White chocolate

White chocolate is a confectionery typically made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids. It is pale ivory in color, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk, dark, and other chocolates. It is solid at room temperature () because the melting point of cocoa butter, the only white cocoa bean component, is .

As for the other two main types of chocolate (dark and milk), white chocolate is used for chocolate bars or as a coating in confectionery.

History 
As white chocolate is essentially milk chocolate devoid of cocoa solids, it is perhaps noteworthy to recall that the latter was developed in the late 19th century by Daniel Peter and that it quickly became the most popular type of chocolate.

In 1936, the white chocolate tablet Milkybar (or Galak) was launched in Europe by the Swiss company Nestlé, a major player in the Swiss chocolate industry and owner of the Peter-Cailler-Kohler factory. Nestlé is generally credited for the first white chocolate bar, although earlier forms of white chocolate had probably been made before 1936. Making white chocolate was a way to use milk powder and cocoa butter, which were then produced in excess.

White chocolate was first introduced to the United States in 1946 by Frederick E. Hebert of Hebert Candies in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, near Boston, after he had tasted "white coat" candies while traveling in Europe.

From about 1948 until the 1990s, Nestlé also produced a white chocolate bar with almond pieces, Alpine White, for markets in the United States and Canada. Other chocolate manufacturers developed their own formulas, such as that developed by Kuno Baedeker for the Merckens Chocolate Company in 1945. As white chocolate became mainstream, white versions of popular chocolate bars appeared, for instance Toblerone in 1973 and Hershey's Kisses in 1993.

As of 2022, white chocolate accounts for about 10 percent of the overall chocolate market.

Composition

White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids, the primary non-fat constituent of conventional chocolate liquor — chocolate in its raw, unsweetened form. These are, however, replaced by milk solids. During manufacturing, the dark-colored solids of the cocoa bean are separated from its fatty content, as with milk chocolate and dark chocolate, but, unlike with other forms of chocolate, no cocoa mass is added back; cocoa butter is the only cocoa ingredient in white chocolate. White chocolate contains only trace amounts of the stimulants theobromine and caffeine which are present in the cocoa mass but not the butter. Flavorings such as vanilla may be added to white chocolate confectionery.

White chocolate is the type of chocolate containing the highest percentage of milk solids, typically around or over 30 percent, while milk chocolate has only around 25 percent.

Variations

Blonde Chocolate
Blonde chocolate is made by slowly heating white chocolate, which gives it a golden color and triggers Maillard reactions in it. These reactions create a range of flavor compounds, contributing to its caramel-like flavor.
It was discovered accidentally in 2006 by a chef at Valrhona, who in 2012 were the first company to make it commercially.

Regulations 
Regulations govern what may be marketed as white chocolate: Since 2000 in the European Union, white chocolate must be (by weight) at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, and 3.5% milk fat. As of May 2021, the European Food Safety Authority proposed banning the food coloring agent, E171 (titanium dioxide), used as a common whitener in some white chocolate products.

Since 2004 in the United States, the Code of Federal Regulations defined that white chocolate should contain "not less than 20 percent by weight of cacao fat", "not less than 3.5 percent by weight of milkfat and not less than 14 percent by weight of total milk solids", and "not more than 55 percent by weight of a nutritive carbohydrate sweetener." Acceptable dairy elements when manufacturing white chocolate in the United States include evaporated milk, skim milk, buttermilk, or malted milk. White chocolate products may not contain artificial coloring agents.

Vegan versions

Vegan versions of white chocolate chips, bars, and truffles are available from several brands, such as Galaxy and Plamil. Some commercial vegan white chocolate substitutes may contain palm oil, which can be an ethical concern for some consumers. Homemade vegan white chocolate can be made using cocoa butter, coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla extract.

See also
 Types of chocolate

References

External links 
 

Swiss chocolate
Swiss cuisine
Swiss inventions