ALL ABOUT OUR INGREDIENTS
Our goal is to use the best quality flavorful ingredients with the lowest impact on the environment. To us this means selecting ingredients which are organically grown, non genetically modified and grown locally as much as possible. Of course, cacao is sourced from far away (Verre) from the Netherlands which we like to combine with locally (Heinde) grown ingredients. However, not all local ingredients are organic certified available in The Netherlands and therefore our bars are not organically certified. We carefully select all our ingredients and would like to share the choices we have made.
ALL-NATURAL, NO ADDITIVES, NON-GMO
Our chocolate does not contain artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and is made from non-genetically modified ingredients. During the production of our chocolate we do not use chemicals (as is standard practice in the big industry) only slow food techniques such as stone grinding and aging so we can preserve all that nature has to offer (flavour and anti-oxidants).
TRACEABLE ORGANIC CACAO, BEYOND FAIR TRADE
We only work with traceable organic cacao, grown in agro-forestry plantations, sourced directly from the farmers themselves. This ensures the farmers get a fair price and enables them to take care of both their workers and the environment. On every bar you can trace the source and farmers of the cacao.
DUTCH BEET SUGAR, LOW CO2 FOOTPRINT
The locally grown sugar beet is an ideal sweetner for chocolate. Its neutral character allows cacao flavours to shine without adding flavours to the chocolate, while sugar cane adds a molasses flavour to the chocolate. Because of the relative small scale of the sugar beet processing industry, organic and non-organic sugar beets are combined in the extraction proces. Research shows that the CO2 footprint of Dutch beet sugar is 4 times lower compared to the average sugar cane production. This is due to a higher yield, efficient farming, harvesting and processing and the fact it does not need to be transported over long distances. Moreover, beet sugar has a lower water consumption than cane sugar.
ORGANIC VEGAN MYLK, PLANT BASED AND FREE OF ALLERGENS
Heinde & Verre has developed its own organic plant based milk alternative to create a unique rich and creamy chocolate bar. Vegan Mylk is a lactose- and allergen free alternative for regular milk chocolate that pampers all senses. The mix of ingredients captures the essence of milk chocolate: natural sweetness, soft notes of caramel, heartiness and a creamy texture with a mellow melt. A no-compromise plant based milk alternative can contribute to a lower impact on the environment.
The exact recipe is a secret but it contains ingredients such as oat, banana, rice, cocos, calcium, sunflower lecithin and is free of lactose, nuts, soy, egg and gluten.
DUTCH COW MILK
The Netherlands is famous for its cheese and butter because of a long dairy tradition. The Dutch sea climate and terroir gives Dutch milk its specific rich flavour and is a perfect match for chocolate. Because of the way Dutch farmers are organized in cooperatives, milk powder factories mix organic and non-organic together. Dutch milk is therefore not organic certified.
ALLERGENS
Our chocolate can be eaten worry free. All our bars are free of nuts, soy, egg, gluten and lactose, the only exceptions are the regular milk bars that contain cow milk. We do not process nuts in our factory and therefore our bars do not contain traces of nuts. The milk bars are processed separately but milk powder is present at the factory premises.
FOOD PRACTICES
• Vegan: all H&V chocolates are vegan except the bars that contain cow milk
• Vegetarian: there are no dietary restrictions when it comes to the consumption of chocolate including milk
• Kosher: H&V chocolate is declared Kosher by the Chief Rabinate of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Halal: Chocolate is considered Halal according to the Halal guidelines of Food and Agriculture Organisation of The United Nations
• Buddhism: there are no dietary restrictions when it comes to the consumption of chocolate
• Christianity Protestant: there are no dietary restrictions when it comes to the consumption of chocolate
• Christianity Catholic: there are no dietary restrictions when it comes to the consumption of chocolate except during fasting milk chocolate is not allowed
• Mormon: there are no dietary restrictions when it comes to the consumption of chocolate
FUTURE
Is it all perfect? Well, we see room for improvement in the future. For example the debate on certification (organic, fair trade, Vegan, etc) of ingrediënts will continue. Ideally all ingredients are certified however some famers are just too small to make certifcaltion viable and possible. In some cases we’ll continue to support small farmers who grow great high quality ingredients but are not certified. Love to hear your view on the matter!
H&V
