What is White Chocolate?: The Chocolate We Love To Hate
White chocolate, it is often a hot-button topic in the world of chocolate. What is it? Is it “real” chocolate? How does it get its colour and creamy texture? Let’s explore the sweet and often resentful world of white chocolate.
The Defining Difference: No Cocoa Solids!
The main reason we have “is it real chocolate?” is because of the most distinguishable factor from the other chocolates and that’s white chocolate have no cocoa solids. Instead, whites chocolate is made up of:
Cocoa (Cacao) Butter
Cocoa (Cacao) butter is the fat extracted from the cocoa bean, giving chocolate its silky texture and pale colour.
Sugar
Sugar is the second most ample ingredient in white chocolate and gives it its sweet profile.
Milk Solids
Milk solids are added to provide the creamy texture and milky flavour character.
Emulsifiers
An emulsifier helps bind all the ingredients together while providing a smooth and consistent texture of the final product.
Vanilla
Vanilla is often used to increase the aromatic complexity and enhance the other flavours in the ingredients.
A Brief History: A Sweet By-product
White chocolate is a relatively modern invention in the history of chocolate. It’s believed to have been first commercialized by Nestlé in Switzerland in the 1930s. Its creation was partly a solution to utilize excess cocoa butter, a by-product of the cocoa powder manufacturing process. What started as a practical solution quickly gained popularity for its unique flavour and versatility.
Why Do We Love It (or Sometimes Not)?
White chocolate’s appeal stems from its unique characteristics:
Creamy Texture
The high cocoa butter content and milk solids give it an exceptionally smooth and luscious mouthfeel.
Sweetness
It offers a pure, sweet taste without the bitterness of cocoa solids, making it a favourite for those with a sweet tooth.
Versatility
Its mild flavour makes it an excellent base for various flavourings, colourings, and inclusions, from berries to nuts. It’s also a popular choice for baking and decorating.
Beyond the Bar: Culinary Uses of White Chocolate
While white chocolate is popular to eat right from the bar, it’s also a multifaceted ingredient in various culinary usages. White chocolate is useful in all forms of confectionary, and it has become widespread in desserts, packaged snacks, and baked goods. The true strength of white chocolate is its versatility. White chocolate’s somewhat mild taste and creamy texture blend perfectly with other flavors. White chocolate is predominately used in baking, where it adds sweetness and mouthfeel to cookies, cakes, brownies, and blondies. White chocolate tends to do well in dessert decoration too, as it is easy to melt and temper white chocolate, it lends itself well to tall drizzles on desserts or filling moulds. White chocolate is an asset in the dessert industry as a base to create a ganache, mousse, or custard, where it results in sweetness and a unique silky smoothness. It can be paired well with most flavours and flavour combinations, including; tart berries like raspberries and strawberries, bright citrus fruits, pairing nut flavours elements and different spices with chocolate is also popular. While we often consider white chocolate to be used exclusively in sweets, I have enjoyed pairing ingredients with white chocolate that fall into the savoury side, including matcha or herbs. White chocolate is a workhorse for many dessert programs in both the professional realm and the home kitchen, due to its versatility, flavour profile, and usability.
Sweet discoveries, one bite at a time.
While some purists argue it’s not “true” chocolate due to the lack of cocoa solids, white chocolate undeniably holds its own unique place in the world of confections, cherished for its distinct creamy sweetness and versatility.
Browse White Chocolate
One Comment “What is White Chocolate?”