Chocolate Liquor?

Recently, I bought 2 packs of Pepperidge Farm chocolate cookies. As I was savouring it, it dawned on me that  I had not checked the ingredients to see if it was permissible to eat. Lo and behold, I was surprised to see the ingredient “semi sweet chocolate (sugar chocolate liquor)…”.

Not knowing what it was, I assumed it was liquor per say. I had some doubts so I set out online with the help of Mr. Google to find out what it is.

What is chocolate liquor?

Many perceive this as a type of alcoholic drink. However, chocolate liquor, also known as cocoa liquor, is actually the liquid component obtained by the grinding of cocoa nibs from the cocoa bean. It converts cocoa powder and cocoa butter as end products. It is a primary ingredient in chocolate manufacture.

(Source: MUIS FAQs)

A semi-viscous sweet syrup containing chocolate, sugar and other ingredients. It is used in making candy, drinks and other chocolate flavored foods. Chocolate liquor is not alcoholic and is Halal, unless haram ingredients are added to it.

(Source: Islamic Food and NutritionCouncil America,
http://www.ifanca.org/glossary/, http://www.ifanca.org/faq/)

Chocolate liquor (cocoa liquor) is pure chocolate in its liquid form. Like the cocoa beans (nibs) from which it is produced, it contains both cocoa solids and cocoa butter in roughly equal proportion. It is produced from cocoa beans that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their shells. The beans are ground into cocoa mass (cocoa paste). The mass is melted to the liquor, and the liquor is cooled and molded into blocks known as unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate). Chocolate liquor contains roughly 53 percent cocoa butter (fat), about 17 percent carbohydrates, 11 percent protein, 6 percent tannins, and 1.5 percent theobromine.

(Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_liquor)

Not to be confused with chocolate liqueur, chocolate liquor is in fact, halal. I can rejoice and enjoy my soft baked dark chocolate brownie!

Other sources:

http://swisshalal.ch/archives/107
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~facilities/documents/GuidetoHalalFoods.pdf
http://www.islamhalal.com/

Other related information:

Chocolate liqueur - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_liqueur
Halal Addictives- http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/uploadedFiles/MuisGovSG/Halal/Food%20Additives.pdf
i Ask - http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/uploadedFiles/PortalSG/Community/iASK/IASKBOOK_v2.pdf

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