[healthy chocolate smoothie]Not all chocolate is the same and how to choose the most nutritious chocolate. Today, manufacturers have recorded the percentage of cocoa products right on the packaging. But what is the real difference between 80% cacao chocolate and 60% cocoa chocolate? And does a higher percentage of cocoa mean a healthier product? Let's consider the following factors.
The basics
To put it simply, the percentage of cacao written on the chocolate bar indicates the amount of cocoa bean product actually contained in that chocolate bar. Cocoa bean products are the main ingredient of chocolate liquor, which refers to a combination of solid cocoa (ground cocoa powder) and cocoa butter (the natural fat in cocoa beans). Additional cocoa butter (and sometimes, additional solid cocoa) is often added to make the chocolate softer or to add flavor.
If you have an 80% cacao chocolate bar, then 80% of that bar is made up of chocolate juice + combined cocoa butter and/or cocoa solids supplement, with the remaining 20% being fillers - mostly filler. household sugar.
Although manufacturers are not required to accurately divide the ratio of cocoa butter and solid cocoa in a chocolate bar, generally you can assume that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the more the combination will be and the darker the chocolate.
Does the higher the percentage of cacao, the more bitter the chocolate?
A good rule of thumb is that the higher the percentage of cacao, the more bitter the chocolate will be. However, as with everything else, there are always exceptions. Like coffee beans, cacao has many different flavors depending on the type of soil and growing environment (warm and moist climate is best) and how to harvest, ferment, roast and mix.
In addition to the nuts used, manufacturers can also choose different proportions of solid cocoa and cocoa butter to make their own products, so a brand's 73% cacao chocolate bar might taste Less bold than that of another brand. However, in general, you can safely bet that chocolate with 80% cacao will be significantly more bitter than chocolate with 40% cocoa.
Is the higher the cacao percentage the healthier the chocolate contest?
While many prefer the sweeter taste of milk chocolate, there's a reason most nutritionists overlook its dark side. Because cocoa beans actually contain flavonoids that have heart-protecting, anti-inflammatory, brain-boosting, and mood-enhancing properties, it's natural that the higher the cocoa content, the healthier it is.
In addition, a higher percentage of cocoa usually means that there is no room for added sugar ingredients - which have no nutritional benefits - and milk can interfere with cocoa's absorption of antioxidants.
But remember, the cocoa percentage is a measure of quantity rather than quality. Every step in the processing of chocolate, from fermenting cocoa beans to roasting and drying, can reduce the number of antioxidants in the final product.
As a result, depending on how it is grown, how much it is processed, and the percentage of cocoa added is cocoa butter compared to chocolate juice, a chocolate bar with 65% cacao can have a good flavonoid set. then an 80% cacao chocolate bar.
What is the significance of the cacao ratio in milk chocolate and white chocolate?
Milk chocolate contains chocolate juice, but many products also contain so many other ingredients (fillers like sugar, milk, cream, and lecithin) that the actual cacao percentage may be less than 10%. While dark chocolate may have 175mg of flavanols / 100g, the same amount of milk chocolate may contain the only 75mg.
For white chocolate, most have zero amount of cocoa powder. In fact, many experts claim that it doesn't even qualify as chocolate (we have to agree with this).
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