Definitions of Chocolate
From the Mayans to the EU
Like in all industries, The Chocolate industry has its own precise definitons of what is and what is not chocolate and what can be called chocolate.
Always read the label. Chocolate manufacturers are given a certain amount of lee-way in terms of percentages of oil, fat and other substances they can add to 'push' the content percentages up. Have these figues in mind when chhoosing a chocolate and not just read the big percentage label on the front of the pack or bar!
There is a legal definition of Chocolate; it is related to the actual percentage of dry cocoa solids and the actual percentage of cocoa butter in the chocolate being sold. Unfortunately they are not the same for every country; just about each country having its own bias and grades of chocolate.
The EU and USA have definitions of standard (S) and fine (F) chocolate.
- Dark (plain) Chocolate (S) must contain a minimum of 35% dry cocoa solids and
- Dark chocolate (F) must contain a minimum of 43%
- Milk chocolate (S) must contain a minimum of 25% dry cocoa solids (20% in the UK and 10% in the USA) while
- Fine (F) milk chocolate must contain a minimum of 30%.
It is interesting to note that chocolate bars such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Galaxy or even Hershey in America must be labelled ‘family milk chocolate’. Under EU legal definitions, they do not contain anywhere near enough chocolate to be counted as chocolate!
Read the label
Chocolate manufacturers for various economic reasons will add ingredients to their chocolate to either ‘pad it out’ or modify the taste. Ingredients such as:
- Malt extract
- Emulsifiers (apart from soy lecithin)
- Whey
- Lactose
- Cocoa powder
- Butter fat
Cocoa powder in a dark chocolate is not good! The fundamental or raw ingredients for dark (plain) chocolate are beans (aka cocoa) and sugar. ‘Permitted’ added ingredients include: cocoa butter, lecithin and vanilla. Anything else detracts from the ‘real’ taste of dark chocolate.
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