Experts Recommend Chocolate as Dessert at Iftar Table

With the start of Ramadan, sherbet desserts such as baklava, one of the indispensable flavors of Turkish cuisine, began to take their place on the tables.

Experts warn against the consumption of sherbet desserts, which are high in calories, contain too much fat and cause various diseases, especially diabetes, if consumed excessively.

100 grams of sherbet desserts contain approximately 45 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of fat and around 30 grams of sugar. Instead, experts state that chocolates with high cocoa content and made with natural ingredients have high nutritional value and are a good option for weight control.

Yeşim Tekin, a food engineer and founder of Sial Chocolate, which quickly gained popularity with its chocolates and confectionery made using traditional methods, stated that chocolate has significantly fewer calories compared to other sugary desserts. Referring to chocolate as a much more innocent and nutritious alternative to syrupy desserts like baklava during holidays, Tekin said:

“Chocolate is a product that does not directly increase blood sugar, like other sugary foods. While chocolate has high nutritional value, the amount of sugar you take into your body is much lower. Instead of consuming sherbet desserts at iftar tables, consuming chocolate may be a healthier choice. Chocolate is a much more effective product in suppressing sweet cravings..."

“Dessert Culture Started to Change in Turkey”

Emphasizing that chocolate consumption is much higher in developed countries, Tekin stated that the preference for chocolate instead of heavy-dough desserts has increased in recent years, and said: "With the increase in diseases such as sugar and obesity, dessert consumption in our country has also changed. Consumers turned to healthy foods. Chocolate, especially chocolate produced using natural products, has begun to be consumed more not only because it meets the need for sweets but also because of its nutritional and positive effects on health.

Stating that one of the most important features of the chocolates they make as Sial is that they are produced with completely natural products using traditional methods and have a low sugar content, Tekin said, “Awareness about low sugar consumption is increasing day by day in Turkey, and the trend towards healthy eating is also increasing. While we use less sugar in our products, we keep the cocoa content high. As it is known, as the sugar content increases, the cocoa content decreases, which negatively affects weight control and makes a nutritious product such as chocolate unhealthy; "We need to pay attention to this too," he said.

Stating that in addition to putting proportionally less sugar in the chocolates they produce, they do not use sugary fillings, instead they use more nuts such as hazelnuts and peanuts, Tekin said, “We do not make chocolates with sugary fillings. While we keep the sugar rate low, we take care to keep the use of natural products such as cocoa and nuts and dried fruits high. Since using high sugar content reduces costs, higher amounts of sugar are generally used in the market. However, our priority is not to cut costs, but to produce quality products. In this regard, we produce products with higher nutritional value, less sugar and more cocoa. "In addition to its healthy and nutritious properties, it will also meet your sweet need in the best way during Ramadan," he said.

Underlining that it is a wrong practice to try to flavor a very nutritious food such as chocolate by adding different fillings or coloring it by using dyes, Tekin said, “We make chocolate with natural raw materials without using colorants, sweeteners and preservatives. When making filled chocolate, we use raw materials with high nutritional value, such as tahini. We also add tahini directly; We do not process any sugar or oil. For example, we make coffee chocolate; We do not put the coffee into the ganache, which contains any oil material, but directly into the chocolate by processing it with cocoa butter. "We take care to combine a nutritious product with semi-finished products that are also highly nutritious."

Source: HORECA Trend and Sial Chocolate