Dark chocolate introduction: research has found that dark chocolate can prevent tooth decay, reduce blood lipids, tube softening effect of blood vessels, but also a can slow down the aging of the antioxidant food. The main reason for its role is the cocoa butter in dark chocolate. He is a very unique and stable plant fats, cocoa butter in addition to a strong and beautiful unique flavor, in the 15 degrees below also has a fairly solid and brittle properties. Cocoa butter melts quickly in the mouth and does not feel greasy at all. Cocoa butter is the most stable edible oil known in the world, possessing almost all the advantages of vegetable fats and oils, and no other fat has yet been found to match it. Because cocoa butter contains natural antioxidants to prevent rancidity, it will not be like ordinary vegetable fats and oils, which are prone to haha rancidity It can be stored for 2-5 years.
Cocoa butter is widely used in the medical and cosmetic industries because of its stable chemical properties and medical benefits. Its international market value is also soaring. As a result, a large amount of cocoa butter has been extracted from the cocoa mass and replaced by inexpensive cocoa butter or cocoa butter substitute to make cheap chocolate. Cocoa butter does not have the health benefits of cocoa butter, and cocoa butter substitutes contain trans-fatty acids, which can have adverse effects on the body.
Usually, cocoa beans are roasted, hulled, ground, and finely milled into cocoa mass, which consists of cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The cocoa butter content is generally between 52-55%. The cocoa mass is pressed to separate the cocoa butter. The remaining cocoa solids are dried and crushed to form cocoa powder.
Dark chocolate on the market today is usually labeled with total cocoa content to prove the purity of dark chocolate. The so-called total cocoa content is the total content of cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Careful people can find that this labeling method is in fact not scientific, because it hides the cocoa butter to determine the health properties of dark chocolate. Only the total cocoa content is emphasized, but the total cocoa butter content is ignored. This has become an unspoken rule in the dark chocolate industry. Therefore, when purchasing dark chocolate, one should read the instructions carefully about the cocoa butter content, which determines the health properties and price of the chocolate. If the total amount of cocoa is 99% or 100%, but the cocoa butter content is less than 50%, the chocolate is still cheap. The Russian dark chocolate we see on many websites or the world's best-known brands is a cheap chocolate with a very low cocoa butter content. Theoretically, the higher the cocoa butter content, the higher the price of the chocolate. But because the majority of people have little knowledge of dark chocolate, in many cases chocolate with a low cocoa butter content is sold at a high price.
Taking 100% Vanguard dark chocolate as an example, it should have a cocoa butter content of between 50-55% if it has been processed to maintain its natural properties, with no cocoa butter analogs added, or if the cocoa butter has been reduced. Cocoa butter content below this level must have been tampered with by the manufacturer. Can you imagine how a dark chocolate with a cocoa butter content of 18% and a total cocoa content of 99% could have a melt-in-your-mouth texture? Unless other cocoa butter types are used. In Russia, the total cocoa content of 100% dark chocolate is not labeled as cocoa butter.
This is a deliberate attempt to avoid the standard of cocoa butter content. So in the selection of dark chocolate products at the same time, especially the higher total cocoa dark chocolate must pay attention to his cocoa butter content. Do spend more money to buy good goods purpose.