Collection: FAQ

The percentage associated with each chocolate indicates the minimum cocoa content (= total percentage of product derived from cocoa).

Chocolate may contain allergenic ingredients (milk, soy, etc.), which are indicated on each online product sheet, in the “Information” category. All allergenic ingredients are also systematically mentioned in our ingredient lists on each product.

Valrhona does not use soy lecithin, but sunflower lecithin in the manufacture of its chocolates. The addition of lecithin results in brittleness, smoothness, crunchiness and better flavor release. Lecithin is an essential binder for stabilizing and liquefying chocolate, to obtain a homogeneous product. 

Valrhona products sold on this online store do not contain palm oil.

Water should not be added to chocolate, as the aim is to obtain a dry product. Milk contains water, whereas milk powder is dry. This is why Valrhona uses powdered milk.

Cocoa nibs are chips of roasted cocoa beans.

Valrhona's Hot Chocolate Mix, Inspiration range and dark chocolates are plant-based according to their ingredient lists, but we are not able to obtain vegan certifications due to milk traceability from operating in the same factory as milk and white chocolate production. 

All of our chocolate bars are considered gluten-free (this means that they contain less than 20 ppm of gluten and are suitable for intolerant people). Our chocolate truffles are not gluten-free. We recommend people for whom gluten is a health concern not to consume our chocolate as it may contain traces of gluten. 

In most products, we do not use nuts as ingredients, however the chocolate may contain traces of peanuts and other nuts, gluten, and egg proteins. We recommend that people with these allergies do not consume our chocolate. 

Valrhona pursues a policy of direct trade with farmers in accordance with the principles of Fair Trade. Valrhona does everything in its power to ensure that the conditions in which our cacao is grown allow planters and their families to develop a long-term business strategy. We take particular care to ensure no children work in the production of our cacao, that there is no forced labor and that all national and international labor regulations are respected.

Yes, all of our chocolates are free from genetically modified organisms (GMO).

Many of our chocolates are certified kosher by a rabbi. The agency certifies the entire factory directly. The certificate is renewed every year. Click here to download. 

The best conditions for storing chocolate are in a cool, dry place, away from light and odors. The optimum temperature should be between 60°F and 64°F. Chocolate should not be exposed to temperatures above 69°F and humidity above 60%. Products must be kept tightly closed. Possible storage solutions include placing the products in a cool area or in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator, provided you keep them in the original packaging, wrapped carefully in a tightly sealed plastic bag. The chocolates should be removed from the refrigerator about two hours before tasting to enjoy their full flavor. 

On the labels of Valrhona products, you may have noticed the presence of two dates. Here's what they mean: - P: production date - E: expiration date. The production date indicates the manufacturing date of the product; it should not be used to determine the product shelf life. The expiration date indicates determines the product’s shelf life. 

Cocoa butter can sometimes crystallize on the surface of chocolate, leaving white marks. This may be due to storage conditions, such as the room temperature being too high, thermal shock, or an excessively humid environment.

Tempering is essential if you want to make homemade chocolate bars, molds or chocolate coatings. The aim of tempering is to obtain shiny, smooth, brittle chocolate. This stage stabilizes and homogenizes the cocoa butter crystals. It also prevents these crystals from migrating to the periphery of the chocolate, causing white streaks. It is therefore important to carefully respect the temperature curve indicated on the packaging to obtain smooth, shiny chocolate without white streaks.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Yes, we use Adyen for our processing payment system. Adyen adopts the most stringent security standards on the market when processing your payment transactions on the valrhona-collection.com website. Adyen is a global leader in payment solutions, using advanced encryption technology and fraud prevention measures to ensure the safety and integrity of your payment information. The platform is PCI-DSS compliant, adhering to the highest industry standards for secure payment processing. Additionally, Adyen continuously monitors transactions for suspicious activity to protect your financial data.

Orders placed by 2pm will ship the same day from our New York facility. In order to preserve your chocolate and to avoid your package staying in a warm facility during the weekend, we will have to delay some shipments: Orders received after 2pm on Thursday will ship the following week on Monday. Orders received after 2pm on Wednesday will only ship the following week on Monday for "two day" and "ground" shipping methods.

At this current time, we do not ship any orders overseas from this online store. International shipments also include the 16 U.S. Territories.

In order to avoid having products kept in a shipping facility without climate control, we do not ship packages on weekends. We want your order to get the best care possible when shipping out of our facility.

PO Box, APO, DPO and FPO

For your chocolate order inquiry, please contact us at info-us@valrhona.com.

Currently, we are unable to include personalized notes with your chocolate order. However, we are working on offering this feature in the near future.

This option is not currently available. However, you can please a friend or family member by having an order delivered to their home.