Looking for the Real Thing

Real chocolate can be hunted out easily enough – it is mostly a question of learning to read and interpret the wrappers. Look out for high cocoa content but there’s no need to exaggerate; 50–70% cocoa solids are usually a good sign. I don’t know anyone who drinks wine who would select a bottle using the alcohol content as a guide to quality. Normally the deciding factors would be the grape variety, appellation, vintage year, country of origin, as well as the colour.

A reliable indicator in recognizing real chocolate is the use of natural vanilla over vanillin (an artificial flavouring derived from pine trees). It is not that I am so against vanillin in itself, but it does seem to be a good marker to differentiate the sheep from the goats. The price of vanillin is almost negligible and hence it is used injudiciously, often with a view to masking the true nature of the cocoa beans in an inferior product. In spite of this general rule, there are plenty of examples of excellent chocolate where vanillin is used. Probably the best way of spotting a really fine chocolate is to find out about the origin and variety of the cocoa beans.