By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
Walk down the candy aisle in a natural foods store or in many supermarkets and the number of vegan choices is astounding. There are “mylk” chocolates, dark chocolates, very dark chocolates, and a myriad of flavored chocolate selections. How do these compare in terms of nutrition?
Chocolate is made from the seeds of a tropical tree called the cacao tree. The seeds, which are also called beans, are fermented, dried, roasted, shelled, and ground in the process of making chocolate. The result of this processing is a thick liquid, called cocoa liquor, that contains fiber, fat, and protein from the cacao seeds. Cocoa butter is the fat that is produced from cacao seeds. (Although “butter” may sound like a dairy product, cocoa butter does not contain dairy.) Additional pure cocoa butter is added to the cocoa liquor. Sugar and other ingredients are also added, and the mixture is formed into chocolate bars.
An ounce of chocolate, whether vegan or not has around 150 to 190 calories. Some chocolate bars may indicate the percentage of chocolate on the label. The percentage indicates the percent by weight of the product that is cocoa butter and cocoa solids. For example, a bar that is 71% chocolate is 71% by weight cocoa butter and cocoa solids. The remaining 29% is mostly sugar. Generally, the higher the percentage of cocoa butter and cocoa solids, the (slightly) higher the calories. For example, Equal Exchange 71% has 180 calories in an ounce, but Equal Exchange 92% has 190 calories per ounce. This difference is insignificant.
Generally, products with higher percentages of cocoa butter and cocoa solids, have more fat and saturated fat and less added sugar. Those with lower percentages of cocoa butter and cocoa solids have less fat and more added sugar.
Additions like mint or orange flavoring have little impact on a chocolate bar’s nutrient content. Nuts add a small amount of protein and chocolate bars with salted nuts or sea salt will have more sodium (about 50-100 milligrams more per ounce of chocolate) than those without added salt.
An ounce of dark chocolate provides around 15% of the Daily Value for iron and magnesium and more than half of the Daily Value for copper.
Reference:
McGee, H. On Food and Cooking. The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner; 2004.
For vegan recipes featuring chocolate see:
https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2014issue1/2014_issue1_savory_side.php