We love chocolate: thickened with cream and rolled into truffles, sweetening salty snacks like pretzels and nuts, solidified over chewy caramel and soft peanut butter. It’s no secret that chocolate taken in moderation is good for your health, but for those of us that lack self-control when it comes to chocolate consumption, never fear: scientists and flavor specialists are continually hard at work to produce chocolate that reduces sugar, fat, or calories without sacrificing the melt-in-your-mouth quality of the beloved treat.
The innovators at Barry Callebaut, the love child of chocolate producer Callebaut and the French chocolate manufacturer Cacao Barry, formed in 1996, are on a mission to develop more health-conscious chocolate. It’s a challenge, seeing as chocolate has pretty stringent definitions: organizations like the FDA create “Standards of Identity” that determine what can and cannot be contained in chocolate to make it chocolate – and how much of said ingredients are permissible.
Barry Callebaut has established a proprietary processing technology to get levels of fat down to their minimal level, and is also developing no-sugar chocolate made with polyols that still supply the bulk contained in sugar that is necessary to the production of chocolate. Also in the works is the company’s Sweet by Fruits chocolate, which, as the name implies, sweetens chocolate only with the natural sugars contained in fruits. Eliminating the need for ingredients like glucose-fructose syrup, this type of chocolate satiates the consumer push to have more food products made with naturally sourced and less refined ingredients.
Wockenfuss, the Maryland candy company, has been on board with the health-conscious chocolate trend for a long time, offering a large line of sugar-free chocolate that cuts down on calories without sacrificing taste. Drop by one of our shops or retailers today to give our guilt-free chocolate a go!
When you’re not savoring our sweets, stay satisfied by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest!
Sources:
Healthy indulgence: What’s possible in chocolate reformulation?