Coconut milk chocolate HAND IN HAND

Sometimes when you unwrap chocolate, you notice unsightly white spots on the surface. These can easily be mistaken for mould, but are completely harmless. This change in the chocolate, the so-called "fat ripeness", is caused by storage that is too warm or strong temperature fluctuations. The cocoa butter starts to melt at around 25°C and then emerges from the surface of the chocolate. With rapid cooling, the released cocoa butter can no longer be absorbed by the chocolate and solidifies onto the surface. This process is not reversible. The stains have no effect on the quality and taste, but unfortunately on the appearance. The optimal storage temperature for chocolate is around 15°C - 18°C. The difference in susceptibility to fat ripening between dark and milk chocolates is due to the milk fat, which is missing in the dark chocolates. Milk fat has a much more complex structure than cocoa butter. Therefore, cocoa butter in combination with milk fat is generally more stable against fat ripening at higher temperatures or temperature fluctuations. The type and quantity of the filling also influences the crystallisation behaviour of the chocolate. Cocoa butter without other fats and oils is particularly sensitive to fat ripening. Nut oil in particular holds parts of cocoa butter in solution, easily penetrating the chocolate shell. The solubility of cocoa butter in nut oil changes due to temperature fluctuations and can lead to the formation of fat bloom under certain circumstances. At the same time, however, fat bloom also speaks for the high quality and purity of the product. Conventional manufacturers counteract the formation of fat bloom by using clarified butter, cocoa butter replacement fats or stabilisers such as sorbitan esters. We reject that.

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We source our cocoa from our HAND IN HAND partners, the cooperatives El Ceibo in Bolivia, Conacado & Cooproagro in the Dominican Republic and Norandino in Peru.

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The cocoa plant, like various oilseeds (e.g., sunflower, linseed), belongs to the group of plants that accumulate cadmium present in the soil. Rapunzel analyses every single raw material delivery for cadmium content and only accepts cocoa beans with a minimal content. In the EU, there are legal limits for cadmium in chocolate. These are determined according to the proportion of the total cocoa solids. Milk chocolate with less than 30% total dry cocoa solids has a limit of 0.1 mg/kg. For chocolate with less than 50% total cocoa solids and for milk chocolate with 30% or more total cocoa solids, the legal value is 0.3 mg/kg. For chocolate with 50% or more total dry cocoa solids, the limit is 0.8 mg/kg. We fall well below these values and internally set our own limits for almost all our chocolates, which are significantly lower than the legally prescribed values (the only exception is the 90% cocoa variety due to its very high cocoa content).

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All our chocolates are 100% gluten-free.

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