Tag Archive: lecithin

Q&A: What’s the Big Deal About Lecithin?

Recently a reader asked me the following question. It's a good one, so I wanted to answer here on the blog...

What is the big deal about soy lecithin and if most artisan producers manage to do without it, why don't all chocolatiers?

The big deal about soy lecithin is a combination of science and economics.
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Bittersweet and Semisweet Chocolate

Bittersweet chocolates are simply a sweetened form of plain chocolate that contains no milk.  It is basically a mixture of chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, and quite often, vanilla.  Plus you might see a substance called lecithin on a label.  That is added to serve as an emulsifier.

Cocoa that is produced via the grinding of its beans into a liquid form is usually referred to as chocolate liquor, which ironically contains no alcohol whatsoever.  Unsweetened baking chocolate is chocolate liquor that has been solidified.

In the North America, a standard is set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that bittersweet chocolates are required to contain at least thirty-five percent chocolate liquor.  While in the United Kingdom, the figure is usually as high as forty-three percent.
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Chocolate Label – What Does It Mean?

I am a label reader.  In fact, I judiciously read labels because it is a matter of life or death for my daughter who has serious food allergies.  But just because I read labels doesn’t mean I understand everything on them!

Luckily, I have experience understanding what’s on a chocolate label.  When I was developing product for a large chocolate manufacturer, part of my job was to create the labels that went on our chocolates.

So, what exactly are things like “chocolate liquor,” “cocoa butter,” “soya lecithin,” or “butter fat” (by the way, isn’t butter fat a bit redundant)?
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Lecithin in Chocolate

Take a look at an ingredient label on a bar of chocolate. 9 times out of 10 you will see soy lecithin listed there.

Is using lecithin as an ingredient in chocolate important, and what is the benefit of using it?

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