Chocolates Archives - Page 6 of 10 - Bean to Bar Chocolates India

Posted on May 18, 2021May 19, 2021 by L Nitin Chordia

Chocolate Yoga. Indulge. Discover.

Cacao: An introduction

Cacao can be defined as the forgotten plant medicine or a heart medicine and hence the food of the gods. If Goat or Beer yoga did not sound like your thing, consider practising yoga with chocolate. Yoga and meditation usually result in significantly lesser stress levels and cocoa is a powerful antioxidant which helps to make you feel good, improves your mood, relaxes and de-stresses you, improves brain and memory function, heart health, increases blood flow and gives you energy and so does yoga! Why not combine both? Chocolate + Yoga = Chocolate Yoga! Yoga and chocolate might be a relatively recent pairing. However, the link between chocolate and reaching a higher plane of awareness dates back to cacao’s use among the ancient Mayans and how they consumed cacao during ceremonies! To the Mayans, cacao was considered a “food of the Gods.” Consuming chocolate opened the doors of the heart and the gates of increased consciousness – which are the goals of yoga.

Benefits of Cacao & Chocolate to Yoga

While chocolate yoga may seem like an excuse to eat more chocolates, there is sufficient scientific support to make this combination a worthwhile try. In recent times, studies have also indicated the capability of certain chemical compounds present in dark chocolate in helping the fight against Covid19. Consuming a bit of 70%+ (cacao %) dark chocolate before a yoga session can help you better get into a calm state of mind and get you into the yogic groove. Dark chocolate is packed with magnesium, which helps your body’s muscles to relax and allows your mind to focus on meditation. Dark Chocolate, contains caffeine, theophylline and theobromine to give you energy boosts and provide you with energy as you go through your series of poses. Chocolate is also an antioxidant, which improves your mood and heart health. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Database of Flavonoid Content provides us valuable data. In each gram of a typical 70% dark chocolate, there is about 1 milligram of flavonoid. In the case of milk chocolate there is only .15 milligram of Flavonoid Content in each gram of chocolate! Source This increases the blood flow to your brain, which in turn can help your concentration and focus, leaving it open to meditation. Every yogi needs that! The recent attribution of dark chocolates to help against Covid has been discussed greatly and if you are keen on studying the science behind what cacao is capable of, kindly read: https://cocoatrait.com/chocolates/best-dark-chocolate-brand-in-india/

A typical Yoga Chocolate Session

In chocolate yoga sessions, chocolate is usually consumed at the beginning of a class. Concentrating on the taste and texture of chocolate on your tongue helps you to enter a state of mindfulness. As a start, you could place pieces of chocolates on your tounge (while resisting to bite into it) and meditate on the sensation of it melting and then spend the yoga class exploring the way the chocolate moves through their bodies, spreading its warmth, energy and life force. Consuming a piece of dark chocolate after a yoga session while in a heightened state of awareness can provide you with an elevated chocolate experience. While practising mindful awareness, as as you shift your attention to the present moment, you shall experience your mind unravel a new spectrum of chocolate flavours and sensations. A carefully curated session can help yogis to experience eating chocolate in a more mindful way and trains them to unlock a new spectrum of flavors in chocolate and sensations that chocolate can initiate.

This is the perfect, interesting and engaging way to get your family and friends involved and interested in a session of indulgent yet healthy yoga. Thanks to technology, you can be miles away from your near/dear ones and still host & enjoy a chocolate yoga experience!
L Nitin Chordia, India’s 1st certified chocolate taster

Most of us do not savour chocolates the right way. We have all learnt how to savour wine, coffee fine foods etc but chocolates have not been a subject of interest yet. In this session, you will learn how to appreciate chocolates the right way as we spend more time appreciating chocolates during the session than we usually do otherwise. There is a lot more to read about dark chocolate and this link provides you the required information to make the best choice of your dark chocolate.

There is no compromise of the old-fashioned and traditional way of conducting yoga. Chocolate yoga just adds a bit of fun, learning and health awareness to the process.
Poonam Chordia, India’s 1st certified women chocolate taster

Kocoatrait Heart Healthy Chocolates

At Kocoatrait we are damn serious about how we can contribute to your health. We have curated a Healthy Heart series of 70% + Cocoa chocolates specifically for Yoga enthusiasts. With the principle of ahimsa, which is also related to yoga, we produce the world’s most sustainable and planet friendly chocolate. Little details matter and sets us apart and makes us more consumer friendly and your 1st choice for a chocolate yoga sessions. For instance, we use only non refined desi khand (khandsari) sugar, we roast our chocolate at 117 degrees to ensure that most antioxidants are retained. We stone grind to retain flavour and we do NOT use any single use plastic to wrap our chocolates in! We do all it takes to be planet friendly and we see this as both good for you and the planet. Check out our video of the making of Kocoatrait chocolates here. Click for the Kocoatrait range of heart friendly chocolates here.

Whats next?

As you move forward and integrate more chocolates into your yoga routine, you could shift your consumption to the more serious ceremonial cacao. This is when you take your efforts to the next level and move from just fun filled yoga sessions to serious yoga sessions. The chocolate yoga session sets you up for ceremonial cacao appreciation. Officially, chocolate yoga is now a thing!

How to order Kocoatrait Chocolates?

Shop for Kocoatrait chocolates here. Contact Kocoatrait chocolates at +919600064846 or nitin@cocoatrait.com for more details on chocolate yoga or yoga with chocolates!

Posted on April 1, 2021February 1, 2023 by L Nitin Chordia — 2 Comments

Why choose Bean to Bar Chocolate made in India?

10th April 2021, Chennai, India

The year 2021 can be considered a tipping point for the Bean to Bar industry in India. The bean to bar chocolate market in India has witnessed unprecedented growth in the last 2-3 years and is worth about 10 Crores (Cocoatrait Research) in 2021. India currently boasts of around 28 small, medium and large sized bean to bar chocolate makers all demonstrating healthy growth rates and growing at over 40% Y-O-Y on an average. Cocoatrait forecasts that there would be over 40 branded bean to bar chocolate makers by 2022. Interestingly, Covid-19 has only had a temporary dampening effect on the category and there seems to be minimal impact on sales overall in the year 2020.

For the interested, many mass produced industrial chocolates are also made from bean to bar. However, not all. In fact several premium and luxury chocolate brands do not control their entire chocolate making process. They simply buy bulk industrially produced chocolate and melt them, mix certain ingredients and mould them into chocolate bars or other chocolate products. This can be a fairly simplistic process and a bean to bar chocolate maker has a lot on the plate to deal with.

Understanding of how flavours of cacao are impacted by genetic variety (genotype), climate, bean composition, soil type, age of cocoa tree, postharvest treatments of the beans such as fermentation and drying, processing such as roasting, refining, conching, tempering as well as storage and transportation make bean to bar chocolates a balanced mix of both a science and art. This is a very interesting subject for chocolate makers, the trade and consumers alike.

From the supply side, this rise of craft or artisanal Bean to Bar chocolate makers in India has been bought about by the availability of small scale equipments, access to knowledge/technology and availability of raw materials (cacao beans) locally. Consumer exposure towards fine foods and beverages like wine, speciality coffee, teas & beer attributed primarily to increased travel, rise in disposable income, decreased propensity to savings and access to information has driven demand noticeably over the last few years.

In India and even globally, there is a misconception about terms such as “craft,” “fine” “artisanal” or “small batch,” in chocolate and in other food categories. Many chocolate brands available on Indian shelves have been imported and/or finished in India using bulk chocolate made industrially from the bulk variety of beans which are usually imported from bulk cacao producing countries like africa. By alkalising cacao, mass market chocolate manufacturers are able to manipulate the flavour, acidity and colour. This is why mass-market dark chocolate is usually intensely bitter with little flavour complexity and are overly dark in colour. The intense bitterness after alkalising is then offset by adding excessive sugar and also milk (in some cases) to make it more palatable to the masses consuming it as a replacement of traditional sweets! This bitterness becomes evident when you consume a 50% dark chocolate where most of the balance 50% is sugar and the chocolate still remains bitter.

Time needed: 5 minutes

This is why we decided to write this blog post to help understand why it makes more sense to support bean to bar chocolates over mass produced supermarket or imported chocolate brands and why choosing a chocolate made from Indian cacao beans almost becomes a duty of an Indian citizen.

Better for the Farmer

The reality is that, in the traditional mass market cacao & chocolate value chain, the farmer realises a fraction of the value of the final chocolate product sold. Bean to bar makers pay a premium for better quality beans, mainly because they lack the expertise to process lower quality beans and make fine chocolate with it. It is usually more beneficial that a farmer embraces direct-trade (with the bean to bar maker) rather than fair-trade certifications. When the farmer gets a premium for his beans over the fair trade price, he is able to pay market wages to the labourers working at the farm. In many cases, we have seen farmers forward integrating to become farm to bar makers or as some say soil to bar makers. This certainly ensures that all the value generated is benefitting the farmer directly. Further, farmers are encouraged to improve their post harvesting processes and this helps them increase the value of their produce and make them self reliant.
Better for the planet

Apart from Bean to bar chocolates being beneficial for the farmer, they are also better for the sustainability of the land where it is grown, our planet and the environment overall. Cacao trees thrive in Biodiverse Environments. Bulk cacao for mass-market chocolate is often grown in monocultures, whereas fine flavour cacao used to make bean to bar chocolates, usually rely on varieties grown in polyculture where more than one plant species are grown together and imitate the diversity of natural agroforest ecosystems. It is also believed that cacao when grown polyculture agroforestry systems, also have higher carbon capture capacity benefitting the planet greatly. Further, due to their agility and small size, most Indian bean to bar makers have the ability to practise sustainability in various measures at the farm, in chocolate production process and also in their packaging and distribution.
Better for the Consumer

As you have observed, bean to bar chocolates are usually better for the farmer, better for the environment, BUT is it better for consumers? Bean to Bar chocolate makers take pride in their high quality and short ingredient lists. A bar of craft chocolate is usually made of cacao, cocoa butter, and sugar. The emphasis for craft chocolate has always been on flavour, texture and taste – which means the cacao is the star of the bar. These chocolates elevate the overall experience of a chocolate bar. With innovative natural flavours and ingredients used, boundaries are expanded and it raises the bar for consumers. This is in contrast to mass market chocolates. Over processing of chocolate leads to loss of vital benefits of cacao in mass produced chocolates. Various studies over the last few years have discovered that cacao is packed with antioxidants and flavanols. Diets high in antioxidants and flavanols have shown to benefit cardiovascular health, provide anti-inflammatory properties and help regulate blood sugar. There is a lot of research which suggests that consuming dark chocolate which is high in cacao has positive implications on stress levels, mood, memory and immunity. However, here’s the catch: not all chocolate contains the same amount of antioxidants. We believe that while it is easy to call chocolate a health product, we remain committed to calling a craft bean to bar chocolate as a healthier alternative rather than a healthier product. What are the health benefits of bean to bar chocolates? How real are they? Click to read more.
Making India Atmanirbhar

Atmanirbhar Bharat, which translates to ‘self-reliant India’, is the Hindi phrase used in relation to economic development in India. With the rise of bean to bar makers, 100% truly indian chocolates are now being offered. These chocolates made from bean to bar, use only indian ingredients starting from cacao beans, sugar and cocoa butter. Most equipments used are Indian. Indian Stone grinders make for an interesting equipment used for processing. Even the packaging material is 100% made in india. Hence consuming an indian origin bean to bar chocolate helps India remain atmanirbhar and greatly reduces the reliance on imports. The value is generated in india and is consumed in india and hence helps india remain self reliant. This is a very important contribution in helping build the economy.
Supporting local artisans

Prime Minister of India’s latest slogan “Be vocal about local” has certainly captivated the Indian audiences in the recent past, and rightly so! While chocolate is a lot of fun, making chocolate, especially when you start from cocoa beans all the way to the final chocolate bar, is a difficult job! Bean to bar chocolate makers find the right cacao, establish trustworthy relationships with cacao farmers and to plan the entire supply chain properly. Like for every artisan, precision and patience are keys in trying to achieve the best chocolate possible. Only true passion and the unending drive to supply great products can make them go through so many difficulties. The introduction of local flavours further add an element of innovation and make for interesting offerings. It is our national duty to support bean to bar chocolate makers!
Supporting the Startup Ecosystem and Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises

Startups and Micro Food Processing Enterprises are small companies but they usually play a significant role in economic growth of a country. They create more jobs and more employment means an improved economy. Not only that, they also contribute to economic dynamism by spurring innovation competing directly with established and larger companies and increase healthy competition which propels consumer spending and hence contribute directly and indirectly to taxes. In the case of bean to bar chocolates, they also help us expand the geographic reach of the products which are traditionally concentrated in urban areas.
Facilitating innovation

With an ability to make chocolate exciting again, bean to bar chocolate makers have complete freedom to experiment with outrageous flavours, designs, techniques and creations in all aspects and at each stage of the chocolate. This brings new dimensions of flavour, experience and innovation into the process and extends the reach of the category to more consumers.

Video: Bean to Bar chocolate making journey

At this nascent stage of the bean to bar industry in india, one needs to be wary of claims that are being made by chocolate brands who wrongly position themselves as fine, craft or artisanal. While consumers tend to judge a book by its cover (literally), a pretty wrapper is not the best indicator of great flavour or pure craftsmanship. Working with industrially made bulk chocolate and simply melting it to be put on moulds is significantly easier than selecting, sourcing, sorting, grading, roasting, cracking and de-shelling cacao beans! We have added a new post on the current state of the Indian cacao bean and chocolate here.

For Further details contact the author: L Nitin Chordia; +919600064846; nitin@cocoatrait.com

Posted on December 6, 2020December 6, 2020 by L Nitin Chordia

Difference between Cacao and Cocoa

In india, traditionally, sab kuch chalta hai has been the usual expectation, approach and attitude of both consumers and brands towards claims that are made. The FSSAI and the Advertising Standards Council of India have stepped up a great deal to monitor cases of misleading advertisements and claims in the Food and Beverage sector. However, the recent honey episode clearly exposes how Indian consumers are known to have a careless attitude towards many purchases they make. They do not question most claims and hence many brands take advantage of the loopholes. Coming to the topic of this article, what is the difference between Cacao and Cocoa? Lets dive in!

In almost every consumer interaction I have had in the recent past, i have been asked a question about the difference between Cacao and Cocoa. To start with, the botanical name of the tree on which cocoa pods grow is Theobroma Cacao. It is the bitter seed of this fruit which is processed into chocolate starting from from Bean to Bar. The cocoa pod are first carefully harvested (cut from the tree) and then the pulp which coats the seeds is removed from the pods and put together in the fermentation box for fermentation for 5-7 days and then usually sun dried.

Untill this stage, most of the processes are natural and happen at the farm (except drying using artificial dryers in case of rains) and the beans are referred to as cacao beans. However, once the beans travel and reach the chocolate processing unit, the chocolate maker starts by grading and sorting the beans and roasting them. This is usually the 1st artificial step that is administered on the beans. Till before the roasting stage, the beans are referred to as Cacao beans. Once the beans are roasted, they are usually referred to as cocoa beans. Cocoa usually means beans that have been processed. Post roasting, cocoa (or chocolate) liquor is made by refining the beans and is then pressed to separate cocoa butter and the resultant powder. This liquor is NOT referred to as Cacao liquor, it is referred to as cocoa liquor because it is made from processed (roasted) beans!

As next steps, commercial chocolate manufacturers treat (alkalise) cocoa to get rid of the acidity and bitterness of low quality or mass produced cacao beans that are used. Alkalised cocoa is famously called as Dutch processed cocoa !!! With us being clear about the usage of the term cocoa, let us understand what cacao refers to! Cacao is used as a term for a product that is less processed than other products. To take an example of cocoa powder, if the powder is alkalised, it is called as cocoa powder. However, if it is not alkalised, it can be called as Cacao powder.

However, your insight and inquisitiveness should not stop here! Many health and nutritional experts refer to the usage of cacao as a superfood and in many of their recommendations and recipes without really expanding or explaining on what is the exact product they are referring to! It is researched extensively and believed that Cocoa contains more phenolic antioxidants than most foods. However, most of the antioxidants are available in non processed cacao and the benefits reduce as they are further processed. This means RAW beans contain most of the benefits that have been researched! Roasting and alkalising it results in the most loss of antioxidants. However, we must remember that cacao also contains a lot of fat (50% by weight!). Hence it is useful to press out the fat from it. When pressed, the resultant product is powder. If the beans are not roasted (to retain antioxidants) and powder is pressed, the resultant product is RAW cacao powder and is believed to retain the most antioxidants and the most healthy! Hence it is best to use RAW cacao powder or RAW cacao nibs if the aim is to accentuate health benefits from cacao.

Bakers must also note that baking soda causes an increase in pH and subsequent destruction of flavanol compounds and antioxidant activity. Hence it is best to avoid baking soda in your healthy bakes.

Posted on November 23, 2020August 12, 2023 by L Nitin Chordia

Corporate Gifts for Employees. Build employee culture strategically, Enhance Employee Engagement/Experience (EX) & Employer Branding

Build employee culture strategically, Enhance Employee Engagement/Experience (EX) & Employer Branding using Corporate Gifts for Employees. This is perhaps a recurring (monthly!) requirement that corporates have to keep addressing. Kocoatrait has the privilege and pleasure in presenting to you a planet friendly (a.k.a sustainable) and inclusive Employee Experience enhancement, engagement, communication, culture building and corporate gifting format for the 1st time in India! Pair your monthly/quarterly/annual gifting with a virtual, fun, learning lead, engaging & innovative “live” 60 minute fine chocolate appreciation session with India’s 1st certified chocolate taster, L Nitin Chordia. The aim of this session is to demonstrate sustainability using healthy-dark, sustainable, inclusive, plastic/paper free chocolates at the cost of a team lunch/outing! This format can be delivered in Offline (in person), Online (Virtual) & Hybrid model.

Who is this relevant for in an organisation?

This format is relevant and directly applicable to the heads/managers of the following roles in an organisation: Human Resources, People & Culture, Employee Experience (EX), Employee Engagement, Employer Branding, Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion, Communication and Marketing Managers can ensure Employee Experience improvement and Engagement.

How much does this activity cost?

The cost of this activity equates to the cost of a team lunch per person! Quite Literally! and sometimes even lower!

Please click here to access the presentation on this innovative engagement format and how this can be useful for your organisation.

Below are a few testimonials from our clients.

We reached out to Nitin for a team session on appreciating Indian bean to bar chocolates. The team enjoyed the bonding over the session and learnt a lot about making, eating and enjoying chocolates. Nitin engaged with many of them and answered all their queries which made it very interactive. Whilst initially a two hour session, we went on for nearly three hours. All thanks to Nitin and his wonderful chocolates!
– Yash J Ashar, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai

Experiencing the delight of chocolate tasting came true with the event hosted by Nitin! This was an intimate event with just a few team members so we felt the individual attention and Nitin was super calm and answered all our questions. I was personally surprised to learn about some lesser known facts of chocolate manufacturing, special insights of zero waste packaging, even about the fermentation process in detail! Loved the session and have already recommended to my peer teams, who I believe have already signed up for future sessions! (Link: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6876563595862396928/)
– Ramya Sampath, Head of India Partner Engineering team, Linkedin India.

Given the continued WFH, we were looking for a fun and informative virtual session that would help the team interact. Some of the other options we considered were stand up comedy or concert, but we felt with Nitin’s knowledge and credentials and the excellent Kocoatrait chocolates, a chocolate appreciation session would be more interactive and engaging. We were not disappointed – the session was excellent and everyone really enjoyed it. We would highly recommend it.
– Prashant Gupta, Partner and National Practise Head (Capital Markets), Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, New Delhi

Eco-friendly gifts tug at people’s heart. They help us forge an emotional bond & pass the message of environment conservation
– Anand Rajendran, HR Director, Rage Communication, Chennai

Thank you for hosting a chocolate tasting event for us . The event was very well received by our team and they enjoyed it wholeheartedly. Thanks for taking care of the logistics and making sure every employee gets a personalized message and the chocolates kits right on time. The chocolate tasted amazing and the virtual event was great. Thanks for all that you did for making our team feel special and teaching them how to eat and taste chocolates.
– Malini Satish Kumar – ABP, Google India

For Team Engagement and Building with chocolates, we ship out a box of handpicked Single Origin Planet Friendly, Sustainable and Zero Waste chocolate to the associates based on addresses shared in a specific spreadsheet format by the client (in advance) and using bluedart or similar overnight service. The box is completely sustainable, plastic free and planet friendly. The fine flavoured chocolates are of indian origin and reassures the participants that in India we can be atmanirbhar with our chocolates. The box is delivered with the client’s logo on the top of the box printed on the bluedart AWB indicating & clearly indicating that the company has sent it. Upon receipt of the box, the recipient stores the chocolates based on instructions clearly given in the box. On a scheduled date/time, the associates log on to a virtual platform and then L Nitin Chordia, (India’s 1st certified chocolate taster) takes them through a 90 minute guided chocolate appreciation sesion where we taste 4 or 5 different and unique chocolate bars. The associates can join in with their families if so desired by the company! During the session, we ensure that almost all the participants get to participate/engage in some conversation. We start with a quick rapid fire introduction of each participant and where they take 20-30 seconds each to share any memory about chocolate. Post this, Nitin takes them through a 20 minute walk through of pictures and videos of how chocolate is actually made. After this, there is an introduction to the chocolate tasting guide and participants taste chocolates based on the instructions. If so desired, one chocolate can be without a name and participants guess the same. Nitin engages with a few randomly selected team members for each chocolate and requests for their reaction. This takes up untill 90 minutes and we wind the session with a Q&A. All this at the cost per person of a team lunch! The session needs 10 working days of advance notice for logistics planning.

The benefits of engaged employees for a business is well known. This is a good link to visit to further read the benefits https://blog.vantagecircle.com/benefits-of-employee-engagement/ From an HR perspective, Corporate Engagement and Gifts for Employees is a very critical area of execution and the need and benefits of virtual employee engagement has been captured very well in this blog post. https://blog.vantagecircle.com/virtual-employee-engagement-ideas/ Some of our corporate clients are listed below:

Our Client List

The video below describes the journey of Kocoatrait chocolates from bean to bar!

The Journey fo Planet Friendly Kocoatrait chocolates from Bean to Bar

You could also choose to include a zero waste sustainable and planet friendly chocolate gift box (options available in reusable TIN and Plam leaf). This box lends itself very well to the overall virtual chocolate appreciation experience. The box is available to view at: https://cocoatrait.com/product/zero-waste-gift/

Some relevant articles have been published on Employee Experience (EX) and the links are: https://www.crn.in/news/employee-experience-the-future-of-work-post-pandemic/ https://www.peoplematters.in/article/employee-engagement/employee-experience-the-secret-weapon-in-the-talent-war-30960 and https://www.mercer.co.in/our-thinking/career/time-to-take-employee-experience-to-next-level.html https://www.hrmorning.com/articles/employee-experience-post-covid/ https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/insights/employee-experience https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/10-ways-to-improve-employee-experience/ https://blog.vantagecircle.com/employee-experience/

Disclaimer: We are not associated to any of the above firms listed in the links.

About L Nitin Chordia, Cocoatrait & Cocoashala:L Nitin Chordia is India’s 1st certified chocolate taster. A Sparring Partner and a Retail Business Consultant with over 15 years of experience in Indian FMCG and Retail Domain. His current consulting focus is Sustainability, Zero Waste & Circular Economy. Nitin is India’s 1st Certified Chocolate Taster, Judge at the International Chocolate Awards, London and a Cocoa Post Harvest Professional. Nitin is the 1st external faculty at the Institute of fine chocolate tasting, UK. Nitin operates Cocoatrait with an intention to promote the production and consumption of fine chocolates in India. Nitin along with his wife Poonam (a trained chocolatier and a Level 2 certified chocolate taster) operates Cocoashala, a chocolate school which delivers the basic & advanced levels of Bean to Bar chocolate making training and beyond. Kocoatrait is the world & India’s 1st Sustainable Luxury Zero Waste, Single Origin, Organic and Planet Friendly Bean to Bar Chocolate contributing to the circular economy. Kocoatrait was conceived with an aim to enable aspiring Indian citizens to adopt a zero waste lifestyle and follow minimalistic living.

Contact: L Nitin Chordia +919600064846; nitin@cocoatrait.com

Posted on October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 by L Nitin Chordia — 2 Comments

Bake Better: Chocolate couverture made with Desi Khandsari a.k.a Muscovado Sugar

Why should you be baking with Khandsari Sugar and care if the baking chocolate you are using is sweetened with it? Read on..

Muscovado, also khandsari and khand, is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour made from thickened sugar cane syrup. It is neither bleached nor contains harmful chemicals and additives and hence considered a less processed substitute to white sugar. It is dark brown in colour usually. Khandsari and Gur (jaggery) are the most popular forms of the traditional sugars in northern India.

Khandsari sugar is usually darker than other sugars

The largest producer and consumer of khandsari is India. The English name “muscovado” is derived from a corruption of Portuguese açúcar mascavado (unrefined sugar).The Indian English names for this type of sugar are khandsari and khand (sometimes spelled khaand). Nearly two thirds of the total sugarcane produced had been used for manufacturing of the traditional sugars in 1930’s. However, after introduction of sugar refinery mills and their significant growth and increased demand for white sugar associated with increase in per-capital income among the population, the demand for the traditional sugars declined. By 2000, only 32.5% of the total sugarcane produced in India was used for manufacturing of Gur and Khandsari.

Muscovado a.k.a Khandsari sugar sugar is unrefined cane sugar that contains natural molasses. It has a rich brown color, moist texture, and toffee-like taste. It’s commonly used to give confections like cookies, cakes, and candies a deeper flavor but can also be added to savory dishes. This is the reason why Kocoatrait chocolate couvertures have a deeper and unique toffee like note. This helps bakers add a slightly unique flavour to their final products. This is perhaps the main reason you should be Baking with Khandsari Sugar.

The use of khand in India in making sweets has been traced to at least 500 BC, when both raw and refined sugar were used. Along with gur, khandsari unrefined sugar is India’s traditional sweetener,[28] commonly used in traditional recipes for masala chai (spiced Indian tea), eating with roti by mixing with melted ghee, traditional Indian sweets that require sugar such as kheer (Indian rice pudding), gur or khand chawal (sweetened rice) or laddu. Khandsari (muscovado) is used in traditional Ayurveda medicine to aid blood purification, digestion, bone health and the lungs.

Having said the above, our verdict is as follows: While it is true that khandsari has more nutritional value than white sugar. But let us be real. One should not be eating sugar for the vitamins and minerals! The fact is that khandsari is minimally processed and has a unique flavour profile which makes it interesting to work with. This should be the reason you should consume it. Further, there has always been a debate about bone char being used to refine sugar. We just could not get around proving that, so we decided to avoid the problem instead of solving it ! We do not encourage the health claims associated with khandsari. However, using minimally processed and safe ingredients is always something we are eager to do Thats why we buy only USDA organic certified khandsari sugar for use in Kocoatrait chocolate products.

https://www.longdom.org/open-access/alternative-and-supplementary-health-model-on-traditional-sugars.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovado
Michael Krondl, Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 978-1556529542, pp. 34–35