Foodlover Magazine - Autumn - Issue 75

LOVE LOCAL

Raw Talent

Emma Dance talks raw chocolate with Emily Collett, founder of As Raw As in Somerset, and Judy Hedden, founder of Cornwall’s Chocolate Cove

I

n general, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. When it comes to chocolate, though, well, that’s another story. I love chocolate. Like, properly, properly love it. Given the chance, I’d eat it every single day — multiple times. In the interests of my health, however, and in an attempt to make sure that I can still do up my jeans, I try to limit my intake to something that might be considered reasonable. But, it turns out that there may be a way to satisfy my chocolate cravings that isn’t quite so detrimental to my teeth, my health and my waistline. And that way, is raw chocolate.

A healthier option

Surely, chocolate, is chocolate, is chocolate?

Well, yes. And no. The fundamental process for making chocolate is fairly simple (in principle): take cacao beans, heat them, grind them until they form a liquid then add fat and sweeteners.

The beans used in most of the “mainstream” chocolate (ie Cadbury’s, Galaxy etc) are roasted at around 130˚C. In the making of raw chocolate though, it’s a different story.

“In producing raw chocolate, I like to think that I am providing both a delicious and nutritious treat — full of minerals, especially magnesium and sulphur and also rich

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It was actually these potential health benefits that led to Judy Hedden starting Cornwall’s Chocolate Cove.

“My chocolate adventures began because my own health took a dramatic downturn — going from someone who rarely had a cold, I then went through cancer three times,” Judy tells me. “The first time was such a shock; I became completely obsessed with what I ate and studied Nutritional Therapy for three years. The second time I thought well if it’s not food, it must be down to my thoughts so got very into mindfulness and positive thinking, studying to be an EFT Practitioner.

By the third time, I was so exhausted from the treatment and the stress of it all (as I’d also had two children and been working throughout) that I thought, ‘just relax about everything and enjoy living.’ So, bouncing back and appreciating the beauty in good nutrition and the benefits of making positive changes to my life, I started to experiment to make healthier versions of hiding-inthe-cupboard naughty treats that I’d so missed, that would also be kinder to the environment and to animals, but still give you the feeling of having a secret pleasure — and so Cornwall's Chocolate Cove was born.

“I make it all from scratch (I don’t buy the buttons and melt them down) so this gives me the opportunity to change up the ingredients. I use organic, raw cacao (which has reportedly more antioxidants than blueberries), organic coconut sugar which has the same GI as chickpeas (so it

Photos by Cornwall’s Chocolate Cove

“The main difference between ‘normal’ chocolate and raw chocolate is that the cacao beans that I use have not been roasted,” says Emily Collett, founder of As Raw As, based near Somerton, in Somerset. “The proper term for ‘raw’ chocolate is ‘unroasted’ chocolate because of this fact. To be classed as ‘raw’ means a food must not have been heated above 46˚C.

in anti-oxidants — naturally lifting your spirits! By keeping the entire process at low temperatures these wonderful health benefits are not heated out as is the case in ‘normal’ chocolate.”