Why We Like It
- The centre is real orange juice, not an orange flavouring, and it is set with pectin rather than gelatin.
- Six ingredients, no palm oil, no synthetic colour on the shell.
- The chocolate around it is the same bean-to-bar Indian cacao Darkins uses in its bars.
- It is the sweetest thing in the range at 42g of sugar per 100g, and we would rather say that than not.
Ingredients
Naturally Farmed Cacao
BaseWhole Indian cacao beans roasted and ground in-house. Single origin cacao, medium roast.
Organic Unrefined Cane Sugar
SweetenerCane sugar that keeps its molasses instead of being refined white.
Cacao Butter
FatThe natural fat of the cacao bean. This is what makes it chocolate rather than compound chocolate, which uses palm or hydrogenated vegetable fat.
Real Orange Juice
CentreThe jelly centre is made from real orange juice, not an orange flavouring.
Pectin
Setting agentFruit-derived gelling agent. This is what sets the jelly centre, and it is why the centre is vegetarian and vegan rather than gelatin-set.
Citric Acid
Acidity regulatorProvides the sharpness in the citrus centre.
Nutrition factsPer 100g
- Energy kcal
- 424 kcal
- Protein g
- 4 g
- Carbohydrate g
- 66 g
- Total sugars g
- Not declared
- Added sugars g
- 42 g
- Dietary fibre g
- 7 g
- Total fat g
- 17 g
- Saturated fat g
- 8 g
- Trans fat g
- Not declared
- Cholesterol mg
- Not declared
- Salt g
- Not declared
Darkins Chocolate Pebbles Citrus Blast vs other chocolate dragees
| What to compare | Darkins Chocolate Pebbles | Other chocolate dragees |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | An orange jelly centre | Often a sugar or biscuit core with fruit flavouring |
| Cacao | Indian beans, roasted and ground in-house (bean-to-bar) | Bought-in couverture or compound coating |
| Fat used | Not yet confirmed - no ingredient list is published | Often palm or hydrogenated vegetable fat |
| Colouring on the shell | Not yet confirmed | Synthetic colours are standard on hard shells |
Is It For You?
Good for
Vegan and vegetarian diets, since the jelly is pectin-set not gelatin
Sharing and gifting
Anyone who likes orange with chocolate
Avoid if
Anyone watching sugar closely
Anyone needing a certified nut-free facility
How to use
Serve at room temperature in a bowl with coffee or after dinner
Store in a cool, dry place, away from strong smells
A change in temperature or humidity may bring a pale bloom to the surface; this does not affect the chocolate
Keep the pack sealed so the shells stay crisp
What to look for in Chocolate?
Check the fat. Real chocolate is set with cocoa butter. If the label says vegetable fat, palm oil or hydrogenated fat, FSSAI requires it to be called compound chocolate, not chocolate.
Read the ingredient order. If sugar comes before cacao, it is a sugar bar with cocoa in it, whatever the percentage on the front says.
Look for PGPR (INS 476). It is added to cut the amount of cocoa butter a bar needs, and it is a sign the recipe is being made cheaper.
Check the emulsifier. Soy lecithin (INS 322) is the default; sunflower lecithin is the cleaner swap and matters if you avoid soy.
Vanillin is synthetic vanilla flavour. Good chocolate does not need it, and its presence usually means the cacao underneath is thin.
A bar labelled dark can still contain milk solids. If you are dairy-free, read the list rather than trusting the word dark.
Cocoa processed with alkali (dutched) is easier on the palate but strips much of the flavanol content. Unalkalised cacao keeps it.
Sugar-free bars are usually sweetened with maltitol or sorbitol. They are legal, but they are sugar alcohols and can unsettle a stomach in quantity.