Ghirardelli takes pride in its deep American roots and the fact that it controls the entire chocolate-making process, from cocoa bean to chocolate bars. The company's founder, Domingo Ghirardelli, left his home in Italy when he was 20, running a chocolate shop first in Uruguay and then in Peru. He arrived in California in 1849 with other Gold Rush enthusiasts, but soon realized that providing chocolate for the miners to buy with their new-found gold made better business sense than panning for gold. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company has been in operation in California ever since.
Cacao Content
Also called chocolate liquor, cacao is the ingredient in chocolate that scientists have found has heart-healthy properties in percentages over 65. Ghirardelli's milk chocolate bars and squares contain at least 10 percent cacao, with the solid squares containing 60 percent. The company's sweet chocolate, also commonly called dark chocolate, contains 15 to 34 percent cacao. Bittersweet varieties, also called semi-sweet and dark, contain 35 to 99 percent cacao, with Evening Dream containing 60 percent, Twilight Delight containing 72 percent and Midnight Reverie containing 86 percent. Ghirardelli's bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolates contain 35 to 99 percent cacao.
Other Ingredients
Ghirardelli uses whole milk, milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, sugar, soy lecithin and natural vanilla, among other ingredients the company doesn't divulge. The company also uses a proprietary blend of different types of cocoa beans. As with all chocolate, caffeine is present in small quantities. The company says a 1.4 oz. piece of milk chocolate contains about 6 mg of caffeine, about the amount in a cup of decaffeinated coffee.
Nutritional Information
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database, approximately 4 oz. of chocolate contains 550 calories, with 59 g from carbohydrates, 32 g from fats, 7.2 g from fiber, 46 g from sugar and 5 g from protein. The cocoa butter in chocolate is high in saturated fat, but its stearic acid is a heart-healthy kind of fat, according to the Yale-New Haven Hospital. The website adds that chocolate has over 300 chemicals, including the antioxidant phenol, known to prevent plaque buildup from cholesterol.
Vitamins
Among other vitamins, 4 oz. of dark chocolate contains .03 mg of thiamin, .05 mg of riboflavin, .75 mg of niacin, .3 mg of pantothenic acid, .04 mg of vitamin B-6, 27.6 mg of choline, .23 mcg of vitamin B-12, 2 mcg of vitamin A, 32 mcg of carotene, 49 IU of vitamin A, .55 mg of vitamin E and 8 mcg of vitamin K.
Minerals
For every 4 oz. of dark chocolate, you will get 57 mg of calcium, 8.13 mg of iron, 152 mg of magnesium, 214 mg of phosphorus, 568 mg of potassium, 23 mg of sodium, 2.11 mg of zinc, 1 mg of copper, 1 mg of manganese and 3.5 mcg of selenium.
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