Making Chocolates for Diabetics

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Itzamna's Cocoa

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Hi,

I am a Chocolatier and I am looking into making chocolates that are "better for diabetics" after having many people ask if I do any suitable for diabetics. However the problem I am coming across is much of the chocolate that I can buy in and use is sweetened with Maltitol and when I have checked it on the Glycaemic Index it isn't much better than regular sugar.

Can anyone advise me or point me in the direction of chocolate that is better suited for diabetics. (in quantities of 2kg or larger).

Many thanks,

David
 
Itzamna's Cocoa said:
Hi,

I am a Chocolatier and I am looking into making chocolates that are "better for diabetics" after having many people ask if I do any suitable for diabetics. However the problem I am coming across is much of the chocolate that I can buy in and use is sweetened with Maltitol and when I have checked it on the Glycaemic Index it isn't much better than regular sugar.

Can anyone advise me or point me in the direction of chocolate that is better suited for diabetics. (in quantities of 2kg or larger).

Many thanks,

David
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Hi David, welcome 🙂 Good to hear that you wish to avoid the maltitol - evil stuff! 😱 The general advice is that there is no 'suitable for diabetics' version of chocolate, we can all treat ourselves, in moderation, to most chocolate that is suitable for anyone. Of course, the ideal is to keep the sugar (and hence carbohydrate content) low. Many of us here find that chocolate with a high cocoa content is also relatively low carb - the higher the cocoa, the lower in carbs, although it can be an acquired taste when you are talking about 85%, 90% or higher cocoa content. Tastes can adjust though - mine have done, and fairly quickly. So, I would suggest you go down the high-cocoa, dark chocolate route 🙂
 
Itzamna's Cocoa said:
Hi,

I am a Chocolatier and I am looking into making chocolates that are "better for diabetics" after having many people ask if I do any suitable for diabetics. However the problem I am coming across is much of the chocolate that I can buy in and use is sweetened with Maltitol and when I have checked it on the Glycaemic Index it isn't much better than regular sugar.

Can anyone advise me or point me in the direction of chocolate that is better suited for diabetics. (in quantities of 2kg or larger).

Many thanks,

David
Click to expand...
I eat Supermilk chocolate by Hotel Chocolat. It’s 65% cocoa, 15% milk. It’s got no nasty sweeteners and isn’t dark and bitter. However it is expensive, particularly if you’ve got to add your margins ontop.
 
I eat Green & Black's 85% cocoa or Divine 85% cocoa dark chocolates, or for an occasional treat, Green & Black's dark mint chocolate, which I think is 70% cocoa. I don't know where you can get quantities of 2kg or more of the sort of chocolate we are talking about though, they are all ready-made chocolate bars for consumers rather than chocolate for chocolatiers.

Definitely avoid anything intended for diabetics though - when I was diagnosed the diabetes specialist nurse told me to avoid anything marketed as being for diabetics on the basis that they are not suitable for diabetics (quite apart from the nasty side-effects of eating them!)!
 
I would definitely echo the idea of using a good quality dark chocolate then if necessary lightening it with cream.
 
The very darkest of chocolates are suitable for most diabetics - so the high cocoa ones are fine - however, to add anything to it would be problematic - nuts would be an option, so would cream.
Many people devising 'treats' for diabetics seem to make the mistake of thinking that they need to make them sickly sweet, when the low carb foods which type two diabetics in particular eat every day alter how we perceive sweetness - such things as peas and beetroot taste sweet to me now, and the few baking recipes I have tried were a failure not because they did not work, but because they were over sweet.
 
Drummer said:
Many people devising 'treats' for diabetics seem to make the mistake of thinking that they need to make them sickly sweet, when the low carb foods which type two diabetics in particular eat every day alter how we perceive sweetness - such things as peas and beetroot taste sweet to me now, and the few baking recipes I have tried were a failure not because they did not work, but because they were over sweet.
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This is very true. A couple of weeks ago I 'rewarded' myself after a long walk with a slice of hot chocolate fudge cake with mint choc chip ice cream (I injected insulin to 'cover' it) - I was struggling towards the end because I was finding it too sweet and sickly! 😱 But, being a Yorkshireman, I had to finish it 😉
 
Northerner said:
This is very true. A couple of weeks ago I 'rewarded' myself after a long walk with a slice of hot chocolate fudge cake with mint choc chip ice cream (I injected insulin to 'cover' it) - I was struggling towards the end because I was finding it too sweet and sickly! 😱 But, being a Yorkshireman, I had to finish it 😉
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That's funny, I had chocolate fudge cake when I was on holiday last week, and I couldn't manage to finish it, it was so sweet & sickly - I gave the last quarter to R. It was a mistake I will not be repeating as it had a nasty kick too - my blood sugar was 6.5 2 hours after eating it and I thought I'd got the insulin just right (I'd been worried about injecting for the whole slice and then not eating all of it), and then 4 hours after eating it my blood sugar was about 15! 😱 Ouch!
 
When I make ice cream I do not use sweetener at all - it tastes just fine without. I use cream and eggs as the base.
 
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