The Ingredients of Chocolate, Explained
What is lecithin?
Lecithin is a plant-based emulsifier, typically extracted from soy or sunflower.
It is used in many food preparations, including chocolate.
Its role is twofold:
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To improve the fluidity of melted chocolate
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To help emulsify fats (like cocoa butter) with dry ingredients (like cocoa powder and sugar)
Why is lecithin added to chocolate?
When making chocolate, it’s essential that all ingredients bind perfectly to achieve a smooth, homogeneous, and stable texture.
Lecithin enhances this cohesion without requiring an excessive increase in cocoa butter.
It is therefore often used to:
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Make working with melted chocolate easier
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Reduce production costs, since it can partially replace a more expensive raw material
Is this problematic?
Not inherently.
In very small quantities (usually less than 0.5%), lecithin is permitted and considered safe.
However, it slightly alters the texture and brings nothing to the flavor profile.
Orfève’s Approach
Our chocolates contain no lecithin.
We use only pure cocoa butter, extracted from beans of the same origin as those used to make each chocolate.
This high standard requires more time and precision, but it allows us to preserve the purity of our textures and the integrity of our flavor.