Ruby chocolate is a pretty pink chocolate (Southern Creative-Adobe Stock)
How do you like your chocolate? Smooth and creamy, or dark and bitter? Or maybe you love the taste of the sweet and creamy white variety?
For the past few years, since 2017 to be exact, a newcomer has made inroads into the chocolate scene: ruby chocolate. But what is it, exactly?
With pleasing mauve tones that make it pop against the backdrop of its monochromatic cousins in the chocolate shop window, this new kid is certainly a looker. Its taste is described as smooth, fruity and reminiscent of forest berries, although none of that makes its way into the recipe. Instead, it gets its bold and unique flavors from the Ruby cocoa bean and innovative processing techniques. Ruby cocoa beans are cultivated in Brazil, Ecuador and Ivory Coast, and, like wine, they’re influenced by the terroir in which they grow. The pioneer in the creation of ruby chocolate is Swiss cocoa giant Barry Callebaut, one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products.
Ruby chocolate is delicious with nuts and caramel chunks (Yulia Furman-Adobe Stock )
As its makers point out, it’s been more than 80 years since a new type of chocolate (white) has been brought to market, so surely it was high time for a new taste. Consumer research conducted by its maker indicated that this new pink gold would make waves amongst the millennial crowd, in particular, a group in search of “hedonistic indulgence” at the proper price point.
In the name of scientific research, I felt obliged to seek out and sample several bites of this rose-hued goodness. As a chunk of chocolate on its own, I found its taste too tangy and overwhelming. On the other hand, Belgian chocolatier DelRey’s ruby chocolate-covered hazelnuts known as Ruby Pearls offered a pleasing combination of fruit and nut flavors. And as the top layer is a handmade salted caramel praline, it was nothing short of scrumptious.
