Bitter chocolate without sugar: cocoa percentage, GOST standards and requirements, chocolate composition and manufacturers

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Fans of a he althy lifestyle do not stop arguing about how useful dark chocolate without sugar is. It increases the level of stress resistance, improves efficiency and any mental processes, helps strengthen the immune system, and lowers cholesterol. But is this product really that good?

The formula for good chocolate in its high bitterness

A distinctive feature of any dark chocolate without sugar is the presence of a specific aftertaste. This is a characteristic bitter taste. At the same time, the taste of this product itself directly depends on the percentage of cocoa in it. It is believed that good dark chocolate contains 55% or more cocoa. The higher this indicator, the more useful and bitter the tile will be.

The percentage of cocoa contained in a chocolate product can be seen on the label. As a rule, these numbers are enlarged many times compared to the rest of the font, and they are very easy to notice.

Are the labels telling the truth?

Suppose you bought sugar-free bittersweet chocolate that says 86% cocoa on the cover. But is it worth trusting the manufacturer? Or is it just a publicity stunt?

According to experts, what is written does not always correspond to reality. When looking at the percentage of cocoa content, one should take into account its dry residue. This indicator is also indicated on the label, but is lost against the backdrop of bright and attractive product data. For example, having carefully studied the wrapper of dark chocolate without sugar "Victory" 72% (indicated on the label in large print), you can see that the real percentage of cocoa is 69.1%. The total difference in real and advertising ratio is 2.9%.

What do cocoa indicators depend on?

The percentage of cocoa in dark chocolate without sugar directly depends on the ingredients used in its manufacture. So, in the production of chocolate, in most cases, vanillin, soy lecithin, cocoa powder and cocoa shell are used (it is a by-product obtained from cocoa bean husks). Cocoa shells are used to make low-quality cocoa powder.

In the production of dark chocolate, many manufacturers save significantly by replacing natural cocoa powder with cocoa shell. According to some reports, it is 3-4 times cheaper than real cocoa powder. But this ingredient is almost never indicated in the composition.

Natural sugar-free dark chocolate is usually made with granulated sugar, cocoa butter and cocoa liquorhigh quality.

What composition of chocolate should be according to GOST?

According to GOST standards, a bitter chocolate product must be made with the addition of sugar and based on cocoa powder. In this case, the total dry residue of cocoa should not be less than 55%. The product also requires 33% cocoa butter.

However, the presence of cocoa butter substitutes is also allowed, but not more than 5%. In this case, the manufacturer is obliged to indicate this amount of the substitute in the composition of his chocolate. True, not all manufacturers do this.

Bitter chocolate without sugar Pobeda

This product is considered one of the most popular. The main reason for its popularity is the absence of sugar in the composition. According to the manufacturer, the formula for making chocolate includes a plant-based sweetener called stevia.

This supplement is said to be low in calories. It is well absorbed by the body. It can be used not only by people who are losing weight, but also by diabetics.

Moreover, stevia does not harm tooth enamel. According to numerous reviews, bitter chocolate without sugar "Victory" is quite tasty, with a pleasant bitterness. You can buy it in any supermarket and grocery store. Its weight is 100 g. This product is produced by the Russian company Pobeda Confectionery LLC. Such a product is stored for no more than one and a half years.

Attractive tile design

If you take this chocolate bar in your hand, you can seedark packaging made of thick paper, on it is a bright name of the product. The label also lists the cocoa percentage and depicts two pieces of chocolate. On the reverse side of the label, the composition of Pobeda dark chocolate (without sugar, 72% cocoa) is indicated: cocoa mass, m altitol sweetener, vanillin, lecithin, stevia, inulin cocoa powder (prebiotic), cocoa butter. Chocolate does not contain GMO products.

Is there a difference between the information on the label and the actual cocoa content?

According to reviews of dark chocolate Pobeda 72% without sugar, many buyers have noticed the discrepancy between the percentage of cocoa indicated on the front of the package and the real state of affairs. Instead of the promised 72%, the percentage of total solids is only 65%.

Appearance of Pobeda chocolate

Under the paper label is the chocolate product itself, packed in soft thin foil. Opening it, you can see a dark brown tile. It is very even, shiny, has a uniform color, does not contain any streaks, spots and white bloom.

If you try to break off a piece of chocolate, you will end up with an uneven slice. However, it will not contain loose parts and notches. The edges in the kink are smooth and neat.

Dispel the low calorie myth

Purchasing sugar-free chocolate, many consumers naively believe that it is low in calories. But this is far from true. Chocolate "Victory" with a sweetener contains up to 460 kcal. For comparison: in an ordinary chocolate bar withsugar contains 510-560 kcal.

Another thing is that this chocolate contains no sugar and is great for diabetics.

Chocolate flavor

If we talk about the taste of the Pobeda chocolate bar, it differs little from ordinary chocolate with sugar. Yes, it has a pronounced bitterness, and, according to consumers, this taste can be felt at the first bite and in the process of chewing a chocolate slice. Later, you can catch a pleasant sweetish aftertaste.

In a word, most fans of dark dark chocolate give Pobeda a solid four. As you understand, one point is reduced for a little cheating with the percentage of cocoa.

The most famous chocolate makers

At the moment, there are a lot of companies that produce chocolate products. Among them, the most popular are Inspiration, Babaevsky, Alpen Gold, Krupskaya Factory, Dove, Russia is a Generous Soul, Slad&Co and others. Each manufacturer has something to offer its customers.

How to identify quality chocolate?

Despite the huge selection of chocolate manufacturers, choosing a quality product is not so easy. One of the criteria responsible for the high quality of tiles is Gosstandart. For example, one can talk about the high quality of a sweet only when GOST R 52821-2007 is indicated on its label.

Despite the fact that GOST allows the content of some vegetable additives in chocolate, with the presence of the above marking, the probability of buying a low-quality product is sharply reduced. The fact is that the main condition under which the use of artificial substitutes in the composition is allowed is the truthful indication of all the ingredients on the label of the finished product.

Brevity is the sister of talent

It is believed that the less text on the label, the more useful in the purchased sweets. Ideally, a good quality chocolate formulation contains only sugar, cocoa butter, and pure cocoa powder. Conversely, the more ingredients listed on the label, the worse the quality and less usefulness of the product.

Butter oil or substitution of concepts

When choosing a bar of dark chocolate, be sure to pay attention to the percentage of cocoa butter indicated in the composition. Sometimes this ingredient becomes a reason for small manipulations on the part of the manufacturer. By and large, it is vegetable fat. Therefore, instead of cocoa butter, the phrase “vegetable fat” may well be present on the label. Another thing is that instead of real cocoa butter, palm oil can be hidden under this concept. This is a cheaper and lower quality product that reduces the benefits of sweetness by several times.

Yes, chocolate products, which include various vegetable oils, have a right to exist. However, they are unworthy of being called chocolate. This is a regular sweet tile.

Lecithin: to be afraid of it or not?

Many chocolate products contain lecithin. But even if you find it in your favorite bar or candy, do not panic. This emulsifier is used to give chocolatehomogeneity. It is thanks to him that there are no lumps, films on the chocolate bar. The result is a chocolate bar of a beautiful, uniform color.

In a word, if you want to buy really good dark chocolate, pay attention to the fine print on the label. Read the composition. See if there is a GOST mark on the wrapper or not.