Santa Barbara Organic 60% Nutrition Data

Dark Chocolate

Organic Dark Chocolate 60% RA

Nutrition Facts

Servings ?, 1oz. 28g

Amount per serving

Calories 158 Calories From Fat 105

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 14g 22%

Saturated Fat 7g 35%

Trans Fat 0

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 1mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 12g 4%

Dietary Fiber 2 8%

Sugars 11g

Protein 1g

Vitamin A 0% . Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 1% Iron 2%

*percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Ingredients: DARK CHOCOLATE:(*Sugar, *Superior Cocoa Liquor+,

*Cocoa Butter+,)

*Organic, +Rain Forest

Blending Chocolates to make your own

Blending different types of chocolate couverture will create some of the finest and most interesting tasting chocolate. In fact, you can create your own custom chocolates, cocoa percentages and couverture from scratch.

For example, if you blend equal parts of the Santa Barbara dark chocolate Rio Tigre 75% with our South Pacific Fijian Milk Chocolate 35% you'll get a slightly milky, mildly dark 55% cocoa solids chocolate. This chocolate has the flavor, melt and mouth feel of a classic Swiss dark chocolates. (75% cocoa solids + 35% cocoa solids = 110/2 = 55% cocoa solids). Temper this chocolate as a milk chocolate.

Another exciting thing is to take our pure dark chocolate 100 as a base and create your own homemade chocolate couverture just like the big companies do. For example, take 100 grams of our dark 100 and blend with 25 grams of a very fine powdered sugar and blend slowly while melting. You just invented a 75% cocoa solid dark chocolate with no added vanilla, no lecithin and no fillers. A very pure chocolate made with the very best ingredients.

This method above is how most artisan bean to bar chocolate companies make their chocolate.

There is nothing like a dark chocolate with just a touch of milk chocolate mixed in - it is so wonderful. The milk chocolate adds an extra dimension and takes the bitter edge off the dark chocolate. Here is a link to our site.

Easy Chocolate Fudge Recipe

Best and Easy Chocolate Fudge Recipe

This is an easy chocolate fudge recipe shared by our friend Mary in Santa Cruz California. Ingredients 1 spray cooking spray 1 2/3 cup sugar 2/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk 2 Tbsp butter 12 oz santa barbara chocolate dark baking chocolate chips like the Manjo or Sao Thome (about 1 1/2 cups) 14 large marshmallows Instructions: Coat an 8- X 8-inch pan with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, stir together continuously sugar, evaporated milk and butter; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Stir in SBC baking chips and marshmallows; remove pan from heat and stir until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into thirty-six 1 1/3-inch squares and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving. Notes Optional: 1 cup of chopped nuts of your choice Store fudge in refrigerator. Or freeze for a firmer consistency. Click here to see chocolate options for use in this recipe

Gourmet Drinking Chocolate

Thick and creamy hot chocolate is so comforting on a cold night or a crisp morning. With just a dollop of whip cream on top it is a real joy. I love drinking it as a light after dinner dessert too. It is easy to make and very satisfying.

I make extra and then put the rest in the refrigerator so I can have ice cold chocolate milk during the day. It separates a little while in the refrigerator because it doesn't have the fillers and artificial ingredients, but just shake it up and it mixes easily and is ready to drink. The kids LOVE it! The drinking chocolate powder works great in ice cold smoothies as well. In the blender you add: 4 tbsp gourmet drinking chocolate powder, 1 frozen banana, 1 cup of milk, a hand full of ice and a big spoon of peanut butter if you like that - it is healthy and delicious. Strawberries, blueberries and acai berry blend very nicely with the Rainforest Red Gourmet Drinking Chocolate.

I read in an online scientific report from Mayo Clinic about how cocoa can help reduce blood pressure. It is interesting because the same principles in how that cocoa helps reduce blood pressure also apply as a nitric oxide activator. It is the same way that some well being health drinks work, but cocoa does it naturally.

Rainforest Red Gourmet Drinking Chocolate

Santa Barbara Dark Drinking Chocolate has a natural purple red hue because of our chosen blend of exotic ground cacao. The masterfully crafted blend melts in your cup to create the most tantalizing chocolate sensation. Not too sweet with a very smooth full bodied chocolate flavor this is a hot chocolate everyone will love. In the afternoon it is a welcome escape to enjoy a relaxing cup. Try it with a shot of brandy as an elegant apéritif or a tablespoon in your espresso.

For the ultimate chocolate drink: Whisk 3 Tablespoons with 4 oz of hot milk and top with whipped cream.

Made with rainforest red cocoa

Chocolate Truffle Recipes

Chocolate Truffle Recipes

There are endless recipes for chocolate truffles, but here is one of the most classic and basic ones from our family in Europe.

5 oz of cream + 1.5 oz honey - bring to slight boil
Pour cream over 16 oz of Santa Barbara Chocolate Hispaniola Organic Dark Chocolate 60%

Stir mixture until it is all melted and smooth
Refrigerate for 4 hours covered

Remove from refrigerator and spoon into small round balls
Roll the truffle balls in Santa Barbara Chocolate Red Cocoa Powder for a slight dusting and earthy look.

These elegant and classic truffles should be enjoyed within 2 weeks.

Link to Best Chocolate to Use for Recipe

Brazilian Cocoa

Brazil offers a diverse range of cacao varieties and is one of the cradles of all cacao trees and hybrids. In fact when you look at all the hybrid types and flavors offered in Brazilian cacao you can find 140+ types. Brazilian cacao has a strong flavor, so normally you will find Brazilian cacao used with other cacao types to create unique flavor profiles in chocolate. Brazilian cacao can have strong fruity, earthy or wet flavors. If one chooses the correct type of Brazilian cacao, it can offer a wonderful flavor that is truly unique and very uplifting. Santa Barbara Chocolate uses Brazilian cacao to produce our Black Cocoa powder which is our boldest cocoa powder in flavor and color. The Black Cocoa works wonderfully as a color enhancer or if you need a strong alkalized flavor in a cookie or baked good. The predominate locations for Brazilian cacao production are Manaus North Central Amazon and Bahia Eastern Coastal.

Brazilian Black Cocoa link

Belgian Chocolate Butter Creams

Chocolate Butter Creams are delectable - soft and rich with a smooth melt and lingering chocolate flavor. In fact our award winning California Collection contains several butter creams handmade in the classic Belgian chocolate, French chocolate and Victorian chocolate butter cream tradition.

Homemade butter cream chocolates are fun to make and perfect for dessert. Here is one of the easiest chocolate butter cream recipes around. This is a chocolate recipe handed down from a Belgian chocolate master in Bruges.

2 Cups Santa Barbara Chocolate Cocoa Powder (a rich slightly alkalized cocoa powder)

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Melted Salted Butter

1/4 Cup Whole Milk

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix/Beat all ingredients thoroughly to a smooth fine whipped paste

Once you have your completed butter cream you can use it as a filling in a praline (Belgian chocolate style), you can pipe into starch molds (Victorian English chocolate style) or pipe into a long log roll, chill, cut and dip into chocolate (French chocolate style).

Probably the simplest way to enjoy this easy chocolate dessert is to spoon your buttercream into balls and roll in a mixture of cocoa powder and finely chopped nuts (hazelnuts for the European traditionalist). If needed, chill the butter cream mixture slightly to help set it up. Your creation may look rough around the edges but this is okay and is exactly how the earliest chocolate makers would have made chocolate butter creams.

Guaranteed everyone will be impressed with your classic chocolate making style and for sure everyone will love the impeccable taste of your traditional chocolate dessert.

The Best Chocolate - But How?

Cocoa bean – Sourcing and testing

Top quality cocoa beans are required in making the best chocolate ingredients such as chocolate couverture and cocoa powder.

Expertise in cocoa bean sourcing as well as a secure broker infrastructure set up in growing areas,

allows Santa Barbara Chocolate to select the best cocoa beans available.

One country we get cocoa beans from in West Africa is the Ivory Coast which has more than 800,000 farmers growing cacao. Most of these family farms are very small, about 3 hectares in size. These small family cocoa farms play an important role in the quality level of the finished chocolate.

Family farmers give attention and love to their cocoa trees, along with proper pruning, fermenting and cacao drying which all contributes to top quality cocoa beans. By starting with the best ingredients such as family farm grown cocoa beans Santa Barbara Chocolate is able to make the best chocolate.

Santa Barbara Chocolate works with ethical brokers who buy cocoa beans directly from small family farms.

Hispaniola Organic Dark Chocolate Video

Click here to watch a video about the Santa Barbara Chocolate organic Hispaniola Dark Chocolate.

How long will my chocolate last?

How long will chocolate last?

It depends on which chocolate you are talking about but for general terms if stored at 60F and 50% humidity:

1) Solid Chocolates such as couvertures or bars: 1 year

2) California Collection of fruits, nuts, caramel, toffee and butter creams: 6 months

3) Truffles: 4 months

4) Truffles in 75 piece packs: 4 weeks

Santa Barbara All Natural 60% Dark Chocolate

All Natural 60% Dark Chocolate Nutritional Specifications.

Santa Barbara Organic White Chocolate

This is the nutritional specification for the Santa Barbara Chocolate organic white chocolate.

Cocoa Beans and The Roast

So here's the secret as to why the Santa Barbara Chocolate Organic Fair Chocolate tastes great:

Some chocolate companies burn their cocoa beans with a heavy roast. This results in a strong bitter taste with not much depth. This is done to hide inferior quality cocoa bean flavors and off notes of acidity, metallic like flavors or even damp, musty flavors due to over ripe or over fermented cocoa beans. It also allows manufacturers to use less cocoa fiber (the dark part of the cocoa bean and the most expensive part) and still get a desired "dark" chocolate taste. Santa Barbara Chocolate Company does not over-roast or use inferior grade cocoa beans. Santa Barbara Chocolate Company never burns the cocoa beans to produce a flavor. What you get from Santa Barbara Chocolate is a true and balanced flavor of cocoa with no burnt aftertaste.

Guide to Raw Cacao and Cocoa Bean Flavors

A very helpful guide to cocoa bean characteristics and flavors has been posted: Santa Barbara Chocolate Company

Santa Barbara Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

Here's a link to a great recipe that I enjoy making and eating the end result nearly every Friday night with a big glass of cold milk: Santa Barbara Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies. You'll become addicted as I have.

These are the two chocolates used for this recipe:

Sao Thome Dark Chocolate Chips

Rainforest Natural Cacao Powder