Listen Up: Dubai pistachio chocolate bar goes viral, inspiring others to make their own

2. Where can people buy the original bars?
A. Syria
B. Denver
C. Colorado
D. Dubai

3. Why are people breaking the chocolate bars on social media?
A. to find the hidden toys inside
B. to show what is inside
C. to learn how to make them
D. to compare them to other chocolate bars

4. Which word can replace “gooey” in the podcast?
A. muddy
B. sticky
C. soggy
D. pasty

5. If you achieve something after “trial and error”, you ...
A. gave up halfway.
B. tried different methods until you became successful.
C. had no idea what you were doing.
D. asked someone else to do it for you.

6. Who does the “pistachio lover” in the podcast refer to?
A. Liane Pensack-Rinehart
B. T.C. Nguyen-Vu
C. Fix Dessert Chocolatier’s owner
D. one of Liane Pensack-Rinehart’s customers

7. What versions of the chocolate bar does T.C. Nguyen-Vu sell?
A. milk chocolate
B. dark chocolate
C. white chocolate
D. all of the above

8. According to T.C. Nguyen-Vu, what makes the chocolate bar so popular?
A. the ingredients used
B. its price
C. how difficult it is to buy
D. its unique taste

9. What ingredient is not commonly found in American chocolate bars according to T.C. Nguyen-Vu?
A. butter
B. cocoa powder
C. pistachio filling
D. dark chocolate

10. Based on your understanding of the podcast, what else can customers find at Reem’s?
A. seafood
B. pastries
C. pasta
D. salads

11. Which of the following ingredients are used in the original chocolate dessert sold at Fix Dessert Chocolatier?

• almond flour

• pistachio praline

• peanut butter

• tahini paste

• chocolate

• vanilla extract

• kataifi

• cinnamon

1. A
2. D
3. B
4. B
5. B
6. A
7. D
8. C
9. C
10. B
11. pistachio praline; tahini paste; chocolate; kataifi

Adapted from Tribune News Service

Voice 1: Pistachios have been hot in the culinary world for a while now, and can be found in everything from coffee and cocktails to pancakes and desserts. But the trend got a supercharged boost recently when a pistachio-filled chocolate bar went viral on social media.

Voice 2: These hefty treats are made and sold in Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates. The bar’s filling is made with a shredded filo dough mix called kataifi that is fried or baked to make it crispy. It is then combined with pistachio praline or pistachio butter and tahini paste and encased in chocolate. The original, which can be found at a shop called Fix Dessert Chocolatier, uses milk chocolate, but dark and white chocolate are also used.

Voice 1: There are videos and photos all over social media of people breaking these sweets open to reveal their gooey greenish insides. Since the original bars are only available in Dubai, people in other parts of the world have been making and selling their own versions.

Voice 2: One of those people is Liane Pensack-Rinehart of Colorado Cocoa Pod. She lives in the US city of Denver and sells truffles and bonbons online and at pop-up markets. When the dessert first started trending, she had people asking if she could make it. After some trial and error, the pistachio lover ended up with a recipe that worked and has since added various shapes and sizes, as well as a vegan version.

Voice 1: T.C. Nguyen-Vu is a designer, content creator and home cook based in Denver. She made a version of the bar over the summer when it started going viral and posted it online. After that, friends and family asked her to make more bars for them. She eventually did, making them with milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate, and began selling them. She fills her bars with kataifi, tahini, butter and pistachio cream.

Voice 2: Nguyen-Vu thinks the bars became popular because they are so hard to get. Since Fix Dessert Chocolatier doesn’t ship, only people in Dubai could buy them, so they became very exclusive. According to the content creator, pistachio filling is not common in the United States, so it is a surprise to break open the bars and see the beautiful green interior. She added that the crunchy filling made people want to know what it would taste like.

Voice 1: Other places in Denver where people can find versions of the viral chocolate from Dubai include Rocky Mountain Chocolate, Cioccolatier, and Reem’s, a Syrian bakery that makes treats of all kinds.