Extremely (and Supremely!) Dark Chocolate
August 2, 2018
I eat very little refined sugar and don’t consume artificial sweeteners. Not because I have to, but because I want to. For me, it’s the smart thing to do. I feel better physically and mentally. I live more days having that wonderful “sense of well-being” than I do without. And I still have a chocolate-filled life!
Last week I reviewed two stevia sweetened chocolates. I rarely eat chocolate with sucrose replacers like alcohol sugars or stevia. I much prefer eating chocolates that lower the sugar by increasing the cacao percentage.
The Darker The Better!
I enjoy extremely dark chocolate bars because I have grown to love the delicate flavor nuances and terroir of extra dark chocolate. My favorite percentage is 85, but 90 is quite nice, too. I use 85% chocolate chips and cacao nibs (100%) instead of regular chocolate chips (typically 35%). Recipes that call for rolling things in powdered sugar, I replace with cocoa powder.
There are many delicious chocolate bar offerings at 80% and higher. There are the easy-to-find bars at your local grocery store and pharmacy/drug store or even at the “superstores” like Wal-mart and Target. There are certainly many to choose from when shopping online. Below is just a small snap shot of the seemingly endless possibilities (with links to a few that I have reviewed):
- Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate 85% (bars and baking chips)
- Divine Extremely Rich Dark Chocolate 85%
- Taza Wicked Dark 95%
- Theo 85%
- Alter Eco Super Blackout 90%
- Raaka Virgin (Raw) Bourbon Cask Aged 82%
- Pacari Raw 85%
- Valrhona 85%
- Rightously Raw 83%
- Scharffen Berger 82%
- Equal Exchange Extreme Dark Chocolate 88%
- Chocolove Extreme Dark 88%
- Green & Blacks 85%
- Lindt 85%, 90% (caution: the 90% is now made with cocoa processed with alkali)
- Ghirardelli 86%, 92% (not made with cocoa processed with alkali)
- Moser Roth 85%
For Milk Chocolate Lovers
If you are a milk chocolate lover and want to indulge while lowering your sugar intake, perhaps you can learn to love “dark milks”. Yes, that’s a real thing!
Dark milk chocolates have increased percentages of cacao (in addition to the milk ingredients) thus lowering the sugar percentages. They are not as prevalent as extreme dark chocolates, but they are growing in popularity and availability.
- Fruition 56% Dark Milk with Flor De Sal
- Askinosie 62% Dark Milk Sea Salt Bar
- Tcho 70% Dark Milk
- Antidote 56% Cacao Milk Chocolate
Give some of these suggestions a try. Less sugar and better, more tasty chocolate. Sounds like this could be a move in the right direction for you.
Here are some 85% chocolate options from Amazon.
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