Is ruby chocolate REAL chocolate?
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you may be on the look-out for something new and interesting to give your loved one. Perhaps you’ve heard of the new pink-coloured ruby chocolate claimed by its inventor to be the fourth type of chocolate after dark, milk and white. But is this new product REAL chocolate or is it just some artificially-coloured confection masquerading as the real thing?
After reading up on the issue, my opinion is that ruby chocolate is REAL chocolate. It has a naturally occurring pink colour and no added flavour. Those who have tried it say it has a sweet-tart taste with a hint of berries. I would say that ruby chocolate is actually more of a real chocolate than white chocolate.
What is white chocolate?
White chocolate was invented by Nestle in the 1930s by accident when they were working on a solid form of their vitamin-enriched milk. The main ingredients are cocoa butter, milk and sugar. Because white chocolate uses cocoa butter (the fat from the cocoa bean) some people feel this is enough to grant its inclusion in the chocolate family. Others feel that without cocoa mass – the brown stuff that gives chocolate its distinct flavour – it should not be considered chocolate. People’s opinions often come down to whether they like white chocolate or not. Those who like it are more likely to consider it a legitimate type of chocolate.
I generally see it as a member of the chocolate family but a more distant one. If dark and milk chocolate are sisters, then white chocolate is a cousin. I love chocolate for its delicious chocolatey flavour so I’m not one to go out and buy a white chocolate bar. But a swizzle of white chocolate on dark truffles can look quite stunning and I don’t mind that one piece of white chocolate in the Lindt Christmas box.
What is ruby chocolate?
Ruby chocolate was invented by the Belgian company Callebault. They claim it is made from a special ruby cocoa bean found in Ecuador, Brazil and the Ivory Coast. They discovered this bean in 2004 and in 2017 they unveiled their new ruby chocolate at a private event in Shanghai, China. Callebault’s process uses the same parts of the cocoa bean that are used to make regular chocolate. However, the blog Read Cacao questions whether there is anything special about the bean. According to them, all cocoa beans have a deep red colour and eventually turn brown after the fermentation and drying process. Read Cacao writes:
“It seems, therefore, that to create ruby chocolate Callebaut prematurely stops the fermentation and drying stage in order to treat the unfermented cocoa beans with an acid [citric] for 24 hours or more in order to form a vibrant red colour. Mix these beans with white cocoa butter and alas: ruby chocolate is created. . . . Therefore, unlike Callebaut’s claim of the ‘ruby cocoa bean,’ this pink colour might be derived from any cacao variety in the whole world. However, that story doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.”
Some chocolate connoisseurs feel that the shorter fermentation time disqualifies ruby chocolate as real chocolate. I don’t imagine these purists consider white chocolate to be real chocolate either. However, given that the term “white chocolate” isn’t likely to change, I don’t think we should fault Callebault for calling their product chocolate. Unlike it’s white cousin, ruby chocolate contains actual cocoa mass – it’s just pink instead of brown. Just like the controversy around white chocolate, I think a lot of the differences in opinion come down to taste. People who like the taste of the ruby variety are more likley to accept it being in the chocolate family.
Legally calling the product chocolate is another story. Since 2019, Callebault’s product has been available in over 40 countries worldwide. While many allow ruby chocolate to be labelled as such, this is not the case in Canada or the United States. I could not find any information about why this is the case in Canada but did find information about the USA. According to FDA regulations, the product has too little unsweetened cocoa mass to qualify as milk or dark chocolate but too much to qualify as white chocolate. So Callebault has been working with the government in the hope of establishing another standard of identity specifically for ruby chocolate. The company was given a temporary permit to label the products as chocolate while undergoing market testing. The permit was first issued in 2019 and an extension was granted in 2021. I suspect the issue in Canada is similar to the USA as we also require specific minimum percentages of cocoa mass and / or cocoa butter before a product can be labeled as a type of chocolate.
I plan to do a ruby chocolate taste test in the near future. I thought I would have to buy it online but was surprised to see it available in the President’s Choice brand at Loblaws. It was labelled as a “Cocoa Bean Bar” instead of chocolate. I will let you know what it tastes like compared to its dark and milk sisters!
If you’ve tried ruby chocolate feel free to let me know how you liked it in the comments below. Do you think it qualifies as real chocolate? What about white chocolate? 🍏💕
References and Further Reading
Ruby a true gift from nature (Barry Callebault)
How ruby chocolate is made (Barry Callebault)
Ruby Chocolate: Everything You Need to Know (Read Cacao)
For those who think white chocolate isn’t ‘real’ chocolate, have we got bars for you (Washington Post – Food Section)
Here’s Why Everyone Is Talking About Ruby Chocolate (Eat This, Not That)
Pink cocoa creators want treat recognized as new chocolate (yahoo! news – CBC)
“Ruby Chocolate” Deviating From Identity Standard; Temporary Permit For Market Testing (Federal Register)
Top photo of ruby chocolate with pink flowers by foodandcook / Shutterstock.com. Photo of dark, milk, ruby and white chocolate bars on cocoa beans by Emmanuel Raza / Shutterstock.com.
No Comments