MOSCOW, September 22— RIA Novosti, Olga Kolentsova. Pink chocolate has long been known to advanced sweet tooths. Large confectionery companies make it from white, which is colored with specially dried berries or fruits. But technologists from the Swiss company Barry Callebaut claim that they have discovered a new type of chocolate, creating a delicacy of an unusual color, using only the original product - the cocoa beans themselves.
According to them, the whole secret is in a unique variety of cocoa, which initially has a fruity taste. To produce sweets based on it, no dyes or flavors are used. Naturally, Swiss chocolatiers do not disclose either the cocoa beans themselves or the technology for producing the new ruby variety. For RIA "Nauka", of course, the very fact of developing a new variety of cocoa beans, which makes it possible to obtain pink chocolate, is interesting. However, as it turned out, Russian specialists, from chocolatiers to biologists, are not at all sure that the ruby delicacy was made without the addition of dyes.
“I consider this “news” pure marketing,” explains Larisa Ryseva, Candidate of Technical Sciences, head of the chocolate production laboratory at the All-Russian Research Institute of the Confectionery Industry. “I have worked with chocolate all my life, traveled to a variety of cocoa bean plantations and never I haven’t seen any red, scarlet or pink fruits.But production technologies are developing every year, so I assume that pink chocolate is the “child” of dyes and flavors.
I would like to note that such a product can hardly be called chocolate according to legislative acts. After all, cocoa acquires a “chocolate” taste and aroma only when roasted, and the fruits must be absolutely ripe. Roasting gives them a brown color, which can vary in shades, but natural cocoa powder cannot be red or pink. But with the help of additives you can get it, but will it really be natural chocolate? At the moment, I am not ready to recognize a new type of chocolate as a “discovery,” at least until I fully know and understand the technology of its production.”
Indeed, roasting cocoa beans is a very important stage on which the taste, smell and quality of future chocolate depend. To do this, the beans are heated to a temperature of 130-150 °C. Roasting cannot be a standard process as the size of the beans, their moisture content and the degree of ripening vary. After heat treatment, the fruits lose some of their moisture and acquire a characteristic brown color. However, during roasting, something can be added to the kernels - for example, alkali, which can change the color of the cocoa beans. Typically the shade ranges from light brown to dark, but why not mix it up and get pink?
Vitaly Alyonkin, a researcher and curator of the collection of tropical plants at the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University "Apothecary Garden", suggests that the fruits can be removed from the tree unripe and fermented for a short period of time: “They may not even be fermented at all, but simply dried. Alternatively, they may "to extract an extract that gives existing chocolate a pink color. But I am not sure that this product can be called chocolate. It is just a new type of sweetness."
Nevertheless, Swiss technologists insist on discovering a new type of chocolate: “Ruby chocolate is very special. It is the fourth type of chocolate after black, milk and white. We have created a fourth type. This is natural chocolate. It has a ruby color and a unique taste. It is the taste of chocolate, freshness and fruit,” says Antoine de Saint-Affrique, director of Barry Callebaut.
“Dark chocolate tastes bitter, so you feel the bitterness of cocoa. White chocolate is quite sweet, with a milky taste. But ruby chocolate is something completely different, with a sour aftertaste. You feel sourness, the taste of fruits and berries,” adds Martin Diez, who tasted the new product, pastry chef at the Cacao Barry chocolate academy in Paris.
However, the famous cocoa bean specialist at the Columbia University of Hydrology and Meteorology, Helmuth Edisson Nieves Orduña, is confident that no new variety of cocoa beans exists: “I know ten varieties of cocoa, but none of them produces ruby beans or ruby chocolate. This "new chocolate" is most likely made from beans obtained from regular cocoa fruits. If we compare ruby chocolate with another, the difference may be made by the processing of the beans, but not by their new variety. For now my guess is that ruby chocolate is marketing. Cocoa beans in their natural state (before fermentation) are white to purple in color, and this pigmentation depends on the variety. After fermentation (the process in which chocolate acquires its characteristic flavor and aroma), the primary "The color of the beans is lost, changing to a dark brown. So it's hard to believe that this is a new type of chocolate. Perhaps the manufacturers changed some things in the further processing to obtain the pink color."
Good news for those with a sweet tooth: scientists have invented a new type of chocolate! And this is not just some weird mixture of pre-existing chocolate that they decided to remake, like a culinary Rubik's Cube. This is truly a completely new variety, the first since white chocolate was introduced to the world 80 years ago.
As you can tell from the photos in this article, the new chocolate has an unusual pink color, but this was not achieved through any dyes. Ruby chocolate is made from ruby cocoa beans, which contain pink pigments.
Product of a Swiss company
The new chocolate has a fruity and slightly sour taste. For its creation, we have to thank Barry Callebaut, a Zurich-based company that has been developing the new sweet treat for 13 long years. In its press release, the company describes the new product as "an intense sensory delight."
The fourth type of chocolate was introduced to the world at an exclusive event in Shanghai earlier this month, and the product is currently not available to the general public. It's now being shipped in huge quantities to various chocolate and confectionery retailers around the world, so we probably won't have to wait too long to try the unusual new product.
Ruby chocolate composition
Currently, the chocolate composition remains a mystery. Dark chocolate, for example, has a high cocoa content and a small amount of milk, white is its complete opposite, and milk chocolate falls somewhere in the middle. But where on this chocolate spectrum does the new ruby variety fall? Is it really true that only ruby cocoa beans are used to make it, as the manufacturers claim? 
At this point, only one thing is clear: the new product looks very unusual. We can only hope that it is as tasty as it seems at first glance.
AdvertisingThe confectioners announced that they had created a fourth type of chocolate along with black, white and milk. The first new type of chocolate in 80 years could be ruby, writes The Independent.
Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut says he used ruby cocoa beans. Scientists have been studying them for several years. The aroma and color of this chocolate are natural and are obtained without the addition of berries.
Researchers from Switzerland reported that they were able to develop a completely new type of chocolate for the first time in 50 years. All these years, researchers have been creating a new type that would be different from the chocolate that was created by chocoliers around the world earlier.
Scientists say that the new variety is made from ruby cocoa beans, which are also unique. Now officially all chocolate is divided into four types - milk, black, white and pink. This new species currently exists in limited numbers.
According to Euromonitor analysts, the global volume of the chocolate market decreased by 1.5 percent just in the year before last. In the past, the decline has slowed, but has not stopped.
Peter Boon, the Swiss company's chief innovation and quality officer, said the new chocolate was now expected to meet growing demand among younger consumers for luxury products.
Although there are already skeptics who express their “fie” in relation to the new product. Thus, the British chocolate expert House of Ramsey told The Independent that he still has very doubts about the fourth type of chocolate, and recalled that several years ago one well-known French company had already launched caramelized white chocolate, which was also rushed to assign the status of a fourth type.
The innovative dessert offers the consumer a completely new taste sensation: not the familiar taste of bitter, milky or sweet white chocolate, but a combination of bright fruit and berry notes and a delicate melting texture. "Ruby" chocolate is made without the addition of berries or berry flavors and does not contain dyes.
The exact recipe of the new chocolate is kept secret, except that it contains ruby cocoa beans, nothing else is known about this chocolate. Scientists also add several types of milk, as well as dark and milk chocolate.
The final product is pink in color and has a light fruity taste. The cost of the new product is still unknown; it will be announced later after the start of sales of the new chocolate.
Chocolatiers are confident that the ruby novelty will be a hit among “chocoholics” and chocolate gourmets. According to them, this will be a completely new taste experience for those trying ruby chocolate for the first time, since the new variety is not bitter, not milky or sweet. At the same time, the berry aroma is not discernible in the taste.
Noticed a typo or error? Select the text and press Ctrl+Enter to tell us about it.
Ruby chocolate is a breakthrough in the confectionery industry. It was recently presented by Swiss scientists and biologists. Since the discovery of the traditional product (back in the early twentieth century), the emergence of a new type of ruby-colored chocolate has caused a lot of controversy and doubt.
Main types of chocolate
Chocolate became known to the world more than 100 years ago. It was discovered by the Belgian pharmacist Jean Neuhaus. The chocolate industry has developed at an accelerated pace. Despite this, only three types of sweet product were known to the world.
- Dark
It is made from crushed cocoa beans, powdered sugar, cocoa butter and a small amount of milk powder (there is no milk in dark chocolate). - Lactic
The manufacturing technology is similar to dark chocolate, the only difference is a larger amount of milk powder or cream. - White
It appeared on the market a relatively long time ago, but all these years it has caused endless debate about whether it is chocolate or a simple dessert. It is made from cocoa butter, milk powder or cream and powdered sugar.
Confectioners could not reach a unanimous opinion about the last product in the classification, so pink chocolate had the effect of a bomb exploding. Controversy over white chocolate arises precisely because it contains no cocoa beans, which turn brown when roasted. If you managed to invent ruby chocolate without the presence of a characteristic shade, then it also does not contain grains. In other words, it is an ordinary dessert.
The Swiss company Barry Callebaut announced the discovery of a special ruby variety. According to its representatives, development was carried out over 13 years. "Ruby" cocoa beans (which, surprisingly, are not genetically modified) are grown in Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Brazil.
Secrets of technology
To make real chocolate, you need cocoa beans. Ripe grains are removed and fried at a temperature of about 150 degrees. This is a very labor-intensive process that requires careful roasting of each grain, since the taste and color of the final product depend on the preparation.
Bean grains come in different shapes and sizes. During heat treatment, part of the moisture evaporates, the grain is covered with a shell and acquires a color from light brown to almost black. Until now, no other shades have existed. To prepare the pink dessert, which had not previously been presented as chocolate, white chocolate was used and dried fruit extracts were added.
However, Swiss representatives claim that pink chocolate is real because it contains pink cocoa beans. This variety has not yet been registered, so experts have doubts. Either the original variety has actually been bred, or the fruits are picked while still green and special technological manipulations are performed, or the company simply adds dyes. This remains a secret, since the manufacturers do not intend to reveal their secrets. It is worth noting that consumers are assured of the absolutely pure composition of the product, without the use of unnatural ingredients.
Who to believe
Unable to conduct a thorough analysis of ruby chocolate, experts are more inclined to believe that the fourth representative of the chocolate family does not yet exist. In the struggle for leadership, companies use various tricks to attract the attention of consumers. After all, a new product is guaranteed to bring increased income.
Experts in our country are inclined to argue that the emergence of a new variety is a clever marketing ploy. Only time can dispel doubts, since sooner or later manufacturers will be forced to admit exactly by what method they achieved such a result. In the meantime, we can only rejoice that gourmets and those with a sweet tooth will soon be able to taste on their lips (according to the employees of the Swiss company) the exquisite taste of ruby-colored chocolate.
Chocolate lovers can rejoice, as the Swiss company Barry Callebaut has created a fourth type of this product especially for them - ruby chocolate. This unique product has a rich smoky pink color and a berry taste. This delicacy was first created in 1930, but who would have thought that 87 years later confectioners would be able to create a truly unique product that has nothing in common with American pink chocolate. The fact is that to make ruby chocolate products, a special variety of cocoa beans is used, called Ruby.
The history of the ruby delicacy
The innovative product appeared on the market in 2017 and immediately attracted the attention of not only confectioners, but also lovers of this delicious delicacy. For several decades, scientists from French and Belgian research centers have studied the Ruby cocoa bean variety, creating on its basis a unique technology for the production of ruby chocolate. As a result of painstaking work and enormous efforts of scientists, ruby chocolate appeared, the taste of which is fruity and berry. Its pinkish color is 100 percent natural, since this product does not contain dyes.
According to Swiss confectioners, they managed to create a unique sweetness that gently melts in the mouth and leaves behind a pleasant aftertaste. The manufacturing technology of such a product makes it possible to extract from Ruby cocoa beans natural color and taste. As the creators of the ruby delicacy claim, this is a revolutionary product, not white chocolate with dyes, which has a light texture.
Taste qualities of ruby chocolate
The appearance of this delicacy evokes a great desire to taste it. Although ruby chocolate has a fruit and berry taste; it does not contain sweeteners, flavors or any berry additives. This 100 percent natural product, the recipe of which is kept secret. The new product is not yet widely available, but in some countries it has appeared on store shelves. This is the fourth chocolate, following black, milk and white.
Features of Ruby chocolate
This delicacy can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
- beautiful rich ruby color;
- the bar must have the inscription “Ruby” poured out of chocolate;
- chocolate has such a light taste that when you eat it, you get the feeling that it is not chocolate at all.
According to experts, the light texture and berry flavor of the ruby treat make it tastier and not as filling as regular chocolate, so the consumer can eat much more. As noted by the head of the innovation and quality department at Barry Callebaut, Peter Boon, the development of this type of chocolate has been going on for many years. Therefore, the new product is aimed primarily at people of the new generation. This chocolate is designed to satisfy the taste of real gourmets. Most likely, the cost of such a delicacy will not be low.
Composition of ruby chocolate
To find out what ruby chocolate is made of, you need to look at the history of the creation of this innovative and unique product. This type of confectionery product is made from Ruby cocoa beans without flavorings, dyes or additives. To date, the recipe for this delicacy remains a secret. For example, regular dark chocolate contains grated cocoa beans and cocoa butter, while white chocolate is its complete opposite. We can only guess what the manufacturer came up with this time! If we are talking about ruby chocolate, its composition is unlikely to be known soon. But this product undoubtedly has an unusual appearance and pinkish color.
Expert opinions
Not all chocolate industry experts share the Swiss confectioners' enthusiasm. So, a few years ago, a chocolate concern from France introduced to the world caramelized chocolate, which they called the “fourth” in a row. But in fact, this turned out to be a regular marketing ploy to attract new customers and increase the company's profitability. Barry Callebaut does not disclose what kind of chocolate it is. But, according to experts, to make their masterpiece they use many complex technological processes and a special variety of cocoa beans. Thus, the result is something like milk chocolate, which has a pink color and a pleasant berry taste.
About Barry Callebaut
The huge concern Barry Callebaut, whose head office is located in Zurich, is one of the world's best producers of cocoa products and chocolate. The company owns more than 50 factories in different countries of the world. The staff includes about 10 thousand specialists. According to analysts, for the 2015-2016 calendar year, sales of Barry Callebaut products amounted to about $7 billion.
From this we can conclude that such a chocolate giant can well afford to spend millions of dollars on creating the confectionery masterpiece that is ruby chocolate. It will be an excellent present for any occasion. This is especially true for those with a sweet tooth, who will appreciate its pleasant taste and excellent quality. After all, the composition of ruby chocolate consists of 100% natural ingredients. We can only wait and hope that the taste of the product will correspond to those declared by the manufacturer. Note that white chocolate was created approximately 80 years ago, but only became popular in the 1980s. As for the ruby one, the same fate most likely awaits it.
Loading...