Pink chocolate. Real cocoa. No strawberry milkshake required. When people first see it, the reaction is usually the same: surely they've just added food colouring?
The answer is more interesting.
What is ruby chocolate?
Ruby chocolate was developed by Barry Callebaut. The company says it selects cocoa beans with particular natural characteristics, then uses tightly controlled processing to develop a red-pink colour and fruity, tangy flavour.
It isn't a separate pink species of cocoa tree. According to the developer, suitable beans can come from several cocoa-growing countries, and processing factors including fermentation, temperature and acidity matter.
For its ruby product, Barry Callebaut says the distinctive colour isn't achieved by adding pink food colouring or fruit flavourings. Its explanation also acknowledges the role of citric acid in processing.
Is it just white chocolate dyed pink?
No. Ruby's colour and flavour come from a particular combination of cocoa material and processing. But it's worth reading the actual ingredients: ruby recipes can contain sugar, milk and other permitted ingredients, and different ruby formulations may be classified differently.
And not every bar marketed as 'pink chocolate' is ruby. Some may contain berries, colours or other ingredients. The label tells you more than the colour does.
Can any pink cocoa nibs become ruby chocolate?
Not automatically. Starting with unusually coloured or selected nibs does not guarantee a stable pink finished bar. Roasting, acidity, refining and recipe design can all affect the result.
That's part of what makes our Proper Pink experiments interesting. We're exploring how selected cocoa nibs and milk ingredients behave in chocolate making. It's development work, not a claim that we've reproduced Barry Callebaut's proprietary process or launched a finished bar.
So, is it real chocolate?
The sensible answer is to look at its composition and the applicable rules for naming chocolate, not simply the colour. UK chocolate legislation specifies cocoa and milk ingredient requirements for different chocolate categories.
We're excited by unusual chocolates, but we're even more excited by explaining them properly.
