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Often at farmers market I got asked whether our chocolate was veg or raw. These seem like easy questions, but as always, they are not.
Is chocolate vegetarian / vegan?
Generally chocolate is always vegetarian, as it never (I hope) contains meat. But as milk comes into the production, chocolate is not always vegan.
Dark chocolate is both veg and vegan, as it does not contain milk and therefore no animal components. However, white and milk chocolates contain milk powder, so it cannot be considered a vegan diet. Some chocolate products contain eggs, but these are more of fitness bars and not chocolate as such.
Is chocolate RAW?
The truth is that chocolate produced in the traditional way is not RAW. Cocoa beans, like coffee, are roasted at temperatures above 100 ° C, so there can be no question of RAW. This releases volatile aromatic substances in the cocoa beans, which give the chocolate its aroma and taste. At the same time, this further dries the beans, which is appropriate, because the less water there is in the chocolate, the better. As is known, water mixes poorly with fats, in this case cocoa butter, and therefore an emulsifier must be added. Well, maybe not a must, but usually it is added.
It is certainly possible to make chocolate without roasting and therefore RAW, but we will lose those chocolate tones of taste and aroma. I tried several RAW chocolates, and even if there was nothing wrong with them, I prefer to stay with the classics. However, if you live by RAW principles, it is good that there are also quality chocolates for you.
