But, what is in chocolate "without"?

(ETX Studio) - Vegan, lactose-free, sugar-free. This is called the chocolate of tomorrow. But, concretely, how do chefs manage to make chocolate by removing the ingredients that usually titillate our taste for sugar and fat? With a good dose of common sense, they do not hesitate to draw on everything that nature gives us: fruit, avocado oil or even soy milk.

Nine months. This is the time that the Meilleur Ouvrier de France Nicolas Cloiseau needed to give birth to his 100% vegetable collection. It was 2018 and the chef of the Maison du Chocolat was the first major signature to dare to shake up the established order of cocoa. The starting point is simple: never pour a single hint of cream or even a dab of butter into the ganaches to offer a box as delicious as the House is used to offering it. Accompanied by a nutritionist, Nicolas Cloiseau develops five ganache recipes that no longer rely on natural elements to refine the taste and ensure the appropriate texture of a chocolate. Sugar ? Chef Cloiseau makes logic work and finds in honey and maple syrup enough springs to satiate the brain.

Fruits, plants and infusions

Above all, to shape the chocolate of tomorrow, we use the aromatic richness of nature to obtain the perfect texture of a ganache. Nicolas Cloiseau draws enough aromas from fruits to round off his mouthfuls. The rate can climb up to 74% as in this pumpkin seed praline. In puree, juice, nectar, the fruit is used in all its forms. And he combines them with spices, such as turmeric with mango to bring a tangy flavor to a dark ganache. Aloe vera combines with green apple, pomegranate with raspberry juice and aronia berries. The most unusual recipe remains the use of propolis, a substance that bees collect and chew to line the hive.

At the Edwart Chocolatier house, Edwin Yansané also prepares fruit purées as well as infusions. In his very first vegan box, he uses hibiscus, pepper and coffee, fresh and just roasted. "The ganaches were a real challenge! With my team, we had to redouble our creativity to find and work with a vegetable base that would allow all the flavors to be fixed, even the most subtle", explains the chef of the house Edwart Chocolatier . Count 28 euros for a box of 25 chocolates.

Soy milk or avocado oil

To replace the cream - since no butter was used in his creations, chef Edwin Yansané decided to rely on soy milk, which provides a creamy and silky consistency. The young craftsman carried out several tests with coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk or vegetable mascarpone.

For his part, Nicolas Cloiseau is working on another idea with a view to launching a vegan box. Unveiled last January, the collection prefers to bet on the fondant of avocado oil for a case called "La Vie en vert", which can be tasted in early 2021. The range includes recipes with blackcurrant from Burgundy, with passion fruit or raspberry purée. The vegan box displays 27 euros for sixteen pieces.

Common sense too

Increase the percentage of hazelnuts to obtain enough oil and the right emulsion for preparing a spread. This is Pierre Chauvet's idea to offer a lactose-free recipe. The chocolate maker from Aubenas has chosen to use 60% hazelnuts. Usually, the Ardèche craftsman uses 43%.

"The more you increase the portion, the more creaminess you bring" explains the chef. Because yes, in the dried fruit, there is fat. All you have to do is prepare a praline, that is to say caramelize dried fruits (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans) to mix them then and discover that after a few seconds an oil rises to the surface, transforming the powder in paste. "Generally, we choose soy lecithin to develop lactose-free recipes. But, I did not want to use it. And in these recipes, we only use 10 to 25% of dried fruits", underlines Pierre Chauvet, who has chose hazelnuts from the east to control the cost of his spread. They are indeed less expensive than Piedmont hazelnuts. Count 7.90 euros for the 110g jar.

At the Maison du Chocolat too, we relied on the powers of the hazelnut and its oil to develop the texture of the very first vegetable collection. Nicolas Cloiseau completes his color chart with chicory fiber to be found in the "La Vie en Vert" collection.

For his part, Pierre Chauvet will not stop there and is working on a range of lactose-free ganaches. "Instead of milk, we add water, coconut milk, chocolate couverture, cocoa. Everything still needs to be measured," warns the chef. The new chocolate therefore still has many secrets to reveal to us.