Fans of a healthy lifestyle do not stop arguing about how healthy dark chocolate is without sugar. It increases the level of stress resistance, improves working capacity and any mental processes, helps to strengthen the immune system, lowers cholesterol. But is this product so useful?
The formula of good chocolate in its high bitterness
A distinctive feature of any dark chocolate without sugar is the presence of a specific flavor. It is a characteristic bitter taste. Moreover, the taste of this product directly depends on the percentage of cocoa in it. It is believed that good dark chocolate contains 55% cocoa or more. The higher this indicator, the more useful and bitter the tile will be.
The percentage of cocoa in the chocolate product can be seen on the label. As a rule, these numbers are enlarged many times in comparison with the rest of the font, and they are very easy to notice.
Do they write the truth on the packaging?
Suppose you bought bitter chocolate without sugar, on the cover of which 86% of cocoa is indicated. But is the manufacturer worth believing? Or is this just a publicity stunt?
According to experts, by no means always what is written corresponds to reality. Looking at the percentage of cocoa, you should take into account its dry residue. This indicator is also indicated on the label, but is lost against the background of bright and attractive product data. For example, having carefully studied the Victory 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%. 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. Thus, in the production of chocolate, in most cases, vanillin, soya lecithin, cocoa powder and cocoa shell are used (this is a by-product obtained from the husks of cocoa beans). From cocoa shells create low-quality cocoa powder.
In the production of dark chocolate, many manufacturers significantly save, replacing natural cocoa powder with cocoa shell. According to some reports, it is 3-4 times cheaper than real cocoa powder. That's just in the composition of this ingredient is almost never indicated.
Natural bitter chocolate without sugar is usually made with the addition of granulated sugar, cocoa butter and high-quality grated cocoa.
What composition of chocolate should be in accordance with GOST?
According to GOST, 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%. Also, the product requires 33% cocoa butter.
However, the presence of substitutes for cocoa butter is allowed , but not more than 5%. In this case, the manufacturer must indicate this amount of substitute in the composition of his chocolate. True, not all manufacturers do this.
Dark chocolate without sugar “Victory”
This product is considered one of the most popular. The main reason for its popularity is called the lack of sugar. According to the manufacturer, a vegetable-derived sweetener called stevia is included in the chocolate manufacturing formula.
This supplement is believed to be low in calories. It is well absorbed by the body. It can be used not only for losing weight, but also for diabetics.
Moreover, stevia does not harm tooth enamel. According to numerous reviews, the Victory dark chocolate without sugar is quite tasty, with a pleasant bitterness. You can buy it at any supermarket and grocery store. Its weight is 100 g. This product is produced by the Russian company Pobeda Confectionery Factory LLC. Such a product is stored for no more than one and a half years.
Attractive tile design
If you take this bar of chocolate in your hand, you can see the dark packaging made of thick paper, on it is the bright name of the product. The label also shows the percentage of cocoa and shows two pieces of chocolate. On the reverse side of the label is the composition of Pobeda dark chocolate (sugar free, 72% cocoa): grated cocoa, sweetener maltitol, vanillin, lecithin, stevia, cocoa powder inulin (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 Pobeda bitter chocolate 72% sugar-free, many buyers drew attention to the discrepancy between the percentage of cocoa indicated on the front side of the package and the real state of things. Instead of the promised 72%, the percentage of total solids is only 65%.
Appearance of chocolate "Victory"
Under the paper label is the chocolate product itself, packaged 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 stains, spots and white plaque.
If you try to break a piece of chocolate, you get an uneven slice. However, it will not contain loose parts and nicks. Edges in a kink turn out equal and accurate.
We develop the myth of low calories
When purchasing chocolate labeled “Sugar Free,” many buyers naively believe it is low in calories. But this is far from the case. Chocolate “Victory” with sweetener contains up to 460 kcal. For comparison: in a regular chocolate bar with sugar contains 510-560 kcal.
Another thing is that this chocolate is sugar free and is perfect for diabetics.
The taste of chocolate
If we talk about the taste of the chocolate bar "Victory", then it differs little from ordinary chocolate with sugar. Yes, a pronounced bitterness is felt in it, 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 sweet aftertaste.
In a word, most fans of dark dark chocolate put the “Victory” solid four. As you know, one point is reduced for a little cheating with the percentage of cocoa.
The most famous chocolate makers
Currently, there are many 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 the tiles is Gosstandart. For example, you can talk about the high quality of sweets 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 aforementioned 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 is allowed is a truthful indication of all the ingredients on the label of the finished product.
Brevity is the soul of wit
It is believed that the less text on the label, the greater the benefits of purchased sweets. Ideally, good quality chocolate only contains sugar, cocoa butter and pure cocoa powder. Conversely, the more ingredients are listed on the label, the worse the quality and lesser benefits of the product.
Butter 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 the reason for minor manipulations by the manufacturer. By and large, this is vegetable fat. Therefore, the label instead of cocoa butter may well contain the phrase "vegetable fat." 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, which at times reduces the benefits of sweets.
Yes, chocolate products, which include various vegetable oils, have a right to exist. However, they are not worthy to be called chocolate. This is an ordinary sweet tile.
Lecithin: afraid of him or not?
Many chocolate products have lecithin. But even if you find it in your favorite tile or candy, you should not panic. This emulsifier is used to give chocolate uniformity. Thanks to him, there are no lumps or films on the chocolate bar. The result is a chocolate bar of a beautiful, uniform color.
In a word, if you want to get really good black chocolate, pay attention to the small print on the label. Read the composition. See if there is a GOST mark on the wrapper or not.