Chocolate lovers get ready – a new kind of chocolate will be coming to you soon. Ruby chocolate will be the fourth of the chocolates, after dark, milk and white. It’s about time too, as white chocolate was invented over 80 years ago!

This pink chocolate was developed at Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s largest cocoa processor based in France and Belgium and has been in research and development for over a decade by a network of 28 R&D centres and Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany.

Ruby chocolate is made from the Ruby cocoa bean, which means that no berries are necessary to make the taste or colour. The taste has been described as sour yet sweet, but not bitter or milky with a smooth texture and natural berry flavour. The natural pink colour comes from the powder that is extracted during processing.

Perfect for Valentine’s Day, ruby chocolate may help boost a declining chocolate market. It is expected to be available in the United Kingdom in six months and will eventually be sold worldwide.

Further R&D is happening at Nestle, who have found a way to reduce sugar content in chocolate by up to 40 percent. These products will be available in 2018.

If your company is conducting research and development in the food sector, you may qualify for R&D tax relief. Contact Swanson Reed R&D Tax Advisors to discuss your eligibility.

 

Photo sourced from barry-callebaut.com.