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Top 10 chocolate: Pick the perfect Valentine's Day treat

In the current issue of Food & Wine magazine, the editors explore a favorite Valentine's Day indulgence: chocolate.

The magazine lists their picks for the top 10 chocolates - from supermarket standbys such as the Nestlé 100 Grand Bar to new artisanal sweets such as the top ranked Christopher Elbow No. 6 Dark Rocks. The No. 1 pick is a 61 percent dark chocolate bar blended with, of all things, popping candy. It sells for $7.

It's not too late to buy these delectables for Valentine's Day. Google the company's name and check out their Web sites. Many offer next day shipping if you are in a hurry.

But chocolate bars aren't the magazine's only spotlight on chocolate. One feature celebrates milk chocolate in eight dessert recipes, another lists F&W editors' picks for the best hot chocolate from a blind taste test, and one more story reveals Caribbean chocolate destination where chocoholics can harvest cacao pods in Belize, visit the Grenada Chocolate Company's solar-electric-powered factory, or relax in a rustic cottage at Fond Doux Estate's cacao plantation on St. Lucia. Pick up an issue or check it out at www.foodandwine. com.

THE TOP 10

1. Christopher Elbow No. 6 Dark Rocks

2. Charles Chocolate Raisies

3. Garrison Confections Rocky Rhode Island

4. Compartes Plantain Truffles

5. Jacques Torres Caramel Chocolate Popcorn

6. Green & Black's Organic Ginger Bar

7. Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate

8. Recchiuti Confections S'mores Bites

9. Nestlé 100 Grand Bar

10. Scharffen Berger Semisweet Nibby Bars

The Repository (Canton, Ohio)