The Cocoa Chocolate


Chocolate & Health
Ingredients in chocolate: What’s in my Bar?

The global consumption of chocolate is nearly 1kg per capita every year. That’s a lot of chocolate! Yet, not everyone is aware what ingredients are found in their bar of chocolate.
When it comes to chocolate, less is usually more! A good bar of chocolate shouldn’t contain more than 3 to 4 ingredients. 
In this post, we’ve listed out all the different ingredients you may find in a bar of chocolate.

Cocoa or cacao




There’s one ingredient you cannot make chocolate without and that’s cacao (also known as cocoa). For chocolate to be qualified as chocolate it must contain a minimum amount of cocoa.

You may see cocoa stated on the list of ingredients as any of the following:

Cocoa Beans
Cocoa Mass
Cocoa Solids
Cocoa Liquor

When you see a percentage on a bar of chocolate (e.g. 70% dark chocolate) it refers to the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate bar. However, please note that this also refers to the amount of added cocoa butter in the chocolate.
If a dark chocolate is labeled as 80% cocoa, it may contain 70% cocoa beans and 10% added cocoa butter.

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter (sometimes referred to as cacao butter) is a naturally occurring edible fat derived from cocoa beans.This fat is extracted with the use of a hydraulic press, which applies large amounts of pressure onto cocoa liquor (ground up cocoa beans). This process separates out the cocoa butter, which has a pale yellow color.
Once extracted, the majority of cocoa butter is deodorized, which is a process of removing any taste and odors from the fat. Why is a lot of cocoa butter deodorized? Because a lot of it is used in cosmetics due to its richness in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. 
Many chocolate makers add cocoa butter into their chocolate in order to improve the texture whilst also making it easier to temper and work with.

Sugar

Sugar is a popular ingredient in chocolate. It turns the naturally bitter flavors of cocoa into a sweet treat.
The amount of sugar included in chocolate can vary greatly. Dark chocolate can contain between 20% to 40% sugar, whilst white and milk chocolate can contain 40% percent or more.
The type of sugar used will also impact the final flavor. Some varieties and names you might find are:

White sugar (refined)
Raw sugar (unrefined)
Cane sugar
Brown sugar
Maple sugar
Raw sugar
Coconut sugar
Caramelized sugar

These days sugar-free chocolate is becoming more popular. Sugar-free chocolate will either be made of 100% cocoa, or it’ll contain alternative sweeteners. These may include:

Erythritol
Stevia
Xylitol
Maltitol
Polyglucitol


Milk (or mylk) solids

Milk, whether it’s animal or plant-based, is added as a powder during the chocolate making process. Because milk is a major allergen it will be both in bold and then often in parentheses on the chocolate bar packaging.

Lecithin

Lecithin is a food additive that’s used as an emulsifier in chocolate. It’s not an essential ingredient in chocolate. However, it helps bind the cocoa solids, sugar and milk to the cocoa butter. This ensures the chocolate is smooth whilst also reducing the chances of your chocolate blooming.
Lecithin is extracted from various sources including sunflower, rapeseed, soy, and even animal tissues. Because only a small amount is added to chocolate, it doesn’t affect the overall flavor.

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