears in my June chocolates),