Gourmet Chocolate

[bakingbarb]

It is getting very frustrated not trusting Hershey to provide a candy we can eat. The information is so confusing but let's face it, they as a company do not address this issue properly anyways.

My daughter looked online for a safe but yummy chocolate and she found this company, Open Original Shared Link. They straight up address the issue of gluten but it still isn't perfect as they state it may contain gluten. It is a UK company which isn't the greatest idea for shipping anyways but I kept looking and they have a warehouse in Boston. When I go on the US link and search for gluten free the chocolates list if they are Open Original Shared Link. I am a bit confused by what the UK site says about the gluten but the Open Original Shared Link says which ones are safe?! I am going to email them and get clarification because I NEED good chocolate without the worry. And I mean GREAT not just good!

[bakingbarb]

I had to ask! Here is the response they gave me and let me say they responded asap. SIGH, SOB, WAHHHHHHH

Dear Barb,

Thank you for your email.

I apologise for the confusion and we shall address this issue all of our products do contain gluten due to the environment they have been produced in. I am sorry for any disappointment this may cause and if there is anything further we can help with please do contact us.

Kind regards,

Christopher J. Stutley

Service Support Team

Hotel Chocolat Ltd

[celiac-mommy]

Scharffen Berger, it's the best gourmet chocolate I've tasted

This stuff is AMAZING. Here's the statement from the company:

Q: Is there gluten in chocolate?

A: No, there is no gluten in our chocolate. Gluten is a mixture of plant proteins occurring in cereal grains, chiefly wheat, rye and barley. Our chocolate ingredients: (cacao beans, sugar, vanilla bean, cocoa butter, and soy lecithin as an emulsifier) do not contain gluten. We also do not have any cereal grains present anywhere in our manufacturing facility at any time. Please note that our Cocao Powder and Sweetened Cocoa Powder are processed in a facility that handles wheat products, and thus may contain traces of gluten.

[bakingbarb]

Scharffen Berger, it's the best gourmet chocolate I've tasted

This stuff is AMAZING. Here's the statement from the company:

Q: Is there gluten in chocolate?

A: No, there is no gluten in our chocolate. Gluten is a mixture of plant proteins occurring in cereal grains, chiefly wheat, rye and barley. Our chocolate ingredients: (cacao beans, sugar, vanilla bean, cocoa butter, and soy lecithin as an emulsifier) do not contain gluten. We also do not have any cereal grains present anywhere in our manufacturing facility at any time. Please note that our Cocao Powder and Sweetened Cocoa Powder are processed in a facility that handles wheat products, and thus may contain traces of gluten.

Thank you thank you thank you

Oh my gosh that is such good information and it is hard because it seems like you have to check every brand. I seem to be in one of those moments when I am so frustrated by this stuff.

[Michelle1234]

I've been buying a brand of chocolate bar called Dagoba organic chocolate. It comes in about 15 different exotic flavors (don't worry it also has plain). It says Gluten Free right on the back of every bar. I love supporting a company that says it right on the bar and I don't have to do a bunch of leg work to figure it out. It is at my local Vitamin Cottage so maybe a health store in your area carries it too. The company is located in Ashland Oregon. Their web site is www.dagobachocolate.com.

Good luck on your quest!

Michelle

[jerseyangel]

I've been buying a brand of chocolate bar called Dagoba organic chocolate. It comes in about 15 different exotic flavors (don't worry it also has plain). It says Gluten Free right on the back of every bar. I love supporting a company that says it right on the bar and I don't have to do a bunch of leg work to figure it out. It is at my local Vitamin Cottage so maybe a health store in your area carries it too.

Good luck on your quest!

Michelle

I was going to suggest Dagoba, too. Their Dark Chocolate Mint Bar is fabulous.

[bakingbarb]

I will be looking for these chocolates today. I enjoy all kinds but when I want a craving filled, it is for creamy but full flavored chocolate. ARGH I will have to go look soon! LOL

[cruelshoes]

Almost all of Open Original Shared Linkis gluten-free, and they are all over the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I am boycotting all of Hershey's products now because of their ridiculous natural flavors policy. Dagoba and Sharfenberger are both owned by Hersheys. Glad you guys like them, though.

[Mango04]

If you have a health food store nearby, they should have a selection of fair trade, organic chocolate. It's usually pure, high quality stuff, and in most cases you just need to read the label to see if it's safe.

[missy'smom]

Check this one out.

Open Original Shared Link

I found it at Whole Foods and the cinnamon was delicious.

I contacted them via their website(which I can't find right now ) and unfortunately their response is saved on my old computer that died last month I ate it(several month ago) so it must have been gluten-free but my memory's so bad lately. I would recommend contacting them again just to be sure.

[pixiegirl]

Does anyone know of any chocolate that is gluten-free and peanut free?

Susan

[ptkds]

I eat hersheys all the time, and I haven't gotten sick from them once (at least that I know of!)

What is their "natural flavors" policy?

[tarnalberry]

As you can guess from my sig, I like chocolate.

If I were to recommend a few, I'd go with Michel Cluizel (available in some places, most easily at Chocosphere) and Domori (ditto previous parenthetical). Locally, I'll often get Dagoba or Endagered Species (though that is a shared facility - not equipment, facility) or Chocolove or Vosges (also share facility, iirc).

Those are my preferences, but most will run you ~$6-8 per ~2.5oz bar.

(Also, each of those - paritcularly the first two - make a number of very different tasting chocolates. Their 1st cru, single source chocolates all have their own flavor, besides just their strength, and their mixed blends are different from those. It's really a matter of trying them and finding what you like. But the trying is really rather fun. That's why we have chocolate Thursday at my workplace. )

[bakingbarb]

Scharffen Berger is da bomb! Wonderful chocolate but quite spendy!

I refuse to buy Hershey brand any more for any reason. If they are going to hide what might or might not be safe then I won't buy them for any reason.

I respect when a company says it was processed on shared facilities. I don't like it but I respect it. One company goes so far on their website to say it is shared facilities but...well here is what they say:

The handling of the dry goods that we package may not be done in an allergen free facility, but every effort is made to prevent cross contamination from one product to another. All of our packaging is performed by hand and never on mechanized filler lines where bagging machines can have residue left in the system. The packaging area is cleaned in between each product and all utensils are changed.

I found this chocolate at an upscale grocery store but I think Fred Meyer has Dagoba so will be trying it next time I am there.

[Green12]

I refuse to buy Hershey brand any more for any reason. If they are going to hide what might or might not be safe then I won't buy them for any reason.

Just to restate what Colleen posted, Hershey's bought out Scharffen Berger and Dagoba chocolates as part of their premium chocolate division.

I like Chocolove chocolate.

[Green12]

I eat hersheys all the time, and I haven't gotten sick from them once (at least that I know of!)

What is their "natural flavors" policy?

I think this is being discussed, or was discussed, in the thread titled Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Hershey's, from what I understand, will no longer confirm if their natural flavorings are gluten-free or not. So if the ingredient list includes "natural flavors" it may or may not contain gluten.

[bakingbarb]

Just to restate what Colleen posted, Hershey's bought out Scharffen Berger and Dagoba chocolates as part of their premium chocolate division.

I like Chocolove chocolate.

Wouldn't that figure. I love the chocolates but if they are Hershey now then I will probably stick with Open Original Shared Link. They are gluten free, as stated on the website.

Q: Are your chocolate products gluten-free?

A: Our products and our processing are gluten free.

[bakingbarb]

This is the email from Valrhona

Our dark chocolates and our milk chocolates (bloc, beans, pistols, bars and squares)do not contain gluten, cereals or derivatives like ingredients, when the ingredients listdoesn't mention it.Nevertheless, we use starch wheat for molding our chocolates candies. Even if thetwo production lines of these two varieties of products are different, we can notstrictly exclude the hypothesis of a coincidental contamination which could concerntiny traces of gluten.In the obvious target to preserve everyone from this allergy, so we can not guarantee the complete absence of gluten traces.