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Post by rando101 on Jan 8, 2022 12:21:20 GMT -5
It seems like the darker the chocolate is, the lower the sugar is, but the higher the fat is. It seems the reduction in sugar is simply due to companies adding less sugar to the recipe... but is the increase in fat because they use more cocoa butter to "compensate" for the lack of sweetness in super-dark chocolate? Or is the higher fat just an unavoidable byproduct of darker chocolate? Is there any dark chocolate out there (70% minimum) that doesn't have a ton of fat (particularly saturated fat)? I don't want or expect zero fat, but something not quite so high as for example, the 10g of saturated fat in my Ghirardelli 86% dark bar?
Thanks!
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Jim B.
Novice
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Posts: 118
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Post by Jim B. on Jan 8, 2022 13:40:54 GMT -5
Good question! I think the higher fat is simply because of the way the percentages work. Think of it this way (just as an example - don't make a recipe from this!): If you have a 30 ounce chocolate bar that is made up of 10 grams sugar, 10 grams chocolate, and 10 grams fat, you will have 33% fat in a 66⅓% dark chocolate. If you reduce the sugar, but maintain the overall weight at 30 grams. The chocolate and fat percentages go up. Say it is now an 80% chocolate. That means it 20% sugar and (for the sake of this example) 40% each of chocolate and fat. It's an oversimplification, but it gives you the idea.... The actual amount of cocoa butter (fat) that a recipe aims for is somewhere in the 35% area, and part it comes from the nibs as well as added cocoa butter. So, what is happening is the sugar uses up some of the space of the total volume of a given weight of a piece of chocolate.
I hope that helps! Jim B
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Post by Thomas on Jan 9, 2022 11:51:32 GMT -5
Fat is needed for mouth feel and lower viscosity. If the fat is too low, it will be difficult to work with because the chocolate will be very thick and viscous. If you look at all types of chocolate bars, dark or otherwise, they will have a similar fat content. I've seen it vary from 35% to 55%. The best you can do is eat less. You could also start making your own, but then you will run into the workability issue with lower fat content.
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