{"id":18114,"date":"2021-10-08T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T14:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=18114"},"modified":"2021-09-15T10:57:23","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T14:57:23","slug":"vegan-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/10\/08\/vegan-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk down the candy aisle in a natural foods store or in\nmany supermarkets and the number of vegan choices is astounding. There are\n\u201cmylk\u201d chocolates, dark chocolates, very dark chocolates, and a myriad of\nflavored chocolate selections. How do these compare in terms of nutrition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chocolate is made from the seeds of a tropical tree called\nthe cacao tree. The seeds, which are also called beans, are fermented, dried,\nroasted, shelled, and ground in the process of making chocolate. The result of\nthis processing is a thick liquid, called cocoa liquor, that contains fiber,\nfat, and protein from the cacao seeds. Cocoa butter is the fat that is produced\nfrom cacao seeds. (Although \u201cbutter\u201d may sound like a dairy product, cocoa\nbutter does not contain dairy.)  Additional\npure cocoa butter is added to the cocoa liquor. Sugar and other ingredients are\nalso added, and the mixture is formed into chocolate bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ounce of chocolate, whether vegan or not has around 150\nto 190 calories. Some chocolate bars may indicate the percentage of chocolate\non the label. The percentage indicates the percent by weight of the product\nthat is cocoa butter and cocoa solids. For example, a bar that is 71% chocolate\nis 71% by weight cocoa butter and cocoa solids. The remaining 29% is mostly\nsugar. Generally, the higher the percentage of cocoa butter and cocoa solids,\nthe (slightly) higher the calories. For example, Equal Exchange 71% has 180\ncalories in an ounce,  but Equal Exchange\n92% has 190 calories per ounce. This difference is insignificant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, products with higher percentages of cocoa butter\nand cocoa solids, have more fat and saturated fat and less added sugar. Those\nwith lower percentages of cocoa butter and cocoa solids have less fat and more\nadded sugar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additions like mint or orange flavoring have little impact\non a chocolate bar\u2019s nutrient content. Nuts add a small amount of protein and\nchocolate bars with salted nuts or sea salt will have more sodium (about 50-100\nmilligrams more per ounce of chocolate) than those without added salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ounce of dark chocolate provides around 15% of the Daily\nValue for iron and magnesium and more than half of the Daily Value for copper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGee, H. On Food and\nCooking. The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. <\/em>New York: Scribner; 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For vegan recipes featuring chocolate see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/journal\/vj2014issue1\/2014_issue1_savory_side.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chocolate-Coated Peanut Butter Candies<\/a><\/blockquote>