Chocolate Science, Are You Eating Real Chocolate?

    According to the relevant standards in China, chocolate must be made from cocoa products and/or sugar as the main raw material, where cocoa products are the raw materials made from cocoa beans containing cocoa butter, cocoa mass and other ingredients. Cocoa butter, on the other hand, is actually the fat in cocoa beans.

　　Cocoa butter is made from other vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated and then given a chocolatey flavour by adding colours and flavours.

      From a food safety point of view, both state-approved chocolate and chocolate with cocoa butter are safe and reliable foods. However, chocolate made from cocoa butter does not have the antioxidants found in cocoa beans, so it has little health benefits and is more of a palate pleaser.

　　What's more, cocoa butter made from hydrogenated vegetable oil may also produce trans fatty acids, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease if too much trans fat is consumed.

           How to choose a real chocolate

　　There are many different types of chocolate on the market, how do you choose a good quality chocolate?

　　From a health perspective, Ruan Guangfeng recommends that consumers should prefer chocolates made with natural cocoa butter if conditions permit.

　　Generally speaking, dark chocolate is better, so if you eat chocolate occasionally, you can give preference to dark chocolate. However, the higher the cocoa content, the more bitter it will taste, which depends on one's ability to accept the taste.

　　When choosing chocolate, it is important to pay attention to the following points.

　　Firstly, check the cocoa butter content on the packaging. It is not advisable to buy 'chocolate' with less than 25% cocoa butter. It is best to only include the usual ingredients such as cocoa butter and sugar, and try not to buy chocolate with nuts or wine notes. Not only may the nuts not be fresh, but chocolates with nuts have a high sugar content, which is not good for health.

　　Secondly, in general, the higher the cocoa butter content, the harder the texture and the more bitter the taste, and the easier it is to melt in the mouth; good dark chocolate has a crisp sound when broken open and a smooth cross section, while chocolate made from cocoa butter has a greasy feel when melted.

　　Finally, when buying chocolate and products, it is important to look at the packaging and labels. Generally speaking, the packaging should be free from damage and sugar crumbs. The label should be square and the content should be complete. The product should be labelled with the name, net content, factory name and address, standard number, ingredient list, production date, shelf life, storage method and QS mark.