If you’ve been following the food trends over the last couple of years, you may have heard of ruby chocolate. With its pale pink color, it is beautiful to look at leaves you wondering more about it. As it has become more popular, you can find ruby chocolate bars, ruby chocolate candies, and even ruby chocolate pieces you can use to make your own ruby chocolate treats. So let’s explore a bit what ruby chocolate is.
When Was Ruby Chocolate Discovered?
Ruby chocolate was created by the chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut, which is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Callebaut introduced Ruby chocolate to the world in late 2017. Ruby chocolate is made using a unique, patented process. Ruby chocolate was first released in Japan in the form of the Ruby KitKat chocolate bar.
What is Ruby Chocolate
While ruby chocolate looks like white chocolate dyed pink, Ruby chocolate is a “real” type of chocolate. It contains chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, just like dark and milk chocolate do.
The term “the Ruby cocoa bean” has been used to describe the cacao bean used to make ruby chocolate. However, Ruby chocolate doesn’t come from any special variety of cacao plant; it is created through a specific manufacturing process. “Ruby cacao” is simply the name given to cacao beans used to make Ruby chocolate.
The typical process of making chocolate involves fermentation which gives chocolate its typical flavor and dark brown color. However, Ruby chocolate’s pink color is reportedly due to under-fermented cacao beans treated with a unique (patented) process.
There isn’t much known about the specific manufacturing process used to create Ruby chocolate. Callebaut has played this close to the vest, so exactly how Ruby chocolate differs from regular chocolate isn’t known. Callebaut denies Ruby chocolate being a new variety of cacao or being genetically modified.
The ingredient list for Ruby chocolate is sugar, cocoa butter, nonfat dry milk, whole milk powder, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, citric acid, and natural vanilla flavor. So as much as I would love to dive into how Ruby chocolate is made, Barry Callebaut only provides a vague overview of their manufacturing process, citing trade secrets.
For more information on how traditional chocolate is made, check out this article.
What Does Ruby Chocolate Taste Like?
The general consensus is that plain Ruby chocolate has a fruity taste. The flavor profile is fruity and berry-like with a sour tang. Unlike dark chocolate, there is no bitterness; Ruby chocolate is actually quite sweet. Obviously, the addition of other ingredients will change the flavor profile.
Why is Ruby Chocolate So Expensive?
Ruby chocolate is only produced by Barry Callebaut. This means there are no competing manufacturers that can make and sell ruby chocolate at a lower price. Because Callebaut controls all of the supply, they can keep the price of Ruby chocolate high. In comparison, multiple manufacturers make milk and dark chocolate at different levels of quality. Because of this, you will find milk and dark chocolate at a wide variety of price points.
How Long Does Ruby Chocolate Last?
If properly stored, Ruby chocolate should last at least 2 years. Chocolate is best stored unopened in its original wrapper. If storing a chocolate bar that has been opened, wrap the chocolate bar in foil. Then place the chocolate in an air-tight container to minimize how much oxygen the chocolate is exposed to.
Well, I hope you learned something new! If you have now been bit by the baking bug, be sure to check out the tasty recipes on my site. Happy Baking!
