Soy lecithin’s small but significant role in chocolate

If you look at the ingredient list on the back of your favorite chocolate bars, one ingredient you might see is soy lecithin. This phospholipid, which is a fancy word for “fat,” is the most common type of lecithin on the market, and it plays a very important role in making your favorite chocolate treats more enjoyable.

Where does soy lecithin come from?

Soy lecithin comes from soybeans. When farmers’ soybeans are made into vegetable oil, the oil is gently cleaned in a step called degumming. During this step, natural compounds are separated from the oil – and that’s where soy lecithin comes from. Because soy lecithin is a natural byproduct of vegetable oil, using it in foods like chocolate helps make the most of the soybean and reduces waste.

What does soy lecithin do in chocolate?

Soy lecithin is commonly used in processed foods as an emulsifier/stabilizer or a surfactant. It provides benefits that result in the desired texture in your chocolate bar.

An emulsifier helps water and oil bind together. Water and oil don’t naturally bind together – this is why you typically have to shake a bottle of vinaigrette. By adding an emulsifier, the water and oil bind, which keeps your chocolate solid.

A surfactant reduces the surface tension of liquids, allowing the liquid to spread out faster and be absorbed more quickly. This is how you can add water to cake mixes and not have lumps in your batter! For chocolate, this means a smooth consistency.

How much soy is in your chocolate?

If you read the ingredients list of a chocolate bar, soy lecithin is usually one of the last ingredients. This is because a little lecithin goes a long way and is a very effective ingredient. Other products like cocoa butter have similar qualities but are far more expensive and require much more product to do the same thing soy does.

When you pick up a chocolate box for your loved ones, you can rest easy knowing chocolates are safe and sustainably produced with ingredients that are trusted by farmers everywhere.