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Step 1
Read labels carefully, and narrow your search by knowing that the darker and more bitter the chocolate, the more likely it is to be vegan. Look for obvious animal products like milk, whey, butter and cream, and hidden animal ingredients like mono- and diglycerides and lecithin, both of which may come from animal sources.
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Step 2
Decide how pure you want your vegan chocolate to be. Many chocolates that are technically vegan are made on shared equipment or in a facility that also uses milk products. When a "trace amount" of dairy is listed, the amount is generally so small that it is counted in the parts per million.
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Step 3
Start your search at your local grocery store. Though you might not find vegan chocolate in the candy aisle, grocery stores often have a good selection of vegan baking chocolates.
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Step 4
Ask questions at a chocolate specialty store. Often, employees at specialty stores assume that none of their chocolates are vegan. Ask if you can talk to the manager about ingredients. If the chocolate is made on-site, ask for an ingredients list. You will often find something vegan. If not, the store might consider stocking something vegan.
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Step 5
Check out the chocolate selection at a local natural foods store. Here, you will find both baking chocolate and chocolate bars. You might even find vegan versions of milk chocolate and chocolate baked goods. Examine the bulk section for chocolate covered fruits and nuts.
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Step 6
Purchase chocolate from a vegan online store such as Pangea. When you buy from a vegan store, you can be assured that you are buying vegan. However, some products sold at vegan stores may contain trace amounts of dairy products. If this concerns you, call or email the company to make sure your selection is 100 percent free of animal products.
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Step 7
Go to the source. For the purest chocolate experience, buy raw cacao nibs—the main ingredient of chocolate. You can find raw cacao nibs at some natural grocery stores and online at stores like Organic.
Comments
tamaramcfarland said
on 4/20/2008 Sjaaks has some great vegan chocolates, including bars, nuts and chews, and truffles. I think you can find them on VeganEssentials.com