Is White Chocolate Really a Chocolate?

Many of us think that white chocolate is the same as an ordinary chocolate. But actually it’s not considered as “real chocolate” because it does not contain chocolate liquor. It is only because of the cocoa butter content present in white chocolate that falls into the category. Among the ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar lecithin, and flavorings such as vanilla. This if often called confectionery or summer coating. According to the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, products labeled as chocolates should contain cocoa solids from chocolate liquor.

Chocolate liquor is derived from fermenting, drying, roasting and grinding cocoa beans. “Real Chocolates” are those dark chocolates and milk chocolates which contains considerable amounts of cocoa solids and chocolate liquor.

To retain the quality of the chocolate, it should contain cocoa butter otherwise, it is considered an inferior brand especially if instead of cocoa butter, vegetable fat is used to create a confectionery similar to white chocolate but with lesser taste and quality.

Identifying the kind of chocolate can be based on its color. Ivory-colored chocolate is made with cocoa butter, white-colored chocolate however is made with vegetable fat. Those of high quality gourmet chocolate have a rich and creamy texture and have a sweet and subtle flavor.

Rich chocolate treats undergo the same procedure that creates dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Sugar and milk however are the only ingredients added to the cocoa butter to produce its creamy chocolate instead of re-blending the cocoa butter with the cocoa solids. Compared to dark and milk chocolate, these chocolate does not contain caffeine and theobromine since these are found in the cocoa solids. For these chocolate to be considered as true gourmet chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, 3.5% milk fat and lean than 55% sugar or other sweeteners.

This creamy version became popular in recent years that several well-known chocolate industries have their own line of white chocolate products both for eating and baking purposes. These include:

• Lindt
• Baker’s
• Ghirardelli
• Cadbury
• Godiva
• Hershey’s
• Kit Kat
• Toblerone

Even though white chocolate is not considered as “real chocolate,” it is still on the top three of the most popular kind of chocolates along with milk chocolate and dark chocolate. As a mater of fact, chocoholics would prefer white chocolate without really knowing that it isn’t “real chocolate”. Its sweet “chocolate” goodness is enough to make it real.

The Value of Chocolate to Your Health

Great news for chocolate lovers… Chocolate is good for your health! We are not just talking about a candy bar but about real chocolate, the kind that contains at least 71% of real cocoa. Something to remember when choosing the chocolate is that the darker it is, the less sugar it contains and the better it is for you.

Are you aware of the emotional benefits of chocolate? By liberating endorphins in our body, chocolate provides us with feelings of comfort and well being, energy and pleasure. According to surveys, women would prefer chocolate to sex! No wonder with such texture, rich color and taste, chocolate is not only an aphrodisiac but also a pleasure for the senses. Moreover, chocolate also contains serotonin and caffeine which provides energy and promote good humor.

Aside of giving pleasure, chocolate also holds beneficial health properties. It has a complex chemical composition wich offers a variety of substance that the body needs to function properly and to prevent disease.

Chocolate also improve cardiovascular health. The phenols, like in red wine, which contained in the dark chocolate help prevent coronary diseases. The British Medical Journal reports that a daily portion of 100 grams of dark chocolate reduces blood pressure and the occurrence of cardiovascular incidents by 21%. These phenols are also rich in antioxidants and they help neutralize free radical which is produced by the body or being absorbed through cigarette smoke and other sources of pollution. Nowadays, cocoa butter was used in creams to heal scars and burns. That is why companies are now exploring the possibility of researching with chocolate to develop new medication to counter cancers and osteoporosis.

Chocolate also contains fats but these are unsaturated and contribute to reduce bad cholesterol and at the same time increase good cholesterol. It is also a good source of magnesium. Some chocolate contain nuts, it can become a great source of phosphor and vegetable iron.

One of the benefits of living in our time is that there an excess of organic and fair trade chocolates that are available to us in natural health food and grocery stores. The benefits of buying these types of chocolates abound but the most obvious are that they do not contain organochlorine pesticides that are usually used to treat traditional cocoa crops and that are harmful not only to the consumer but also to the field worker. In addition, by buying chocolate ensures that the (healthier) worker can benefit from improved working and living conditions by receiving a fair salary.

Chocolate increases caloric intake and energy level, thus, it must be consumed in good measure. This can be good, provided these calories are burned. Therefore, we might even change the saying to “Some chocolate everyday keeps the doctor away!”