There’s a new chocolate in town and people are going wild over it. Welcome, the ruby chocolate. It’s pink and it’s causing a lot of chocolate conversation. You can see it everywhere right now, from the new KitKat to esteemed confectioners’ counters to Oscars after parties. Chefs from all over Europe are begging to get some, while others are left skeptical.
Let’s back up and talk about where the controversy over ruby chocolate is coming from. First, it was founded by Barry Callebaut of Callebaut Company who is the largest producer of chocolate. You may not know who he is, but he’s supplying most of the chocolate to the companies that you buy from. He spent the last 13 years researching ruby chocolate and claims that he’s discovered the fourth type of chocolate. This led to a lot of deniers who do not believe that ruby should join white, milk, and dark. White was having a hard enough time fully being considered chocolate in the first place.
Ruby chocolate is named after it's pink color that is claimed to be created naturally from cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast, Brazil, and Ecuador, with no added color. It is said to be from the correct chemical compounds to make the ruby color, while skeptics say some cocoa pods are purple or red in color naturally, so it’s not a “new” bean it’s just preserving what is pre-existing. Callebaut will not release how ruby chocolate is made, which makes it easier for people to poke holes in his claim to make the fourth category of chocolate. Skeptics believe that ruby is all a marketing ploy to entice consumers with the experience of novelty that they look for in all of their products now. Chocolate expert Dom Ramsey compares Callebaut’s claim to the one for “Blond Dulcey” that was just overheated white chocolate, as it was just a new flavor, not a new type of chocolate.
Whether this new chocolate is valid or not, people are enjoying this novelty. It is described to have a fruitiness like berries and is very smooth, similar to white chocolate but a little more bitter. Many call it the “millennial chocolate” as it creates that fun, exciting experience that millennials are seen as always looking for in their food. The first mass-produced ruby was for Kit Kaat. The first batch sold out so quickly there’s now a ruby black market online, and it’s not cheap. With such varying opinions on this new chocolate, it certainly will be interesting to see if it sticks around the chocolate scene for long or if it will be overshadowed by the next choco-fad.
Written by Annie at Gourmet Boutique