Raaka Virgin Chocolate – Yacón Root
April 3, 2018
Let’s gets this out of the way first….what is yacón root?? And more importantly, why would I eat chocolate made with it?
About Yacón Root
Yacón root is often compared to jicama because it is crisp and slightly sweet tasting. It is mainly grown in the northern and central Andes, ranging from Colombia to Argentina. Sometimes yacón is called by another name; Peruvian ground apple.
Yacón root is making it’s presence known among diabetics and dieters. There are health benefits to eating yacón because it’s largely comprised of fructooligosaccharides and water.
What this means is that most of the carbohydrate sugars can’t be digested by our bodies. Therefore, it’s considered a low-calorie sweetener and doesn’t raise blood sugar to excess. Syrup made from yacón has a very low glycemic index.
Chocolate With Yacón Root as Sweetener
Now, about the chocolate! This bar is the third one I’ve had from Raaka Virgin Chocolate company. It’s called, you guessed it, Yacón Root! It’s sourced from the Dominican Republic and sits at a 79% cacao mass.
Sour! As in, mouth-puckering, make a squinchy face, sour. Reminded me of a similar reaction I had when I was a kid and ate unsweetened baking chocolate thinking it was a candy bar (although that was a “bitter” experience!).
Once you’re recovered from sour shock, the cocoa notes themselves are mild. It’s the surrounding flavors that are intensely fruity and sour. After a while, the chocolate gets creamy and soft. Not at all bitter or sour by the end. There’s also a nice nutty note at the finish.
This bar surprised me. My pallet is quite used to extremely dark chocolate, around 85% and 90% cocoa. I can pick up on the subtle flavors of dark chocolates made with limited sweetness, and I don’t have a problem enjoying something so intense.
In the case of this bar, however, I will need to readjust my pallet and work harder to find the nuances in flavor. The sweetness level is certainly low, but a completely different quality than bars made with cane sugar.
Last week I reviewed the Raaka Maple and Nibs bar. That bar also contained no cane sugar, the sweetener was maple sugar only. In my opinion, the maple sugar behaved so much like cane sugar I couldn’t tell the difference.
Not so, with this bar. Even the texture is different when melting in the mouth. In spite of being 79% cacao mass, it seemed more like 90%! Once again, the unroasted nature of the beans provides a unique flavor profile that is distinctly different from what I’m used to tasting from the Dominican Republic.
I have to say it’s my least favorite variety of the three Raaka chocolate bars I’ve eaten recently. (The other two were 82% Bourbon Cask Aged and the Maple and Nibs bar I mentioned above.) But I haven’t given up yet. I’m still intrigued enough to see if this is an acquired taste. Try, try again!
You can buy chocolate bars directly from Raaka Chocolate's website. Or, if you want to try a variety pack at a discount, check out this link from Amazon.
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