Everything You Need To Know About Ruby Chocolate

Every once in a while, a revolutionary ingredient that's as delicious as it is beautiful comes into existence. And in the world of culinary arts, the time has come to think pink. Literally. When it comes to chocolate, your standard options include dark, white, milk, and...ruby? That's right. Ruby chocolate is the newest member of the chocolate family and it has candy lovers, pastry chefs, and confectioners starry-eyed.

First introduced by Swiss cocoa company Barry Callebaut in 2017 after a decade of research and development, the newly-discovered chocolate variety sports a gorgeous natural dusty pink hue and boasts an intense berry-like flavor. And what you see is what you get: Ruby chocolate is made from the so-called "ruby cocoa beans," which are cultivated in Ecuador, Brazil, and the Ivory Coast (via Food Network).

Ruby chocolate has been given the nickname "millennial pink chocolate" — a nod to its iconic hue seen in many homes of the generation of bold 20- and 30-somethings (via Eater). Antoine de Saint-Affrique, the company's CEO, even stated in a 2017 interview with Bloomberg, "It's natural, it's colorful, it's hedonistic, there's an indulgence aspect to it, but it keeps the authenticity of chocolate. It has a nice balance that speaks a lot to millennials."

But just how different is ruby chocolate from its much older cousins? Well, according to Eat This, Not That!, ruby chocolate is made from the regular cocoa beans we know, but are composed of high levels of pigmented polyphenols, as Barry Callebaut's patent states (via Eat This, Not That!). Polyphenols are micronutrients that provide antioxidants and are found in several naturally red or reddish plant-based foods and beverages, including cloves, strawberries, cherries, red onions, and red wine (via Healthline).

The most important question, of course, is what does it taste like? The gemstone-named chocolate has a not-too-sweet, not-too-bitter, berry flavor with a subtly tangy aftertaste, reports Food Network. In candy form, its main components include cocoa butter, sugar, citric acid, and milk powder (via Dame Cacao). 

Over the past few years, ruby chocolate has become an ingredient used by beloved candy companies around the globe. Brands like Kit Kat, Chocolove, Magnum, Haagen-Dazs, and Harry & David have all added decadent ruby chocolate treats to their offerings, and there are surely many more that will hop aboard the pink chocolate train in the near future. Hooray for pink!