How to pick good chocolate

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Useful instructions for those with a sweet tooth.

Examine the composition

The most valuable ingredients in chocolate are cocoa butter and cocoa liquor. If the packaging says that they are part of the composition, then this is not a confectionery bar, but real chocolate.

Some manufacturers are cunning and substitute cocoa butter with other vegetable fats (palm or coconut oil) or use the equivalent of cocoa butter. Many substances are hidden under this word, for example, lard oil, shea butter. A product containing them cannot be considered chocolate.

Instead of grated cocoa, cocoa powder can be added. This makes the product cheaper, but worsens its taste, and the usefulness of chocolate decreases.

Soy lecithin is also commonly found in chocolate. It is considered a natural ingredient, is not harmful and in reasonable doses does not affect the quality of the product. Lecithin acts as a thickener and is used to make the chocolate easier to handle during the manufacturing process.

There should be no flavors, dyes, odor and taste enhancers in a quality product.

As for additives, there are some rules of what goes better with chocolate and what is worse, no.

We use freeze-dried (cold-dried) or freeze-dried berries, which retain all trace elements, add zest, salt, nuts, raisins, as well as spices - pepper, cinnamon. Some manufacturers have mastered very daring combinations, such as chocolate with cheese or bacon, which are popular with gourmets.

Milana Privalova founder of the confectionery factory "Simbirskoe Atelier"

Look at the expiration date

The standard shelf life of classic slab chocolate is specified in GOST and is 12-18 months. But if the product is with additives, you need to consider what kind of filling it contains. Dairy soufflés, creams, waffles and dried fruits will shorten the shelf life.

Consider the appearance

The main features of high-quality chocolate are a smooth, glossy surface. If the tiles are matte, it is possible that low-quality raw materials were used in the production. Either the product has undergone some kind of external influences: it melted or, conversely, froze.

At the break, the structure of the tile should be uniform, unless it is porous chocolate.

Sometimes it happens that there are small streaks on the back of the chocolate bar. This is a good sign. He says that the product was prepared using the correct technology, there is no or little soy lecithin in it.

A gray coating, a stratified structure, and uneven shapes indicate that the chocolate was most likely not stored correctly.

Pick up

Real chocolate melts very quickly. But if it softens as soon as you pick it up, this is not a good sign. Most likely, the product was improperly tempered during manufacture. Temperature is the process of crystallization of cocoa butter in chocolate, which occurs according to a certain pattern.

The chocolate should melt in your hands, but not instantly, but after a while.

If the chocolate does not melt at all, does not leave any traces, this is also a bad sign. Its composition, most likely, contains a lot of lecithin, which changes the structure of the product.

Good chocolate breaks with a characteristic crunch. This suggests that it contains cocoa butter and grated cocoa.

Taste

The presence of vegetable fats can often be felt on the tongue. If the chocolate tastes like machine oil or industrial oil, it is a sign of palm oil content.

I once bought an all-natural chocolate that used Bourbon vanilla. But either due to a violation of technology, or due to improper storage, the vanilla peeled off. The chocolate turned out to have a heterogeneous structure. Grated cocoa creaked on my teeth, and it was very tasteless, despite all the "naturalness" of the product.

Milana Privalova

There should always be a balance between tasty and healthy. If you feel an imbalance, something unusual, discomfort in the process of using super-expensive products, then something is wrong.

4 popular questions about chocolate

Which chocolate is healthier - bitter, dark or milk?

These types of chocolate differ in the content of cocoa products. In bitter, they are not less than 55%, in classic - from 35 to 55-60%, in dairy - less than 35%. The latter contains more sugar and milk (this can be whey powder or milk powder). That is why bitter chocolate is considered more dietary, in which there is no milk at all.

Is white chocolate really chocolate?

Yes. It must contain cocoa butter, no grated cocoa, but a lot of milk. Due to this, white color is obtained. In addition, such chocolate usually contains sugar, vanillin or vanilla "Bourbon", lecithin.

How to store chocolate properly?

The most comfortable temperature for him is from 5 to 18 degrees. So it is undesirable to store chocolate in the freezer.

If you still prefer a cold dessert, store it in the most secluded corner of the refrigerator: where there is no condensation, sheltering it from the light. Otherwise, the appearance of the chocolate will change quickly. He will not lose his qualities, but will be covered with a gray coating.

What should be the wrapper for the chocolate?

Foil or flow-pack is required - a specialized film that also protects the chocolate from damage and sunlight. Top - paper or cardboard.