A question on chocolate liquor

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Salaams all.  Would anyone know what's chocolate liquor?  I often see this ingredient mentioned while buying chocolate bars for my kids, and it confuses me whether or not it would be Halal.  Any feedback would be most helpful.

[Zainab_M]

Lot of people get confused about it.  But the fact is that 'chololate liquor' is just a name given to finely ground cocoa beans.  It is also known as unsweetened chocolate or cocoa mass.  It is perfectly Halal as it contains no alcohol at all.  For confirmation, check below as given in Wikipedia and the Halal Digest.

As per Wikipedia, "Chocolate liquor, also known as cocoa liquor and cocoa mass, is a smooth liquid form of chocolate. It contains both cocoa solids and cocoa butter in roughly equal proportion.

It is produced by taking cocoa beans that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their shells and grinding their center, the cotyledon. The chocolate liquor can then be cooled and molded into blocks known as unsweetened baking chocolate. The liquor and blocks contain roughly 53 percent cocoa butter. Chocolate liquor contains no alcohol."

Fermentation basically refers to, as here, a chemical reaction causing an organic molecule to split into simpler substances.  In common man's language it can simply be referred to a chemical state of unrest, agitation or turbulence.


More information from Halal Digest as follows:

"What is Chocolate Liquor or Cocoa Liquor?
A common misconception concerns chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor. Chocolate liquor and cocoa liquor are nothing but finely ground cocoa bean. It’s a thick, flowing substance and the first step in the production of chocolate. It has no relationship to alcohol, nor is alcohol used in producing it. They are produced from chocolate, and may be fortified with cocoa fat. Chocolate liquor can be found in chocolate bars and in chocolate flavored desserts."

P.S.
Remember to make a distinction between chocolate liquor (or cocoa liquor) from chocolate-flavored liqueur.  While chocolate or cocoa liquor contains NO alcohol at all, chocolate-flavored liqueur is a different thing.  Chocolate-flavored liqueur is a drink flavored with chololate and vanilla, made as clear light syrup or dark caramel syrup known as Crème de cacao  and Dark Crème de cacao respectively.  The alcoholic content of this drink can be anything between 20-25% or 40-50%.  Thus, this drink is NOT Halal.  But it is something very different from chocolate or cocoa liquor which is 100% Halal.  So, make sure not to confuse them.

Also, there are certain flavored chocolates that contain alcohol like brandy or rum etc.  That will always be mentioned separately in the list of ingredients.  Such chocolates are of course also NOT Halal.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Thank u my dear sister.  This detailed and very articulate clarification was very useful for my family and me.  

[Ruhi_Rose]

Okaaay!  very informative.  I never noticed this term 'cocoa liquor' on chocolate bars.  But now if I do, I'll know it's Halal.  Thanks for asking sis Heb, and thanks for answering Zaina