How to buy quality chocolate?

Chocolate is one of the most popular snacks, so it goes without saying that you can buy it on every corner and supermarkets have shelves full of it. But just like with other foods, there are huge differences in the quality of different brands. But how to distinguish high-quality chocolate from low-quality? What kind of chocolate is beneficial for our body and which one should be avoided? We offer some advice that can help you choose high-quality chocolate even before you taste it.

You won't find high-end chocolates in supermarkets yet. It follows from the name that supermarkets focus on a high turnover of goods. Chocolate factories that produce the highest quality chocolates and their products are often awarded at world chocolate exhibitions, carefully select raw materials and control the production process. They do not have the ambition or the ability to produce huge quantities of chocolates for retail chains around the world. Therefore, look for high-quality chocolate in specialized stores or on the Internet.

It is technically not possible to make high-quality chocolate for €1. The price is related above all to the raw materials used and especially to the method of processing the raw materials in which the amazing mastery of the producers of the highest quality chocolates is manifested. It's already been the case - you have to pay extra for quality. An important identifying mark is information about the origin of the cocoa beans from which the chocolate is made. In the name of the chocolate or elsewhere on the packaging, top chocolate factories indicate the geographical origin of the cocoa beans (famous plantations can be found, for example, in Venezuela, Ecuador, Indonesia or Madagascar) and also the variety of the cocoa tree (Criollo, Trinitario, Forastero, Nacional). We are talking about plantation chocolates (single origin chocolate) that contain cocoa beans from a selected area. Plantation chocolate (single origin) has always been the domain of those who have the ambition to obtain the best quality cocoa beans and transform them into quality chocolate. Their talent and craftsmanship are best shown in this pure form of chocolate. You can learn more about the issue of plantation chocolate here. It is necessary to be alert when making statements such as: Real Belgian / Swiss chocolate...Under this label, many brands are just parasitizing on the popularity of chocolate from these countries. chocolate will say nothing at all. In every country, you can find super high-quality, but also unusable brands.

Be sure to read the ingredients of the chocolate. A high percentage of cocoa solids is not rChocolate Bonnato-compatible. (best, award-winning chocolates usually contain between 60 and 75% cocoa solids). The ingredients used in the production of chocolate are essential. High-quality dark chocolate contains cocoa solids, cocoa butter, cane sugar (instead of regular cane) and vanilla. The only tolerated artificial ingredient is soy lecithin for a better chocolate consistency. Of course, milk chocolate also contains dried milk. If the composition contains fat, vanillin, aromas, flavorings, etc., it is better to leave the so-called chocolate as it is. For example, fat is one of the biggest chocolate sins! A natural part of chocolate is cocoa butter, which is separated from cocoa solids during the processing of cocoa beans and then returned during the production of chocolate mass. And because cocoa butter is a very expensive ingredient, it is often replaced by another added fat (in the composition you can find milk fat, solidified fat, coconut fat, palm fat). However, these fats not only have different sensory properties (chocolate is more gooey, melts faster and tastes strange ), but also the chemical composition (contains more fatty acids, which have a negative effect on the heart and blood vessels, cholesterol level, etc.)