Comments on: Homemade Chocolate Syrup: Delicious & Plastic-Free

By: BethTerry

BethTerry — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:01:14 +0000

@cheryljoy I haven’t found organic sugar in paper, but I do get it from bulk bins at Whole Foods and other natural foods stores.

By: cheryljoy

cheryljoy — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:18:41 +0000

I’m pretty sure that when they make cocoa powder, they remove the cocoa butter. Then when they make chocolate, they put it back in. I just went to Hershey Park and took the Hershey Chocolate Factory tour a few weeks ago. You can also see it on their website. No fat in the powder, just in the end result chocolate bars.
Although, when we were kids, my Mom sometimes made this sauce with a couple tablespoons of butter added, and let me tell you, that was GOOD!

By: cheryljoy

cheryljoy — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:15:18 +0000

Hi Beth,

Your site is one of my favorites! Thanks so much for having it!

I’ve been making my own for a long time, also (it even tastes better!) though I think I use a bit less sugar than you, usually. You commented that this is not fudge sauce. For those who do want fudge sauce (not me) all you have to do to get it thick like fudge is to simmer it for a little longer, like 5 to 10 minutes instead of 3 or 4. I found out accidentally by cooking my chocolate sauce too long.

Also, my daughter liked Ovaltine, and was very disappointed when I stopped buying it because of the plastic container. I have finally found Barley Malt Syrup packaged in a glass jar to add to the chocolate sauce to come close to that flavor, in case anyone likes the Chocolate Malted taste. Do you know of any powder form of malt for this purpose? I’d like to find an alternative because of the plastic lining on the cap of the jar.

Another thing is the sugar issue. I want to use organic sugar but have yet to find it without plastic packaging. I can only find the non-organic in paper. Not seen it in bulk so far. So I’m thinking of switching to using honey or maple syrup. Or possibly has anyone here found organic sugar in paper?

By: ghostaliaz

ghostaliaz — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:04:44 +0000

That’s what I planned to do anyway because Raw Cacao Powder is plant based & I rather use that over regular Cocoa powder. Plus I have around 2 pounds of Organic Raw Cacao Powder with nothing to do with it, so I figured this is a good option because then I can use it on ice cream, in coffee, on donuts, cookies etc & all organic & natural. I am going to try it this weekend & I will post back how it goes. For the sugar I will use date sugar & I will also make another version using organic sugar cane sugar & another using NOW Foods Erythritol Pure Sweetener

By: Trish

Trish — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:52:59 +0000

You’re both right.

Here’s a nutritional breakdown of unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch proc.) with 11% sat. fat. You can look up other ones on here too.

Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, processed with alkali [Dutch cocoa]
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5472/2

As with Hershey’s my bet is that they use very little real powder and a lot of cheap artificial flavoring. Even though it’s last on ingredients list, you don’t need much volume when you’re using industrial strength flavorings.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the saturated fat though. At least it’s natural. The HFCS and other franken-food ingredients in the mass marketed ones have to be a lot worse for you.
Remember fake-fat margarine was supposed to be healthier for us. We now know that butter is in fact the healthier one.

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:37:09 +0000

Katie, that’s interesting. I wonder why Hershey’s syrup label says it has 0 calories from fat when it is also made with cocoa. By the way, in case anyone’s wondering how this recipe compares to the ingredients in Hershey’s syrup, here they are: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP; CORN SYRUP; WATER; COCOA; SUGAR; CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE); SALT; MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES; XANTHAN GUM; POLYSORBATE 60; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:24:43 +0000

Just a note – this syrup cannot be fat-free as cocoa powder contains fat, sometimes up to 24%!

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:42:24 +0000

Trish. I haven’t tried it, but if you do please let me know how it turns out.

By: Trish

Trish — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:27:47 +0000

Has anyone tried this using raw cacao powder instead? If so how did it work? Any changes to the recipe?

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:32:40 +0000

Trish, yes! My husband made our last batch and couldn’t find the vanilla so he used mint extract instead. It was delicious!