Yes, chocolate’s most sweet and indulgent form is frequently the subject of heated discussions. Although it might sound like a minor issue between chocolate lovers, the debate about white chocolate is fascinating and has a bearing on law, flavor transparency, health, and flavor. It will be interesting to see how often the question “Is white chocolate real chocolate?” is a topic on Google search results. The answers are always 50/50 based on the source, the need to be awe-inspiring, and the level of seriousness of the author.
For me, the answer to this question isn’t necessary. People who love white chocolate will continue to indulge in it no matter what others say, while white chocolate haters will not be very soon convinced. I’m more interested in making the most of this discussion to shed the spotlight on white chocolate.
White chocolate mixed with melange
Although milk chocolate is the most popular type of chocolate worldwide and dark chocolate receives all the attention from media outlets for its health benefits, white chocolate remains a lone wolf, which, due to its lack of publicity, many people are aware of. Did you have a discussion with friends and family members who do not even know the ingredients of the white variety of chocolate? It could be anything from “I thought it was all milk!” to “So cocoa butter doesn’t count as dairy? !” I think I’ve heard it all.
This article will dive into why experts and consumers are dissident about white chocolate and bring some insight into this frequently secluded and under-appreciated type of chocolate.
WHAT IS WHITE CHOCOLATE MADE OF?
Inside the cacao bean is the cocoa butter and the cocoa solids that are not fat (aka the brown portion). The cocoa butter is 100% fat, and the brown part gives chocolate its distinctive brown color and complex flavors; it is where the majority of nutrients are (carbohydrates and proteins, as well as minerals). The ratio usually is 50/50. However, it can vary depending on various factors within the nation of origin (genetics and terroir, harvest season, and so on.)
In the past, separating chocolate butter and the solids with no fat was impossible. Then, in 1828, Coenraad Van Houten, a Dutch chocolatier and chemist, created a machine that could extract the cocoa butter from refined cocoa paste. Chocolatiers were able to use this new, delicious ingredient that was creamy. The development of white chocolate is believed to be due to Nestle in the 1930s.
No matter the chocolatier’s preferences and artistic flair, regardless of their style and creativity, you can be assured that the white chocolate you purchase will
never contain non-fat cocoa solids. The only component from the cacao bean used to make white chocolate is cocoa butter, the fat portion (the “brown part” isn’t utilized in any way).
Always made from sugar, cocoa butter, or milk/milk. Ingredients can differ (from various sweeteners to alternative plant-based ingredients). However, it is a standard base of white chocolate.
Always contains more fats and sugars than different kinds of chocolate.
Still, it is expensive to be costly too. Even though it’s not made with valuable solids made of non-fat, it does not necessarily mean that white chocolate is made from all the “waste” of chocolate production. Cocoa butter is a costly ingredient.
Butter of cocoa at room temperature
As an ingredient, white chocolate is relatively easy to make. However, it is an ideal platform for debating costs-cutting unhealthy ingredients. Because consumers are more interested in the “sugar rush” than an “attentive tasting experience” when they purchase white chocolate, industrial companies see the advantage of this to add whatever they want into white chocolate, as long as they can make it taste as creamy and sweet as consumers expect. What is the reason they are allowed to do this? Because the law allows it.
WHAT THE LAW DEFINES (and does not define) white chocolate
The US, Europe, and the UK white chocolate is legally limited according to the following:
“To be marketed as white chocolate, a product must contain at least 20 percent cocoa butter, at least 14 percent total milk solids, and at least 3.5 percent milkfat.”
Although the FDA sets limits of 55% sugars added (they refer to them as sugars that are nutritive carbohydrates), the European law doesn’t specify any limits. Also, chocolate not made from dairy ingredients but from plant-based substitutes like oats, coconut rice, almond flour, or powders aren’t legally able to be called white chocolate. In addition, the law permits other ingredients to be added: artificial and natural flavorings such as ingredients made from whey, spices, emulsifying agents, and many other elements.
If the only minimal that chocolate professionals have to reach to make their chocolate product white chocolate, then you can cover that is by modifying the ingredients list. For instance:
The majority or even the whole of a chocolate bar could be sugar.
The definition for sugar sweeteners that are nutritive carbohydrates include Sucrose, Dextrose, Corn sugar as well as high Fructose Corn Syrup, and the various sugar alcohols;
All kinds of flavorings can be widely used (to replicate the taste of natural ingredients, or to mask the low quality of the cacao butter or milk),
These rules only apply to brands that want to include white CHOCOLATE claims on their labels. People who do not wish to use this label may play with fillers such as powders, vegetable fats, and other questionable ingredients. To avoid getting sued by these companies, they invent terms, claims, and even images that suggest white chocolate without publicly declaring it. Do you want to know the funniest thing about this?
Legally, white chocolate can be considered more cacao than bars of 100% cacao. In the eyes of the law, if a food item does not contain sugar and sugar, it isn’t legally classified as chocolate. While true chocolate lovers experts, connoisseurs, and connoisseurs take care of the subtle flavors that cocoa solids made of non-fat can deliver, even without sugar, lawmakers are inclined to prefer the sugar content more than anything else.
This ambiguous and lenient definition is among the causes of the endless white chocolate debate. However, there’s more to it.
WHERE DID THE WHITE CHOCOLATE CONTROVERSY START?
The law, indeed permitting an array of additional ingredients to be used in white chocolate, is a source of anger. However, some chocolate enthusiasts would be skeptical about white chocolate even if every bar sold included milk, cocoa butter, and sugar. Why people don’t think white chocolate is “real chocolate” can be described in three reasons.
WHITE CHOCOLATE DOESN’T CONTAIN NON-FAT COCOA SOLIDS
With no “brown part”, white chocolate does not have the typical deep brown color that chocolate is known for, its distinct taste, and the majority of cacao’s health benefits. Many believe that the non-fat solids from the cacao bean are superior to their stale and fatty counterparts. While cocoa butter is found in 50% of cacao beans in the same amount as non-fat dry solids, they believe that genuine chocolate should consist of both. In the end, it was the creation of a sophisticated and expensive machine to differentiate the two.
