{"id":304,"date":"2010-03-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2014-05-15T12:42:02","modified_gmt":"2014-05-15T16:42:02","slug":"yeast-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/yeast-allergy\/yeast-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Yeast in Chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does chocolate contain yeast?<\/p>\n

The short answer is yes.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t necessarily have a lot of yeast in it, depending on how it is processed.\u00a0 It may or may not be enough to be a problem for you.<\/p>\n

Also, most chocolate has a lot of sugar in it, which is also bad if you are on a yeast-free and \u201cdon\u2019t feed the yeast\u201d diet.<\/p>\n

Other ingredients added to some chocolate bars may include additional yeast.<\/p>\n

The main culprit is maltose and other similar ingredients. Maltose is a fermented product, usually made from barley. Fermentation in this case involves yeast.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely\u201d you may be thinking to yourself, \u201cchocolate doesn\u2019t have yeast in it!\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s why chocolate has at least some yeast<\/a> in it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thanks to Samantha Madell for her cocoa processing article, and several other sources, I now have the following information to share with you about cocoa processing and the involvement of yeast.<\/p>\n

Cocoa beans are at the center of a pulpy fruit.\u00a0 These beans do not have the familiar chocolate taste we are used to.<\/p>\n

The beans and surrounding pulp are removed from the fruit.<\/p>\n

At this first stage of fermentation, air is excluded, which is perfect for the growth of yeasts.\u00a0 Wild yeasts, probably from the outside of the fruit, drive the fermentation process.<\/p>\n

Note that this is not baker\u2019s or brewer\u2019s yeast.\u00a0 If you have a yeast allergy, or suffer from Candida, they types of yeasts found in chocolate may not be a problem for you.\u00a0 On the other hand, they may trigger your allergy, and eating chocolate is not, strictly speaking, a yeast-free activity.<\/p>\n

After about a day, air is allowed into the fermentation process and the bacteria take over.\u00a0 This is the second stage of cocoa fermentation.<\/p>\n

Chocolate may contain mold. <\/strong>The cocoa beans are then dried.\u00a0 This has to be done properly or mold<\/a> will develop. If you have a mold allergy<\/a>, this may be an important factor.<\/p>\n

After drying, the beans are roasted, then ground into cocoa mass \u2013 pure chocolate.\u00a0 From here it is further processed and other ingredients are added to form the final product (cocoa power, chocolate bars etc.)<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

So should you eat chocolate if you have a yeast allergy?<\/p>\n

The answer is not so easy.\u00a0 The yeasts used in fermenting chocolate are not the same we are most commonly exposed to in bread<\/a>, beer<\/a> and other common foods with yeast in them.\u00a0 But yeast is still involved.<\/p>\n

You will have to use your own discretion when deciding whether or not to eat chocolate.<\/p>\n

If you want to be very safe, don\u2019t eat chocolate.<\/p>\n

If you are willing to experiment, try cutting out chocolate for a while, and see if you feel any different, then reintroduce it.\u00a0 If you decide to do this, be sure that other parts of your life are yeast-free.<\/p>\n

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