As soon as the Santas have disappeared from the shelf, the chocolate bunnies are already on the scene. The German confectionery industry produced 230 million chocolate Easter bunnies last year alone, plus eggs, chicks and carrots. Many products are available for little money – even though the prices for cocoa have exploded in the last few months. How can that be? In the end, maybe there isn’t much cocoa in the chocolate? We asked chocolatiers Léonie Mohnert and Corentin Feraud what indicators can be used to distinguish good chocolate from bad chocolate. We also let them test popular Easter chocolate products from the supermarket. You can read how Milka, Lindt and Co performed in the photo series.
4 things that tell you good chocolate from bad chocolate
1. If the chocolate melts very quickly, this is a sign that cheaper ingredients were used, for example cocoa powder or palm fat instead of cocoa butter.
2. If a product smells sweet and leaves only sweetness in the mouth and no other taste, this is an indication that a lot of sugar was used in the production.
3. It’s called dark chocolate, but it shouldn’t taste bitter. Depending on the cocoa bean, dark chocolate tastes fruity or nutty. If the chocolate tastes burnt, this is an indication that the bean was roasted too much.
4. If the chocolate is grey-whitish, this could be an indication of incorrect storage or fluctuating temperatures. The so-called fat frost occurs when liquid fat migrates from the inside to the surface of the chocolate and crystallizes there. This could be fat from cocoa butter, for example. If it turns whitish, chocolate tends to become crumbly. According to experts, chocolate is best stored at around 18 degrees and never in the refrigerator. If the chocolate is too cold, it loses its taste. If it is not packed airtight, it can also take on the taste of other foods from the refrigerator.