Selecting The Best Chocolates

When eating chocolate you always want to choose the best chocolate. Does that mean you need to know the difference between all the pieces on this chocolates puzzle, or the difference between Godiva and Hershey's? Nope. Choosing the best chocolate just means knowing what's in it. By paying close attention to the ingredients, you will be able to select the best chocolate most of the time.

The first thing to do is flip over the chocolate and look at the ingredients. You should recognize them all. Dark Chocolate should all have: 1) Cocoa liquor. Sometimes called cocoa, cocoa solids, cocoa mass, or chocolate. (It is not actually a liquor and does not contain any alcohol.) 2) Sugar. Molasses, cane juice, and other natural sweeteners are acceptable substitutes. 3) Cocoa butter. 4) Vanilla is optional. Vanillin is a fake vanilla made from pine sap. You should avoid it! 5) Soy lecithin is also optional. This just helps the chocolate bind together better. It is sold as a health food supplement, although some argue that it is not healthy. 6) Finally any add-ins, such as nuts, fruits, or flavorings but make sure none of them are artificial or hydrogenated. The ingredients should roughly fall in that order too. The Cocoa liquor should always be first though.

Milk chocolate can have all of the above, plus milk, which will be in the form of whole milk, milk powder, cream, etc. There's less cocoa mass in milk chocolate, so it doesn't need to be first on the list. Usually sugar will be first. White chocolate doesn't have the cocoa mass, just the cocoa butter.

Chocolate has different flavors depending on the species of bean and the conditions in which the bean was grown. Unfortunately much of the world's cocoa is grown under brutal working conditions, often by child slaves. If you purchase Fair Trade or Organic chocolate you will be paying a little more but you will also help to make a better planet and get better chocolate too.

Also, pay attention to the packaging. If they didn't care much about the package, they probably don't care much about the chocolate. Just like most things. If you bought a chocolate puzzle that came in a dented up box you might think the puzzle is damaged too.

That’s all there is to it! Simple, right? Next time you’re in the store, try this test and compare a Hershey’s with a Godiva bar. Hershey’s may not be the world’s best chocolate, but at least it doesn't contain butter oil, hydrogenated oils, and vanillin like Godiva’s does!