When "Gourmet" Isn't

Funny what some companies will do to market chocolate bars that are vastly inferior to quality products like World's Finest Chocolate.  The latest manifestation of this is certain fundraising companies adding the title of "gourmet" to their line of chocolates, hoping that people will actually believe it.

Sadly, the uninitiated often do; but people who know good taste and good chocolate don't fall for this ploy and know what to look for before they even taste the confection being touted so highly.

But first, what does "gourmet" mean exactly when it comes to chocolate?

The confection industry doesn't have a standardized definition of it to date, but most experts in the field agree that at the very least a truly gourmet chocolate incorporates high quality ingredients.  This can include all-natural ingredients sourced from reputable, quality-focused suppliers, as well as the exclusion of certain low-quality, cost-cutting ingredients which usually signal trouble - or in this case a "profit over product" mentality.Take the ominously-named Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate, or "PGPR" for short.  This thick, yellowish emulsifier which is derived from castor oil and used to reduce the viscosity of chocolate became widely adopted by commercial chocolate manufacturers starting around 2006.

Why, you ask? 

They will probably tell you because they wanted to reduce the fat content of their chocolates, which is indeed one of the side effects of using PGPR as an additive; but even Palsgaard, one of the leading manufacturers of PGPR, touted to the confection industry that "Cocoa butter is an expensive raw material for chocolate manufacturers. By using PALSGAARD 4150 the chocolate recipe has lower costs in terms of less cocoa butter..." 1

This substituting for cocoa butter may help lower a company's production costs, but it also lowers the health benefits most commonly associated with chocolate.