Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I get Theo bars a lot as they are discount priced at the Job Lot near me.
FYI if you are eating dark chocolate for the health benefits, watch out for brands that process their chocolate with alkali - that removes most of the beneficial antioxidants so makes it just a sweet and not so much a healthful treat.
Moser Roth and Schogetten are sadly both processed with alkali - nice and smooth, not as healthy.
Look for dark chocolate above 70% and not dutched/processed with alkali.
Are you sure?
Internet inquiry indicates 70% dark chocolate Moser Roth is not dutch processed.
Some varieties of the Schogetten specifically indicate alkali; but the basic dark chocolate (which is only 50% cocoa) does not. So, not clear whether it is or isn't processed with alkali.
USA packing laws require that chocolate processed with alkali and sold in the USA must state so on the label - it's usually including in the ingredients list as a parenthetical.
Perhaps there are iterations of Schogetten and Moser Roth that aren't dutched, but I haven't found them. I've been on a dark chocolate quest for more than a year now and was excited when I found the relatively inexpensive Moser Roth bars at Aldi - but they are definitely marked as processed with alkali. The Schogetten bars I've found locally (greater Boston area) are also dutched.
Dutched/processed with alkali chocolate is smoother, tastes a bit sweeter even at high cacao content, and doesn't get the milky white ghosting on the surface of the chocolate. And it's missing most of the antioxidants that dark chocolate is recommended as healthful because of their presence.
Internet inquiry tells me that not ALL Moser Roth chocolate is alkali processed, but the 85% bars are. Same for Schogetten - not all alkali processed, but some bars are. If you're buying the chocolate here in the USA, just read the labels.
Here's why chocolate is dutched:
Dutch processed cocoa, Dutched cocoa, or alkalized cocoa, is made from cocoa solids that have been treated with an alkalizing agent to reduce the natural acidity of cocoa, giving it a less bitter taste and darker colour compared to "natural cocoa" extracted with the Broma process.