Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
James Cain
07 Apr 2010
Is the inexpensive unsweetened baking chocolate decent quality? I know it's not ground as fine as the gourmet 85%+ dark chocolate bars so it's a little gritty, but otherwise I can't think of a reason it would be of less quality as far as a source of cocoa goes. The benefit is that is it totally unsweetened, and I do like it that way, and it's very inexpensive. I eat a lot of cocoa powder and cacao nibs as well, but like the solid standalone chocolate bars on a regular basis. Thoughts?

Sorry for the large picture.
Sorry for the large picture.
Skötkonung
07 Apr 2010
Some months ago I was curious about this brand and failing a successful internet search, called customer service to learn more about the processing methods. I learned that it isn't processed with alkali, which is good a thing regarding the preservation of flavanoids. However, I believe the raw cocoa material is very cheaply sourced and processed. Based on a conversation in another thread, cheap chocolate tends to run the risk of heavy metal contamination so I decided to spend a little more on organic baking chocolate.
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mustardseed41
07 Apr 2010
Seems no one knows for sure what level of heavy metals are in these chocolates we're eating.
Skötkonung
07 Apr 2010
Is Lindt 85% cocoa a decent choice?
From their website:
Are there flavanols in Lindt chocolate?We use the 'conching' process to create our chocolate. This is a high-quality manufacturing processes which maintains the highest level of flavanols and polyphenons possible. The higher the cocoa content on the chocolate, the higher the flavanol level will be. For comparison reasons, our milk truffles have 30% cocoa, dark truffles contain approximately 39% cocoa, and semisweet contain approximately 49% cocoa. Our 70% and 85% bars have some of the highest percentages of cocoa and minimal amount of sugar sold in the US. Because we do not test for these compounds, we cannot give you the exact percentage contained in each of our products. Our response is based upon articles and studies performed by independent testing laboratories and universities, coupled with our knowledge and expertise on the ingredients and process used to manufacture our products here at Lindt.
health_nutty
11 Apr 2010
Is the inexpensive unsweetened baking chocolate decent quality? I know it's not ground as fine as the gourmet 85%+ dark chocolate bars so it's a little gritty, but otherwise I can't think of a reason it would be of less quality as far as a source of cocoa goes. The benefit is that is it totally unsweetened, and I do like it that way, and it's very inexpensive. I eat a lot of cocoa powder and cacao nibs as well, but like the solid standalone chocolate bars on a regular basis. Thoughts?
Sorry for the large picture.
That is terrible quality chocolate (just going by taste). It definitely wasn't meant to be eaten plain (sour and waxy taste). Lindt has a 99% bar that is much much better tasting.