Probably a stupid question, but chocolate?
 

Out of curiosity, I am wondering if chocolate classifies as vegan. It seems as though milk chocolate obviously wouldn't, but what about dark chocolate, cocoa, chocolate chips, and the like? Does it just depend on the manufacturer?

I am not desperate to have chocolate as I transition from eating meat and other animal products, but it would probably be good to know for future reference.

It depends on the chocolate, some include milk fat and butter fat or even just milk.

Ritter sport dark chocolate is pretty good but if you just read the labels, a lot of dark chocolate is vegan.

there is a lot of chocolate thats vegan. its almost always at least 70% dark. make sure to check the ingredient list for exactly what nelie said, milk fat or butter. my most favorite chocolate is Hageland: Premium Belgian Dark Chocolate. they sell it at walmart and it is the best chocolate i have ever had so be careful!! whenever i got it i would leave it at my boyfriends house so it wasn;t always there to tempt me :3

I actually bought 58% that was vegan,
cocoa is vegan, and pretty much all dark chocolate is too- just dont buy from things like hershey or mars :P
They arent fair trade, probably sneak in some animal products, and mars uses animal testing

There are basically two types of vegan chocolate:

1) Dark chocolate. Not all dark chocolate is vegan, manufacturers often smuggle in a bit of dairy, but it hugely increases the chances. If it's high quality, it will be 70% cocoa or higher. Occasionally you can find chocolate by bigger manufacturers which is cheap and lower in cocoa. It's then higher in fat and sugar, of course, but some people can't take high levels of cocoa (e.g. migraineurs). Generally speaking, the darker the chocolate, the more bitter it will get (I've had 99% cocoa) and the less likely most people are to binge on it.

2) Fake dairy chocolate. This will usually be made by specialist manufacturers catering to vegans/allergy sufferers, and the dairy is replaced with plant milks. The quality varies a lot, and the price tends to be high. I don't like most of the fake milk chocolates out there, though there's one fairly nice one I've had to stop buying because I will guzzle far too much of it. However, there are a few vegan white chocolates out there which I really like. I think I know of two brands: one is a fancy vegan one and very pricey for a 100g bar, and the other is a cheaper dairy-free brand which does 25g bags of white chocolate buttons which I can get from the larger supermarkets. I occasionally indulge in the latter.

My current approach is to keep a bar of 85% chocolate in the cupboard and allow myself occasional very small pieces, about 3g at a time. It's dark enough that this really is manageable, and I savour the mouthful properly instead of bolting it. I have also discovered chocolate tea (Choco by Yogi), where the teabag is made up of cocoa shells and spices which you steep in boiling water. It's fairly chocolatey but you're not actually eating any chocolate!

What is everyone else doing?

(By the way, howdy, I'm new here.)

:coffee:
If you would like to go vegan with chocolate, here is how.
Just buy a box of 100% cocoa powder in the baking section of your grocery store.

Bring 1 and a half cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan and add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons sugar.
Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.

:stir:

This recipe will make the ancient medicinal beverage of the Aztecs that will satisfy your craving for chocolate candy. However it will be much lower in calories because there is no added fat and milk.

:coffee2:

Hot cocoa is a South American medicinal beverage. It treats high blood pressure and more.
There is quite a bit of research done on the benefits of cocoa beans listed at the worldcocoafoundation.org:

http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/...nNutrition.asp

:cofdate:

Oreos are vegan. That's how I get through my chocolate cravings usually: an oreo or two.

Yes! And also Cocoa Puffs.

I've also found those semi-sweet chocolate chunks for baking, and they're pretty good to eat on their own. :cool:

I have soy chocolate, which doesn't have any dairy or animal products of any kind.

Carob!

Moo free chocolate is fantastic, it's made with rice milk I love the buttons.
Have a look on here, there is loads of vegan foods, chocolate and cheese alternatives.

chocolate Cream Pie
Author: Mary McDougall
Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: McDougall Program
Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 4 hours Total time: 4 hours 10 mins
Serves: makes 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients
2 12.3-ounce packages Mori-Nu lite silken tofu
¾ cup Wonderslim Low-Fat Cocoa Powder
1 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
Crust:
1½ cups Grape Nuts cereal
¾ cup frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate, thawed
½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Place tofu in food processor until very smooth. Place cocoa in a separate bowl. Set aside. Heat honey in microwave for 2 minutes. Pour over cocoa powder and mix until very smooth. Add cocoa mixture and vanilla to tofu and process again until very smooth. Pour into baked piecrust and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cereal in a Ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Combine apple juice concentrate and vanilla. Mix cereal and apple juice mixture together. Press together. Press into bottom and sides of a 10-inch pie pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool.

Beet Chocolate Cake
By Rachael Weaver

1 large beet (appox. 8-10 ounces)
¼ cup water
unsweetened apple sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups soft white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sucanat or organic sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Prepare ahead:
Put several red beets with the skin in a saucepan with water to cover and boil until soft, 30-60 minutes depending on number and size. Once they are soft, run cold water over them and slip the skins right off (much easier than peeling). Weigh out or measure how much you need. Put the rest into ziploc bags or containers in the right size amount and freeze for later use. Put the drained beets into the blender / food processor with 1/4 cup water, and process until pureed.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use a silicone or non-stick baking pan or muffin cups.

Put the pureed beets (about 1 cup) into a 2-cup measure. Add enough applesauce to reach the 2-cup line. Pour into a larger bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons water, vanilla extract, and apple cider to the beets and mix well. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the beet mixture and stir until well combined. Bake for 20 minutes in cupcake pan, OR bake for 35-60 minutes, depending on the size of pan you use: more for small, deep pans and less for a 9 x 13 pan. (I used a round cake pan, and it took 32 minutes.) Test by inserting a toothpick into the center; it's done when the toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Also there is this! http://www.pamelasproducts.com/shop-online/ Love their stuff!