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Dark Chocolate

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fiona35

Well-Known Member
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227
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
I just wondered if anyone could suggest a Dark Chocolate that isn’t so bitter.
I did used to treat myself to the Lindt 65% Cocoa milk chocolate but it’s not been available for a while and I’ve been buying various bars of Dark Chocolate to try and replace but they all taste really strong and bitter.
I even resorted to melting the dark chocolate and trying to add some powdered sweetener to it, it wasn’t a great experiment!! lol
 
Have you tried working up slowly to a higher % chocolate? That what I did in the beginning. Why not try the Lindt 70% for a while and get your palate used to it. I’m now a 95% girl.

A little tip when eating high % chocolate is to break of a tiny piece and let it melt slowly in your mouth before eating a bigger piece, apparently it sets your taste buds for the notes in the chocolate
 
Maybe not the solution you are after but dark chocolate goes very well with a red wine. The wine takes some of the bitterness out of the chocolate and the chocolate brings out some of the fruitiness of the wine.
Otherwise, you could try the dark chocolate from Aldi and LIdl - they both have a fair (not too expensive) selection to try. We have done some comparisons for the "wine test".
 
You could try coating nuts with the chocolate, melting the chocolate gently and dipping in the nuts one at a time, placing them on a sheet of baking parchment, or using confectionary trays and tiny paper cups with a nut or a teaspoonful of slivered almonds or chopped nuts held together with melted chocolate.
You can leave your melting bowl and spoon in the fridge between uses, in a sealed container so it doesn't pick up odours from other stored food - so there is no loss of chocolate.
You could dip other things, such as strawberries or anything else you can cope with which might benefit from chocolate. There are recipes for low carb baked goods from sites such as sugarfreelondoner, and many others - but the US ones can be problematic sometimes as their measuring is not the same as the UK.
 
Personally, I'd ask Sanne or Camiel from Gula Delicatessen in Amersfoort, but I'm sure there are chocolatiers near you somewhere. Seriously though... Back when I started with dark chocolate, the 100% Lindt, or even the 95%, would make my tongue shrivel up in misery. It took a while of low carbing and nothing sweet to really appreciate the many tones from a very pure Peruvian bar, for instance. But, if you don't have time to adjust, which admittedly can take a while, seek out a chocolatier that has imported bars from all sorts of places... They'll know what bars are more accessible than others for someone whose palette isn't up to the extra bitter stuff. (Yet). Zotter, Mesjokke, or a brand from Budapest I can't pronounce, might be more up your alley. Otherwise, maybe try a very dark bar with some other flavoring in, like mint or coconut. It might take the edge off. And there's some lovely pralines which are sugar free that might be available. Ask around, e-mail is it's a long trip, do NOT forget to ask about pricing (the imported stuff is very dear, but my god, so worth it!!!) let them know what the problem is and what you're looking for. You might get a crash course in imported chocolates, but if you're even a bit like me, you'll find it fascinating.
Good luck!
Jo
 

Lindt 70% is pure love!
 
I'm not a big dark chocolate fan but find this is preferable to reduce some of the bitterness on the occasions I want something. I live in Eastern Europe though so I'm not sure if Stevia sweetened chocolate is available to you locally.
 

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Thank you for all your helpful replies.
I guess there is a big adjust going from a milk chocolate to 85% dark!!
I will try working my way up as it were and try little bits first and I like the idea of melting the chocolate and dipping it in nuts & strawberries, that sounds naughty! lol
 
Unfortunately I had to give up the dark chocolate, too many headaches and sinus problems due to that and dairy. I do miss the bitter chocolate though. I had a Malteser a few weeks back and it made me feel so sick as it was too sweet!
 
I'm partial to Dark Chocolate (85%) and a medium strength cheddar cheese
 
If it is the milk chocolate you miss, perhaps try making a ganache with cream and dark chocolate.

2-Ingredient Keto Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate ganache is the epitome of French elegance in the form of dessert. Chocolate and cream, just two ingredients melting into each other to create a glossy, smooth cream.
www.ketodietyum.com
 
I used to be a big milk chocolate binger, the more the better.

Now I've changed to 85% dark I only have 1 or 2 squares max, that's 10 or 20g weight.
I didn't like the taste at first but am glad I managed to change
 
I make chocolate myself by buying 100% cacao chocolate (Whole Foods carries one or two brands who have 100%, like that Spanish brand that offers 100%Peruvian chocolate), melting it down with pure cocoa butter, adding an acceptable sweetener to it. Instead of 100% cacao chocolate, I also use cocoa powder because it is cheaper. The more cocoa butter is added, the more the chocolate flavor will be diluted that is, less bitter. But in this recipe the quality of the cocoa/chocolate will be very important that is, the differences in cocoa quality between different brands will become very apparent.
 
Any 100% chocolate I have tried to eat has been like chewing a bar of compressed dust. I must say the Lindt 85%+ stuff isn't much better.

My favourite (in the UK) is Sainsbury's Ugandan 90%, it's really smooth. Alternatively the Lidl own-brand 85% is also pretty good.

I've tried making my own with cocoa butter and fancy cocoa powder but replacing the sugar with other stuff. Problem is stevia is awful, and all the sugar alcohols (e.g. xylitol, erythritol) mean the chocolate tastes weirdly cold in your mouth (like a sugar-free mint). They also don't dissolve very well so can leave it grainy.

I've just bought some Allulose at great expense from Amazon (I think it's not yet approve for use in the UK/EU) so I'll try that and report back if it's any good.
 
I like Hotel Chocolate. They do a selection of batons which range from 65% to 85% so quite a good way to build up your taste buds. We, very luckily, have a Hotel Chocolate factory shop near us which gets lots of visits!
 

I find the dark chocolate from Lidi is good.
 
Funnily enough, the person responsible for supplying Lidl with their chocolate is one of my best friends - and I would totally agree that the Lidl 85% is one of my personal favourites - I've just about always got an 85% bar on the go....

as far as I'm concerned, a section of 85% chocolate a day is practically medicine..

I've got a bar of Green & Blacks 85% going at the moment, and they are pricey, but it's goooood.

I have to say - I'm a big coffee nerd - (as it happens, I've been away for most of the week, and a good cup of coffee this morning brought tears to my eyes, sometimes a little while away from something makes you appreciate it the more) and I'm loving the journey I've been on with darker chocolate this year.

I'm sure like a lot of people, I found anything above about 50% quite bitter to start with, but as I've progressed down the low carb high fat path, and developed both more of a taste for fat, and less of a taste for sweet; I'm distinguishing more flavours in dark chocolate, all the same kinds of things you can get from coffee - the nuttiness, the slight sweetness, the subtle fruit and acidic notes ... just much more complex than I was aware was possible in chocolate.

And - I guess the comparison is obvious, milk chocolate would now be like a sweet milky coffee - no real flavour, just drowned with the milk and sugar...
 
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