80% Fairtrade Baking Chocolate Organic

How do I melt it without ruining it?

Over a bain-marie, on a low heat, in even pieces, stirring as you go. The Kazidomi baking chocolate runs at 80% cocoa, of which 16.9% is cocoa butter: it melts quickly and takes overheating badly, which turns it grainy. Take the pan off the heat to finish the melt.

Chocolate at 80% or a lower cocoa content: what changes?

At 80% cocoa, the Kazidomi baking bar brings only 19.4% cane sugar, so the taste is bitter and direct. A less concentrated chocolate carries more sugar, gives rounder ganaches and softer mousses. For a dessert meant to taste strongly of cocoa, the 80% bar is the one to reach for.

Does it contain allergens?

The Kazidomi recipe stops at cocoa mass, cane sugar, fat-reduced cocoa powder, cocoa butter and under 1% sunflower lecithin. The label does flag possible traces of milk, soya, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and pistachios, which matters for anyone who reacts to any of those.

What does the Fairtrade certification guarantee?

The cocoa comes from Peru and the bar is made in Belgium by a Kazidomi partner. Fairtrade certification covers the trading terms granted to cocoa growers and adds environmental criteria tied to how the crop is grown. The chocolate is certified organic on top of that.

Why does a white film sometimes appear on the bar?

That is cocoa butter risen to the surface after a swing in temperature, not mould. Kazidomi chocolate keeps between 12 and 18 °C, dry, away from the fridge and from strong smells. The film changes neither the taste nor the way the 165 g bar behaves when you melt it.