We're not gonna lie; here at PastryBase, we're always looking for reasons to eat more chocolate! With Valentine's Day approaching, we'll have (another) perfect excuse to indulge...but if we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it right and go for the good stuff! We absolutely adore vegan chocolate, and maybe not for all the reasons you may think. Here are our Top 5 Reasons You Need To Try Vegan Chocolate!
1. It's usually much higher in quality
If you're a die-hard chocolate lover, you've probably delved into the world of darker chocolates and discovered how delicious and complex in flavor they can be. The fact is, a lot of high-quality, darker chocolate is vegan by default, since the focus on higher amounts of cacao in the chocolate just doesn’t leave room for unnecessary fillers like milk powders.
2. It's better for you
Research has shown that darker chocolate containing 70-99% cacao is actually quite nutritious, containing high concentrations of anti-oxidants, fiber, iron, and magnesium. It also may even do amazing things like help improve blood flow and reduce blood pressure. These potential health benefits don't come from all forms of chocolate, but rather from high quality, dark chocolate without fillers, dairy, or tons of added sugars.
3. It's easy to find
These days, high-quality, healthful foods are becoming more and more readily available to us, be it gluten-free foods, all-natural products, or vegan treats. Whether you like to shop on Amazon, on fun food websites, or at your local grocer, you should be able to find a variety of vegan chocolates for sale near you. Some brands are "accidentally vegan," and some intentionally brand and market themselves to be so. Whole Foods, Newman's Own, Trader Joe's, Wegmans, Lindt, and Enjoy Life are all brands that carry some type of vegan chocolate; note that not all of their chocolate products are vegan, so you'll have to read the label!
4. It's versatile in recipes
Gooey chocolate chip cookies, chocolate molten cakes, shiny chocolate glaze...vegan versions of chocolate bars or chips can be swapped in for almost any recipe with success! In our opinion, it just enhances the recipe and makes the end result even more decadent and delicious; plus, you can feel good about baking desserts that can be enjoyed by people with food allergies or dietary restrictions.
5. It tastes amazing!!
It's ok if you're skeptical, but we promise you: Once you are used to higher quality, darker chocolate without all the additives, the other stuff just tastes...fake! This can arguably be said about lots of other various foods and beverages; we may be used to a certain standard type of bread, coffee, wine, etc., but once we've got a taste for the good stuff, there's no going back!
So give vegan chocolate a try, perhaps even with your loved ones for Valentine's Day this year! Just remember to look for chocolate with no milk powders, butter, egg or casein.
Here at PastryBase, all of our Baking Mixes and Baking Kits are vegan, including favorites like our Molten Chocolate Cake Kit, which includes real high-quality vegan chocolate!