Types of chocolate

Chocolate is a delicious food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans. These beans are mixed with fat, like cocoa butter, and powdered sugar to create a solid treat called confectionery. There are many different kinds of chocolate, and they are grouped based on how much cocoa and fat is used in each type. Whether you enjoy milky chocolate or dark chocolate, each variety has its own special taste and texture, making chocolate a favorite around the world.

Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk and white varieties, with chocolate liquor contributing to the brown coloration.

Eating

Traditional

Main article: Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate is also called plain chocolate because it has no milk. It is made from chocolate liquor and has added sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla. Dark chocolate can be eaten alone or used in cooking. Bars with more cocoa, from 70% to 100%, are often used in recipes. More cocoa usually means a bitter taste, but not always. Many brands show the cocoa percentage on their bars.

Dark chocolate bar

"Bittersweet chocolate" has very little sugar and is used for baking. "Semi-sweet chocolate" has more sugar and is sweeter. The two can often be used the same way in recipes.

Main article: Milk chocolate

Milk chocolate is solid chocolate that includes milk. The flavor can change between brands and places depending on how the milk is used, such as powdered milk, condensed milk, or other types of milk.

In 1875, a Swiss confectioner, Daniel Peter, made solid milk chocolate using condensed milk, which was invented by his neighbor Henri Nestlé in Vevey.

Milk chocolate tablet

Main article: White chocolate

White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids. It is light in color because it does not contain the non-fat parts of cocoa. Some people debate whether white chocolate should be considered true chocolate. White chocolate is less popular than milk or dark chocolate and comes in bars, chips, and coatings for nuts. It is often paired with flavors like matcha or berries. White chocolate does not last as long and can easily pick up smells from around it.

White chocolate is made by mixing ingredients into a paste, turning it into a powder, working it for several hours, and then heating and cooling it to improve its look and texture.

Other

Main article: Aerated chocolate

Aerated chocolate

Aerated chocolate is made by turning chocolate into foam by adding bubbles.

Main article: Gianduja (chocolate)

Gianduja chocolate is made by mixing hazelnut butter with chocolate paste. It comes in both plain and milk versions and may include other nuts like almonds. Gianduja bars are softer than regular chocolate because of the hazelnut oil.

Gianduja bars

Main article: Organic chocolate

Organic chocolate is made from cocoa beans grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Organic chocolate was becoming more popular around the world as of 2016.

Main article: Raw chocolate

Raw chocolate is not processed, heated, or mixed with other ingredients. It is sold in chocolate-growing countries and is often said to be healthy. Raw chocolate contains many helpful antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins, including protein, iron, and fiber.

Main article: Ruby chocolate

Ruby chocolate is made from Ruby cocoa beans, giving it a red color and a sweet yet sour flavor. It was created by Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company. Development began in 2004, and it was released to the public in 2017. Some chocolate experts debate whether ruby chocolate is a new type of chocolate or just a marketing idea.

Confectionery

Main article: Baking chocolate

A bar of dark baking chocolate

Baking chocolate is a type of chocolate used for making sweet foods. You can find it in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate forms. Sometimes, lower quality baking chocolate might taste a bit different.

If chocolate isn’t stored properly, it might get whitish spots called chocolate bloom. This just means the sugar or fat separated, but it’s still safe to eat.

In the US, baking chocolate with no added sugar can be called “unsweetened chocolate.”

Couverture chocolate (dark and white)

Couverture chocolate is a special, high-quality type with more cocoa butter than regular chocolate. It’s used by experts for coating and decorating. Some well-known brands include Valrhona, Lindt & Sprüngli, Scharffen Berger, Callebaut, and Guittard.

Compound chocolate is made by mixing cocoa with other plant-based fats instead of cocoa butter. It’s often used to coat candy bars, but in many places, it can’t be called “chocolate.”

Modeling chocolate is a paste made by melting chocolate and mixing it with corn syrup, glucose syrup, or golden syrup. It’s mainly used to decorate cakes and pastries.

By country

During the last hundred years, chocolate was sorted by where it was made. Now, people care more about where the cocoa beans are from.

Belgium

Main article: Belgian chocolate

Belgian chocolate is known for special treats called bonbons.

Belgian chocolates

France

Main article: French chocolate

French chocolate tastes like a dark roast and feels smooth.

Switzerland

Main article: Swiss chocolate

Swiss chocolate has a milky taste and a smooth feel.

Legal definitions

The Codex Alimentarius Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization sets international standards for chocolate. These rules talk about how much cocoa solids chocolate should have, and they also talk about cocoa butter and non-fat cocoa solids.

In Canada, chocolate rules are made by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Canada does not let companies use substitutes for cocoa butter in chocolate. Chocolate in Canada cannot have vegetable fats or oils. Only certain sweeteners are allowed, and if a product has ingredients that are not allowed, it cannot be called "chocolate".

In the European Union and the United Kingdom, people have talked about what should count as chocolate. In 1999, the EU decided that up to 5% of chocolate could be one of six types of oil instead of cocoa butter. In Japan, chocolate products are grouped by how much cocoa they have and what other ingredients they contain. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration makes rules for cocoa products. They focus on how much chocolate liquor is in the chocolate, not the total amount of cocoa solids. In 2007, some companies asked the FDA to change the rules to let them use vegetable fats and artificial sweeteners in chocolate, but this did not happen.

Canadian requirements for chocolate
Product	Cocoa butter	Milk solids	Milk fat	Non-fat cocoa solids	Total cocoa solids
Milk chocolate	≥ 15%	≥ 12%	≥ 3.39%	≥ 2.5%	≥ 25%
Sweet chocolate	≥ 18%			≥ 12%	≥ 30%
Chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate	≥ 18%			≥ 14%	≥ 35%
White chocolate	≥ 20%	≥ 14%	≥ 3.5%

Chocolate requirements in the European Union and United Kingdom
Product	Total cocoa solids	Cocoa butter	Non-fat cocoa solids	Total fat	Milk fat	Milk solids	Flour/starch
Dark chocolate	≥ 35%	≥ 18%	≥ 14%
Couverture chocolate	≥ 35%	≥ 31%	≥ 2.5%
Chocolate vermicelli or flakes	≥ 32%	≥ 12%	≥ 14%
Milk chocolate	≥ 25%		≥ 2.5%	≥ 25%	≥ 3.5%	≥ 14%
Couverture milk chocolate	≥ 25%		≥ 2.5%	≥ 31%	≥ 3.5%	≥ 14%
Milk chocolate vermicelli or flakes	≥ 20%		≥ 2.5%	≥ 12%	≥ 3.5%	≥ 12%
Family milk chocolate	≥ 20%		≥ 2.5%	≥ 25%	≥ 5%	≥ 20%
Cream chocolate	≥ 25%		≥ 2.5%	≥ 25%	≥ 5.5%	≥ 14%
Skimmed milk chocolate	≥ 25%		≥ 2.5%	≥ 25%	≤ 1%	≥ 14%
White chocolate		≥ 20%				≥ 14%
Chocolate a la taza	≥ 35%	≥ 18%	≥ 14%				≤ 8%
Chocolate familiar a la taza	≥ 30%	≥ 18%	≥ 12%				≤ 18%

American requirements for chocolate
Product	Chocolate liquor	Milk solids	Sugar	Cocoa butter	Milk fat
Buttermilk chocolate	≥ 10%	≥ 12%
Milk chocolate	≥ 10%	≥ 12%			≥ 3.39%
Mixed dairy product chocolates	≥ 10%	≥ 12%
Skim milk chocolate	≥ 10%	≥ 12%
Sweet chocolate	≥ 15%
Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate	≥ 35%
White chocolate		≥ 14%	≤ 55%	≥ 20%	≥ 3.5%