What does soy lecithin do in chocolate?

Soy lecithin is an emulsifier added to chocolate to help bind the cocoa solids, sugar and milk so they stick to the cocoa butter. This improves the viscosity (“flowability”) of the chocolate when it is melted.

How does chocolate get its characteristic taste and texture?

After fermentation, the beans are cleaned, sorted, graded and then roasted. During roasting the vinegar smell produced by fermentation is removed. The process converts the flavour precursors within the bean into compounds such as aldehydes, esters, lactones, and pyrazine, which give chocolate its aroma and flavour.

Why do different types of chocolate taste different?

The taste of a candy bar’s individual ingredients always changes from batch to batch, and this may influence the flavor of the final product. It all comes down to natural variance in ingredients, says Susan Benjamin, author of Sweet as Sin, a history of American candy.

Does all dark chocolate have soy lecithin?

Not us! But, in fact, most chocolate (including both chocolate bars and chocolate chips) contains soy lecithin. But, it isn’t all bad news, since some chocolate is soy-free. Always remember to read the ingredient labels—you can find some chocolate bars that use sunflower lecithin (or even things like cocoa butter).

Does all chocolate contain lecithin?

Let’s face it: most chocolate bars contain soy lecithin, a by-product of soybean oil. It is the key ingredient in chocolate that keeps the cocoa butter and cocoa from separating. For those people, it is difficult to eat any chocolate because of a lack of readily available chocolate bars containing no soy lecithin.

Does soy lecithin have a taste?

If cocoa butter helps to bring flavors to the taste buds, soy lecithin is said to actually flatten tasting notes and contribute to the standardization of the chocolate. Soy lecithin naturally occurs in soybeans, but the way it is produced is nothing natural.

How do you describe chocolate texture?

Texture is relatively straightforward – it’s simply how smooth or grainy the chocolate feels in your mouth. Compare stone-ground bars like those from Taza to smoothly conched bars from Akesson’s, Bonnat, and most other craft chocolate makers.

What are the different forms of chocolate and their differences?

Types of Chocolate

• There are three main types of chocolate — white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. Everyone has their favorite, go-to flavor.
• White Chocolate.
• Milk Chocolate.
• Dark Chocolate.
• Bittersweet Chocolate.
• Cocoa Powder.
• Ruby Chocolate.

What is the difference between dark chocolate and chocolate?

The main difference between dark and milk chocolate is that dark chocolate does not have any added milk solids. This contributes to dark chocolate’s rich, deeper chocolate flavor. It is also much more bitter than milk chocolate, allowing it to pair with different flavors more easily.

What chocolate has no soy in it?

Equal Exchange Organic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (55\% Cacao) and Organic Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (70\% Cacao) are soy-free. In fact, they’re made in a dedicated allergen-free facility, with no peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, soy, gluten-containing ingredients or wheat on the premises.

Does cocoa contain soy lecithin?

Garcia’s fellow chef Meredith Haaz explains that soy lecithin is common in chocolate “since it keeps the cocoa and cocoa butter from separating.” For this very reason, it’s no easy feat to find a packaged chocolate treat that doesn’t have soy lecithin lurking somewhere in the depths of its ingredient list.

Is there soy in Hershey’s chocolate?

The phrase “artificial flavor” on your package of Hershey’s kisses will be replaced by the words “natural flavor,” and, by the end of 2015, their chocolate bars and kisses will no longer contain GMO sugar or soy lecithin (an emulsifying agent that is usually made from genetically modified soy).

What is the difference between cocoa butter and soy lecithin?

Soy lecithin and cocoa butter are added to the chocolate with pretty much the same purpose. Again, to make the chocolate flow better during the bean-to-bar process. However, soy lecithin wins over cocoa butter for price and quantity.

What is the best lecithin for chocolate?

This makes it great for mixing oils and water for dressing and breads. But what it doesn’t work great for is making chocolate flow more freely. Liquid soy lecithin falls around a 4 on the scale, the lower the HLB value the more it is oil loving. So liquid soy lecithin will work best for chocolate.

What is soy lecithin powder and how is it used?

Soy lecithin powder falls around a 7 which is dead center. This makes it great for mixing oils and water for dressing and breads. But what it doesn’t work great for is making chocolate flow more freely. Liquid soy lecithin falls around a 4 on the scale, the lower the HLB value the more it is oil loving.

What is the composition of lecithin?

Lecithin is a phospholipid typically derived from soybeans or eggs. In its liquid form, it is a yellow-brownish fatty substance with a fairly thick viscosity. Lecithin is very important to chocolate because it reduces viscosity,…