In My Interpretation

Got high blood pressure? Or worried about heart disease? Think twice before you bite into a dark chocolate bar, going by the popular norm that it might be good for health.

The ‘Lancet’, a leading medical journal, has said in its editorial that the health claims may be misleading — dark chocolates are not so healthy as many manufacturers remove flavanols (which protect the heart) due to their bitter taste.

Instead, many products may just be abundant in fat and sugar — both of which are harmful to the heart, the journal reported in its latest edition.

“Dark chocolate can be deceptive. When chocolate manufacturers make confectionery, the natural cocoa solids can be darkened and the flavanols, which are bitter, removed, so even a dark-looking chocolate can have no flavanol.

“Consumers are also kept in the dark about the flavanol content of chocolate because manufacturers rarely label their products with this information,” the journal said.

The editorial has also pointed out that even with flavanols present, chocolate-lovers should be mindful of the other contents.

“The devil in the dark chocolate is the fat, sugar and calories it also contains. To gain any health benefit, those who eat a moderate amount of flavanol-rich dark chocolate will have to balance the calories by reducing their intake of other foods — a tricky job for even the most ardent calorie counter.

“So, with the holiday season upon us, it might be worth getting familiar with the calories in a bar of dark chocolate versus a mince pie and having a calculator at hand,” the journal said.

What’s behind the high prices of designer chocolate? Is there something truly special behind these confections, or are chocoholics simply shelling out for the cachet of a name?

The increased availability and awareness of luxury chocolates also brings to light their high — indeed, sometimes staggering — cost. Intrigued that this sweet stuff could cost so much, I researched (and tasted!) five top-tier brands to learn what makes them so pricey.

I started with the most expensive brand I could find: the dark chocolate truffle by Norwalk, Conn.-based Knipschildt Chocolatier. The price for this confection is $2,600 a pound, or $250 a piece. No, that’s not a typo, and no, I didn’t actually get to sample this one. It sports an astronomical price tag there is a whole, real black truffle in the center of the chocolate. When an order is placed for a single truffle or for a box, the black truffle is actually hunted down in France and shipped stateside, so each piece is made to order. It is encased in dark chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder just before delivery to the customer. Even if you can’t spring the cost of this truffle, Knipschildt has other bonbons and chocolate creations in its collection, starting as low as $1.75 a piece.

Unlike Knipschildt, chocophiles wishing to try Dallas-based NOKA chocolatier won’t find low prices on any pieces — a pound costs nearly $900. The company focuses on single-estate dark chocolate made with a minimum of 75% cacao, sourced from plantations in Venezuela, Ecuador and the Ivory Coast. Missing from the couvertures — the plain chocolate — are emulsifiers such as vanilla or soy lecithin — a rare exception in chocolatiers and the main reason for the steep cost.