Since Swiss chocolate manufacturer unveiled we've all been a little confused. It's hard to get your head around the fact that ruby chocolate isn't simply white chocolate with strawberry colouring - it's a completely new variety of chocolate. We've had a chance to taste since it was released earlier this year, but now Callebaut have announced blocks of ruby chocolate will hit our shores in August for eager pastry-makers to experiment with in their baking (more on that below).
The chocolate's colour occurs naturally in the "ruby" cocoa bean. Just what a ruby cocoa bean is hasn't quite been revealed - the company says that ruby chocolate was "discovered" more than 10 years ago when "researchers found out that ruby chocolate was linked to precursors in a specific type of bean: the “ruby” cocoa bean." Okay, then.
Intense, fresh, sour, fruity
Callebaut says that ruby chocolate "owes its colour and specific taste solely to the expert selection and meticulous processing of the ruby beans – no fruit flavouring or colourants are added to the chocolate." The taste is said to be one of intense frutiness, with fresh and sour notes. Indeed, many are reporting that the overwhelming flavour is one of berry, not chocolate. Clay Gordon from , who was at the launch of ruby chocolate last year, says he found "little to none of the characteristic cocoa flavor associated with chocolate”.
Potentially we have a new "is white chocolate really chocolate?" debate brewing. Regardless, .
Ruby chocolate-filled days
Right now as Head Chocolatier at , Connie Yuen is one of a lucky few working with in Australia. Ruby chocolate has been slow to launch worldwide and Australia is one of the first countries to offer it, ahead of the USA. KitKat have two varieties of ruby chocolate offered exclusively at the Melbourne Chocolatory.
“Some guests like the simplicity of KitKat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby,” says Yuen. “Others prefer the flavours of our hand-crafted KitKat Chocolatory Black Label Ruby, which features sweet dried strawberries, raspberries and caramelised meringue.”
The positive response to the unique berry-flavoured chocolate has been overwhelming: both varieties sold out in within the first week of launch, requiring a fast restock.
Ruby chocolate has a sweet-sour berry-like flavour and an Instagram-friendly blush hue. Source: Nestle
“Ruby is very different to milk, dark and white chocolate," says Yuen. "It took time and plenty of practice to learn how to temper so that we achieve a beautifully smooth and glossy finish.
“Chocolate is not the easiest ingredient to work with, so patience is definitely a virtue in this line of work.”
Callebaut says we can expect to see amazing creations from chocolate and pastry professionals once ruby RB1 is more widely available in September. Source: Callebaut
Queen of Ruby Chocolate
Patience is something Global Ambassador and Australia’s , Kirsten Tibballs is calmly teaching her Instagram fans. She's been teasing them with since May and her followers are desperate to have a go themselves. "Can't wait to get my hands on some ruby chocolate," said . added, "Waiting on September to roll around! How pretty!"
Callebaut will launch RB1, a ruby chocolate variety dedicated to chocolatiers and pastry chefs, in select "Chocolate Hero" stores in August (at this stage they are located in , and ), ahead of a wider September launch.
Kirsten says ruby RB1 chocolate is "one of the most exciting things to happen to the chocolate industry in decades." Source: Callebaut
Tibballs says ruby RB1 "opens up a whole new world of ideas and makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about chocolate.”
Unlike Yuen, Tibballs finds ruby chocolate to be similar to other chocolate varieties, though she concedes that it tempers at a "slightly lower" temperature than other chocolates. "Once tempered, it is best to work with Ruby RB1 at 28.5 to 29.5 degrees celsius," she advises.
Inspiring new flavours
For Tibballs, the exciting thing about working with ruby chocolate is the new flavour directions the chocolate inspires.
"The colour is amazing and the natural berry flavour works beautifully with a wide variety of flavour profiles too," she says. "My favourite flavour pairing is between star anise, cinnamon or coconut."
One of her latest creations has been a chocolate tart, peanut shortbread, peanut butter and raspberry jelly cream and a whipped ruby chocolate ganache. An undeniable fresh take on PBJ with ruby chocolate adding a sweet-sour hit of pink perfection.
Tibballs will be showcasing this and other ruby chocolate creations at the coming up in September at Sydney Showground.
