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Why does really dark chocolate sometimes taste fruity, despite having no fruit ingredients?

Question #103158. Asked by redsoxfan325.
Last updated May 17 2021.

Related Trivia Topics: Food & Drink  
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Answer has 0 votes
star_gazer star
22 year member
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Answer has 0 votes.
A pure dark chocolate should not have any fruit flavoring.


Response last updated by LadyNym on Aug 25 2016.
Feb 19 2009, 3:02 PM
redsoxfan325 star
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redsoxfan325 star
18 year member
105 replies

Answer has 0 votes.
I recently had 72% Cacao Ghirardelli chocolate and while
letting it melt in my mouth, I tasted sort of a fruity taste (like a cherry-ish flavor), yet the ingredients are unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and soy lecithin (an emulsifier). Why did I taste this cherry-ish flavor? Are the ingredients mislabeled, because the description on the back of the package notes that this fruity flavor does exist?

Feb 19 2009, 3:12 PM
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star_gazer star
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22 year member
5236 replies avatar

Answer has 0 votes.
It's possible that it was mislabeled or that dark choclate just gives off that taste.

A person could always contact the manufactors and ask them. Normally they are more than happy to answer questions like this.

Feb 19 2009, 3:16 PM
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zbeckabee star
Answer has 4 votes
zbeckabee star
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19 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.
This is what redsoxfan325 is talking about:

Ghirardelli: "The warm, fruity, slightly sweet flavor remained consistent until the final melting morsel when, for a brief moment, I would have sworn I was sucking on a dried cherry. I couldn’t help but move it around on my tongue in an effort to coat all of my taste buds, and the lingering flavor had me literally sucking my cheeks in to join the party."

"The Ghirardelli bar was consistently fruity and somewhat sweet..."

link http://candyaddict.com/blog/2008/06/11/dark-chocolate-face-off/

Incidentally, I just called the company Ghirardelli...and they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Duh!

Feb 19 2009, 3:38 PM
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Verbonica star
Answer has 13 votes
Currently Best Answer
Verbonica star
25 year member
264 replies avatar

Answer has 13 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
If you think you taste coconut, cinnamon, or chili, you're not mistaken. All these flavors and more, like pineapple, orchid, orange, cherry and cloves, are notes that belong to chocolate.

link https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/5l5g59/why_does_dark_chocolate_start_to_taste_like/

Response last updated by CmdrK on May 17 2021.
Feb 19 2009, 3:45 PM
Arpeggionist star
Answer has 3 votes
Arpeggionist star
21 year member
2173 replies

Answer has 3 votes.
I'm going to offer a scientific guess:

The chemical makeup of sugar is pretty similar no matter what foods one eats. And as the rest of the chocolate melts, the sugar remains. It is possible that the human tastebuds simply confuse the sugars in dark chocolate with the sweetness of fruits. That would be my guess based on my own tastebuds, while the rest of my sense of flavor is greatly limited by my anosmia. I couldn't tell between large cherries and Mozart candies if I were blindfolded.

Feb 19 2009, 5:31 PM
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