Sunday 27 October 2013

Beracha on Chocolate

Question: What beracha does one make on chocolate-covered raisins?
Answer: While the accepted practice is to recite shehakol on chocolate, there are poskim that maintain that as it comes from the cocoa bean, the correct beracha should be ha’etz. While the Shaarei Teshuva (OC 202:19) writes that the correct beracha is shehakol, the poskim he quotes lived before chocolate was eaten in its solid form. There is no question that chocolate in a liquid form, just like any other fruit juice should be shehakol.
R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchas Shlomo 1:91:2) compares chocolate to finely ground spices. While these spices are no longer identifiable, their beracha remains the same. Similarly, one recites ha’etz on chocolate, even if there is more sugar than cocoa bean. (See Mishna Berura 202:76, 203:12)
Dayan Gavriel Krausz (Mekor Habracha 21) writes that while the correct beracha seems to be ha’etz, nonetheless the minhag is to say shehakol.
R’ Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe OC3:31) addresses the issue of chocolate-covered raisins, though is clear that one recites shehakol on chocolate itself. While normally one makes the beracha on the ikar, main ingredient, neither the raisin nor the chocolate can be considered tafel, of secondary importance to the other. One would therefore need to recite both shehakol and ha’etz (ideally on another raisin, etc).
The Baer Hetev (204:19) holds that the raisin is the ikar (See Mekor Habrocha 22) while the Vezos Habracha (p96-97) quotes one opinion that chocolate is the ikar, and another that as the volume of the raisin is usually greater than the chocolate, the correct beracha should be ha’etz (see Yalkut Yosef 3 p431). R’ Moshe Heinemann writes that the beracha is subjective as the ikar is determined by personal preference.
In conclusion, while one can follow his preference, it is ideal to make 2 berachos on 2 other items.

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