The Taste
How do we know that elCrem tastes the way a quality hazelnut and cocoa spread should? We’ve been testing and perfecting it for two years, until we were absolutely happy with it.
The key to delicious cocoa and hazelnut spread is found in its flavour and texture.
During the course of extensive testing we’ve determined that the best flavour depends predominantly on the hazelnut content and the quality of ingredients used.
Our recipe includes 17% of high quality hazelnuts, which is more than what most manufacturers use. The other critical component behind the flavour is the cocoa. We experimented with a variety of powders and proportions and blended them until we were totally satisfied with the result.
Texture is in turn driven by the plant oils applied to the recipe. elCrem utilizes a unique mixture of shea and rapeseed oils. Making sure that our product was creamy, smooth, stabile and consistent, was the most difficult and time consuming task, but we are really proud of the end result.
No Palm Oil
We started our journey by trying to eliminate palm oil from our family’s diet. We were seeking an alternative, without compromising on our eating habits.
What was initially just a kitchen experiment ended up as a fully fledged food project, starting with the recipes of popular products and making a few vital adjustments that resulted in elCrem’s quality and rich flavour.
Palm oil was replaced with a blend of carefully selected plant fats, alkalized cocoa was substituted with unprocessed ones that are rich in antioxidants, and a portion of sugar was taken out with the addition of naturally sweet inulin.
Fats We Use
Are fats always bad?
Nutritionists usually divide fats into three groups: unsaturated plant oils, saturated fats, and trans fats.
elCrem consists of a mix of shea and rapeseed oils.
Under the European Commission and the UK FSA regulations there are currently no nutrition or health claims which we could legally use to tell you more about these two. Thus, we recommend you to refer to independent, publicly available sources, for more information.
Natural (Non-Alkalized) Cocoa
elCrem utilizes a blend of unprocessed, non-alkalized cocoa that is rich in antioxidants. Its flavour is what uniquely distinguishes our spread from others.
Have you ever heard of cocoa alkalization, also known as the ‘Dutching process’?
The majority of chocolate and cocoa products that we buy are manufactured using alkalized (Dutched) cocoa powder.
Alkalization involves the addition of an alkalizing agent to cocoa nibs before roasting. It neutralizes the acidity and results in a less reddish, darker cocoa with a milder taste, which common chocolate lovers have grown to favour.
But there’s a price to that: alkalization tends to wash away many of cocoa’s natural antioxidants.
Under the European Commission and the UK FSA regulations there are currently no health claims which we could legally use to tell you more about antioxidants. Thus, we recommend you to refer to independent, publicly available sources, for more information.
The Unique Recipes team ordered and tested over 30 different non-alkalized cocoa powders from around the globe and came up with a blend that is at once mild, full of flavour, and rich in antioxidants.
Utilizing that blend in elCrem has allowed us to obtain a unique, tasty spread.
High in Antioxidants
The antioxidants in elCrem come predominantly from our unique natural cocoa blend.
elCrem’s antioxidant potential is much higher compared to other popular hazelnut spreads with cocoa. This is due to the over six times higher content of total polyphenols and approximately seven times better IC₅₀ indicator result, which is the antioxidant concentration at which the DPPH radicals are scavenged by 50%.
Antioxidants like vitamin A, C, E, beta-carotene, lutein, selenium, polyphenols (flavonoids, flavones, etc.) are usually present in various fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Under the European Commission and the UK FSA regulations there are currently no health claims which we could legally use to tell you more about antioxidants. Thus, we recommend you to refer to independent, publicly available sources, for more information.
Contains Inulin
Inulin, a fibre extracted from chicory root, is naturally sweet and low in calories. By employing it in our recipe, we were able to replace a portion of sugar.
Under the European Commission and the UK FSA regulations there are currently no health claims which we could legally use to tell you more about inulin. Thus, we recommend you to refer to independent, publicly available sources, for more information.
Sugar Content
elCrem has by approximately 15% less sugars compared to similar hazelnut and cocoa spreads.
For this product category that’s quite a big difference.
We compensate for the loss in sweetness with the addition of natural inulin and whey powder, which are mildly sweet. Compared to sugar, both these ingredients are lower in calories.
As a consequence elCrem derives its taste predominantly from hazelnuts and cocoa, giving it a satisfyingly sweet, full taste.