White chocolate

White chocolate is a form of chocolate made of cocoa butter, sugar and milk. Unlike milk and dark chocolate, it does not contain non-fat cocoa components (hereafter referred to as cocoa solids), which darken chocolate. White chocolate has an ivory color, and can smell of biscuit, vanilla or caramel, although it can also easily pick up smells from the environment and become rancid with its relatively short shelf life. Like milk and dark chocolate, white chocolate is used by confectionery manufacturers to make chocolate bars and coat confectionery.
Of the three traditional types of chocolate, white chocolate is the newest. It was first sold commercially in tablet form by the Swiss company Nestlé in 1936, but in the United States, it took until the 1980s to become popular. During the 21st century, manufacturers began producing more premium white chocolate, and in the United Kingdom the traditionally children's product was marketed to adults for the first time. Around 2005, a variant called blond chocolate was invented, produced by slowly cooking white chocolate across multiple days. In 2022, white chocolate accounted for 10% of the US chocolate market. Among some consumers, it has remained controversial if white chocolate should be considered chocolate.
White chocolate is made in a five-step process. First, the ingredients are mixed to form a paste. Next, the paste is refined, reducing particle size to a powder. It is then agitated for several hours in a process known as conching, after which the product is further processed to ensure the product sold is standardized. Finally, the chocolate is tempered by heating, cooling and reheating the mass, improving the product's appearance, stability and snap.
The exact origin of white chocolate is unclear. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the first use of the term as occurring in a December 1917 edition of Scientific American magazine, where it was described as a product eaten by the Swiss Army made entirely of cocoa butter and sugar. It also mentions a rumor, printed in International Confectioner magazine the previous December, of a white-colored chocolate being made in Switzerland. In 1936, the Swiss company Nestlé launched Nestlé Galak (known as Milkybar in the United Kingdom), the first commercial white chocolate tablet. Making white chocolate was said to be a way to use milk powder and cocoa butter, which were then produced in excess. According to Nestlé, white chocolate was originally a coating for a vitamin product they were making in conjunction with pharmaceutical group Roche.
Upon its launch in the UK, white chocolate was sold under the names "white chocolate", "white milk chocolate" and "milk chocolate block". The description of the product as "chocolate" was immediately challenged due the lack of cocoa solids, and in Northumberland county companies agreed to not label the product as chocolate. Production of Milkybar was suspended in the UK in 1940 due to shortages of ingredients caused by WW2 and it was not until 1956 that production resumed. White chocolate in Europe was long associated closely with children, said to be due to the lower caffeine content and milder flavor than dark chocolates. In 1961, Nestlé created the mascot for Milkybar: "The Milkybar Kid", a blond boy sporting spectacles and a cowboy suit. The mascot continued to be depicted by a child until 2010.
In 1965, Elgorriaga [es] manufactured the first white chocolates in Spain. Other large manufacturers soon followed suit, with one producing an almond variety. During the following decades, the chocolate was isolated to grocery stores, used sparingly by artisans to provide contrast to milk and dark chocolate products. By the 1980s, the global white chocolate market was mostly contained to a niche premium market in Europe. Belgians were considered specialists, most famous for large, filled white chocolate pralines that were flavored with orange peel. In Japan, white chocolate has been given as a gift on White Day since the late 1970s following the holiday's creation by chocolate companies. The day, celebrated a month after Valentine's Day, involves men giving white chocolate to women who had given them dark chocolate a month prior. Around the late 1980s, Nestlé, then global market leader for white chocolate, made a push to create a mass market for white chocolate in Japan.
At the turn of the century, approaches to white chocolate shifted. In Spain, white chocolate use increased as artistic chocolate molding became more popular, particularly in works depicting Christmas and Easter subjects. In Paris, pastry chef Sadaharu Aoki paired white chocolate with matcha for the first time, using the chocolate's sweetness to offset the matcha's bitterness. Over the next few years, restaurants such as The French Laundry released desserts, and chocolate companies including Meiji and Nestlé (in Kit Kat) chocolate bars featuring the combination. In the United Kingdom, Cadbury estimated white chocolate accounted for 1–2% of chocolate consumed. To expand their market, chocolate makers began marketing white chocolate to adults, especially women, with Cadbury releasing Cadbury Snowflake and Dream, and Nestlé releasing white chocolate versions of Aero and Kit Kat. As of 2017, white chocolate was widely considered acceptable for adults to eat.
Chefs within the molecular gastronomy movement in the 2000s used white chocolate, creating white chocolate fizz and pairing it with caviar based on the principles of food pairing. Since 2012, the French chocolate manufacturer Valrhona has sold "blond chocolate", invented around 2005 after white chocolate was accidentally left in a bain-marie for several days. As of 2024, Valrhona was lobbying the French government to recognize it as a separate type of chocolate. In France, white chocolate remains associated with children.
Although Hebert Candies says that they introduced white chocolate to America for the first time in 1956, white chocolate did not gain popularity until the 1980s, after a white chocolate mousse was served by chef Michel Fitoussi in 1977 New York City to much attention. Imports rose from Europe, and the chocolate was considered trendy; it was marketed as European. Pastry chefs utilized the product's plasticity to construct decorations for cakes. White chocolate versions of desserts including truffles, cheesecakes, brownies and chocolate chip cookies were made, even as the mousse remained the most popular. In desserts, it was often paired with berries to balance the richness of the chocolate.
For the first time, in 1984, white chocolate was made and mass-distributed in the United States when Nestlé released Alpine White, a white chocolate bar containing almonds, which they marketed to the "female indulgence" market. Growth in white chocolate consumption was driven by the product's uniqueness, and perceptions of white chocolate as "lighter and more delicate" than other types of chocolate. Such a perception was twofold: customers felt they needed a reprieve from the rich chocolate desserts that had been popular, and some consumers believe that by virtue of its light color, white chocolate contained fewer calories and fats than other chocolates. Further growth came from the popularity of white chocolate macadamia cookies produced by Mrs. Fields.
By the 1990s, however, white chocolate had become unpopular and disliked, and Nestlé discontinued Alpine White in 1993. The Hershey Company introduced Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme to the US market, a white chocolate product embedded with cookie chunks and Nestlé's released a White Crunch bar, however, these failed to turn around sales. As of 2001, much of the "white chocolate" sold in the United States was made of palm kernel oils or hydrogenated fats and called "compound coating". It was sold as "ivory", "blanc", or just wrapped in clear plastic bags. Consumers had difficulty distinguishing white chocolate made with and without cocoa butter. The Food and Drug Administration forbade white chocolate being marketed as "chocolate" unless manufacturers held rare permits that had to be renewed every fifteen months. The popular disdain for white chocolate could be seen in hyperbolic opinions expressed in a contemporary online survey, wherein participants stated it "tasted like candle wax" and was "for communist spies."
In the early 90s, Hershey and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (now part of the National Confectioners Association) began lobbying the FDA to regulate a standard identity for white chocolate. The agency struggled to establish what percentage of cocoa was appropriate, and whether to permit the addition of antioxidants. In 1997, the FDA released a proposal for a standard identity, and in 2002, in response to a decade of lobbying, administrative burden of the permit system, and in order to make it easier to market US white chocolate internationally, the FDA regulated a standard of identity for white chocolate for the first time. This was enforced from 2004 and required white chocolate to be made of at least 20% cocoa butter. In the years that followed, as demand for cocoa butter caused prices to double between 2005 and 2015, some American producers switched to producing white chocolate for the premium chocolate market.
White chocolate does not contain the non-fat component of the cocoa bean (hereafter referred to as cocoa solids), making cocoa butter the only part of the cocoa bean present in white chocolate. In cocoa beans, cocoa butter and solids appear in roughly equal proportions. During manufacturing, these cocoa solids are separated from ground cocoa beans, known as cocoa liquor, leaving behind the cocoa butter. As pure pressed cocoa butter has a flavor that can be considered unpleasant, before it is used in white chocolate it is partly deodorized. This can involve either steam distilling the cocoa butter under vacuum or using solvents. The butter is not fully deodorized, if it were, it would lose all its cocoa flavor. As a result of this flavor loss, less deodorized cocoa butters are used in dark chocolates, where the flavor is considered by manufacturers to be more desirable, while white chocolates use more deodorized cocoa butter. Since being popularized by the Venezuelan chocolate maker Chocolates El Rey, some craft chocolate makers have eschewed deodorizing cocoa butter when producing white chocolates.
Beyond cocoa butter, white chocolate contains sugar, milk solids, emulsifiers (generally soy lecithin or PGPR), and flavors (such as vanilla). Manufacturers substitute the milk solids used with other milk products to create different effects: some for instance use yogurt powder, as the acidity masks the sweetness of the sugar. Other manufacturers use white chocolate crumb (a mixture of sugar, milk and cocoa butter dried together), to give it a caramelized flavor, or use skim milk powder and milk fat instead of full cream milk powder to create a softer white chocolate. The ratio between cocoa butter, sugar and milk fat impacts the quality, and higher-quality white-chocolate recipes require less sugar with more cocoa butter and milk fat. In some chocolate, some cocoa butter is substituted for cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) and cocoa butter substitutes (CBSs). CBEs are fats with similar triglyceride structures, such as palm oil and shea butter, while CBSs are fats with dissimilar triglyceride structures that are refined to have similar qualities of hardness, mouthfeel and flavor release. These include fully refined fats made from palm kernel and coconut oil.
The basic process of making white chocolate involves mixing, refining, conching, standardizing and tempering.
In the mixing phase, cocoa butter is combined with sugar, milk solids, emulsifiers and flavors. These ingredients are mixed until a rough paste is formed. After the ingredients are combined, the mass enters a refining machine. This carries the mass through large steel rollers set to varying widths, turning it into a dry powder. The product is then transferred to a conching machine. These machines mix and knead the chocolate, changing the flavor and texture. White chocolate is conched between 40 and 50 °C (104–122 °F), the lowest temperature of the traditional types of chocolate; conching at higher temperatures can give the chocolate undesirable flavors produced by the Maillard reaction. After conching, the viscosity and taste of the mixture is standardized by adding flavorings, emulsifiers or cocoa butter. This is necessary, given the use of automatic molding and enrobing equipment.
In the final step of production, the chocolate is tempered. While waiting to be tempered, the chocolate is kept in liquid-chocolate storage. Storing white chocolate for this time is particularly difficult compared to other types of chocolates, as it tends to thicken and caramelize at higher temperatures. To prevent this, the chocolate is constantly stirred while being held between 38 and 40 °C (100–104 °F). Before tempering, chocolate is heated to ensure all the cocoa butter that has crystallized has melted; in white chocolate this occurs at about 40–45 °C (104–113 °F), lower than in milk and dark chocolates. During tempering, chocolate is cooled to the point where the cocoa butter can begin to crystallize, and then heated to melt more unstable forms of crystal structures, leaving only the most stable behind. For white chocolate, the temperatures the chocolate is cooled and then heated to during tempering are lower than those needed for other chocolates, as much as 4 °C lower than is needed for dark chocolate. High milk fat contents in white and milk chocolates reduces the temperature at which they solidify and as a result, they require longer cooling. The softness and viscosity of white chocolate makes it the most challenging chocolate for manufacturers to work with.
International and domestic regulations govern what may be marketed as white chocolate. International standards are laid out in the Codex Alimentarius, which is revised very infrequently, and as of 2017 had not been changed since 2003. They require white chocolate to contain at least 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk solids. Countries applying the standards are free to choose between enforcing a minimum 2.5% or 3.5% milk fat percentage, which arose after negotiations could not come to an agreement on one number. Further, white chocolates made under the Codex's standards cannot contain more than 5% CBS/CBE by weight. Given the Codex's stipulations, participating countries can choose to accept them in full or in a modified form. These participating countries include all members of the World Trade Organization, who are obliged upon joining to base their domestic standards on international agreements such as the Codex.
In the European Union, white chocolate's composition is regulated by the European Cocoa and Chocolate Directive, which passed in 2000. This directive reflects the Codex, but requires the higher 3.5% minimum milk fat percentage. In January 2022, the European Food Safety Authority banned the food coloring agent E171 (titanium dioxide), which had been used as a common whitener in some white chocolate products. In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulates white chocolate's composition. It does not permit the use of artificial sweeteners or CBSs. Japan does not explicitly define an identity for white chocolate. In BRIC countries, regulations for white chocolate vary: for instance the permissibility of CBS/CBEs range from unrestricted in Brazil to prohibited in Russia and India.
Since 2004 in the United States, Title 21, Part 163 of the Code of Federal Regulations has defined white chocolate as containing, by weight, at least 20% cocoa butter, 3.5% milk fat and 14% total milk solids. It also limits "nutritive carbohydrate sweetener" (generally sucrose) to 55% of the chocolate by weight and cannot be artificially colored or contain imitation flavorings. Compared to milk and dark chocolates, white chocolate is permitted to contain an unusually high amount of emulsifiers; up to 1.5% of the formula, 50% more what other chocolates are allowed to contain. It is also the only chocolate to which antioxidants can be added, to prevent rancidification. Unlike in the EU, products in the US containing vegetable fats other than cocoa butter cannot be labelled "chocolate".
White chocolate has an ivory color and can smell of biscuit, vanilla or caramel, although it can easily pick up undesirable environmental smells, leading to aromas of rancidity or cheese. White chocolate made from nondeodorized cocoa butter retains the aroma of chocolate, but has an unappealing taste to most consumers. Cocoa butter can contribute a yellow color to white chocolate, which some consumers consider undesirable. Milk fats in white chocolate carry flavors, serve as flavor precursors, and provide flavor, some of these produced throughout the production process. An undesirable flavor tasted in some white chocolates is a metallic taste. Cardboard or paper flavors can also be present, caused by exposure to oxygen. White chocolate also generates different physiological and psychological responses than eating other chocolates: it causes less thirst than chocolates containing cocoa solids and there is some evidence that it cannot eliminate chocolate cravings.
Due to the absence of cocoa antioxidants which act as natural preservatives, white chocolate typically has a shorter shelf life than milk and dark chocolate. Sources vary on how long exactly this shelf life is, with descriptions ranging from 6 to 16 months. The presence of delicate milk fats in white chocolate also means white chocolate cannot be packed in a transparent wrapper, as they will decompose faster if exposed to light. Instead, metallized films are used.
White chocolate is 59% carbohydrates, 32% fat, 6% protein, and 1% water (see table). In a reference amount of 100 grams (3.5 oz), white chocolate supplies 2,250 kJ (540 kcal) of food energy, is a rich source (22% of the Daily Value, DV) of riboflavin, and a moderate source (10–15% DV) of pantothenic acid, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium (table).
White chocolate is used in a range of confections, including chocolate bars and panned chocolate products, such as panned nuts. These are produced using techniques of enrobing, molding and panning. Other applications of white chocolate includes feves, pistoles, chocolate chips, rochers and gianduja. White chocolate has a more muted taste than other chocolates and as a result is more frequently combined with other flavors in applications. Chocolate liqueurs are occasionally made from white chocolate, and have a flavor of anise.
Bakers typically adjust cake recipes to include less sugar when including white chocolate, so as to avoid the chocolate's sweetness becoming overwhelming. In the United States, white chocolate, supplemented with fat-soluble colors and flavors, is often used to coat candies and cakes. The US also features white chocolate in cookies, seen in the standard white chocolate and macadamia cookie flavor combination. Some cooks caramelize white chocolate, cooking it at a low temperature over a long time, increasing the chocolate flavor's complexity and introducing nutty notes. White chocolate features with deserts, accompanying them as white chocolate sauce, or garnishing them as shavings. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in ice cream and ganache and added to coffee when making white chocolate mocha.
White chocolate is used in some regional cuisine, in Germany, for instance, white chocolate shavings represent parmesan in the ice cream dish spaghettieis. In Calabria, Italy, white chocolate frequently coats the pastry mustacciuoli and in New Orleans, Louisiana, white chocolate is used to make white chocolate bread pudding.
According to the National Confectioners Association, white chocolate accounted for around 10% of the overall US chocolate market in 2022. As of 2006, most white chocolate in the US was imported from Europe, with the chocolate makers Guittard, Baker's and Askinosie responsible for domestic production. In the UK white chocolate market, Milkybar has held a dominant position for many years, holding 80% of the UK's then £41,000,000 white chocolate market in 1992, and 60% of the £70,000,000 market in 2010. As of 2020, Milkybar was the most popular white chocolate in the UK and Ireland.
Countries in the European Union exported white chocolate worth €396,915,753 to countries outside the EU in 2024. Belgium dominated these exports, accounting for almost half of all trade. Domestically within Belgium, white chocolate is often used for decorative purposes, mixed with dark and milk chocolate. Germany was the second largest exporter by value, accounting for around 15%, while €96,742,159 worth of white chocolate were imported into the EU that year. The exports had increased by over 25% in value since 2023, with Italy, the fourth largest exporter, experiencing a doubling in the value of its exports. Increases in the value of exports from Belgium accounted for 60% of the growth.
In Ecuador, white chocolates are the most preferred chocolate, while in Brazil, as of 2019 white chocolate was the second most popular type of chocolate according to market research company Mintel. The Mexican market for white chocolate is split between using it as an ingredient in baked goods and "fine candies". In Japan, craft white chocolate is unusually popular. Several international established brands produce white chocolate for the premium white chocolate market, including the Italian Ferrero, the Belgian Godiva, the French Valrhona, and the American artisan chocolate makers Guittard and Ghirardelli. Manufacturers also sell white chocolate varieties of established chocolate products, including Twix, Kit Kat and M&M's.
In a 2024 survey by Mintel of US consumers, preference for white chocolate had a sharp generational divide, with millennials more than twice as likely than baby boomers to purchase the product. The same generational divide was observed in a 2023 Mintel survey of UK consumers: white chocolates were most favored by consumers between 16–24 and disfavored by those over 65.
The flavor and texture of white chocolate is divisive: enjoyed by some for its "creamy" and "unctuous" texture, it is disliked by others who find the chocolate cloying, and the underlying flavor bland. The relative popularity of white chocolate when compared to other types of chocolate has been attributed to a lower aromatic compound content than milk and dark chocolates. For fans of white chocolate, perceptions of its flavor and color as "unusual" contribute to its appeal.
Among some members of the public and some chocolatiers and trade groups, it is controversial whether white chocolate should "really" be considered chocolate. This controversy stems from multiple factors: the presence of additives such as palm oil in some product, high levels of sweeteners, and an absence of cocoa solids. Proponents, in defense of the categorization, highlight the confectionery's base of cocoa beans that it shares with other products considered chocolate. Craft white chocolate makers are conditional in accepting white chocolate to be "real" chocolate, excluding products containing vegetable fats. Food writer David Lebovitz has criticised the controversy, analogizing critics to someone disputing the terms hamburger and milkshake because the products today are not made from ham nor shaken.
Sugar-free and reduced sugar white chocolate substitute sucrose for maltitol, a sugar alcohol, sometimes in combination with a fiber blend and stevia. These chocolates also replace milk ingredients with lactose-free variants. Other sugar-free and reduced sugar white chocolate products use sorbitol or fructose instead. A reduced sugar white chocolate bar released by Nestlé in 2018 contained sugar modified to be porous, reducing the sugar content by almost a third. The product was discontinued less than two years later after low sales.
Vegan white chocolates have been sold after substituting milk powder for rice flour. Another variation, blond chocolate is made by slowly heating white chocolate, triggering Maillard reactions and creating a chocolate with light caramel flavor. Substituting cocoa butter entirely for vegetable fat produces compound chocolate that is sold as 'white chocolate coating'. This is more common in the US than Europe and has a pure white appearance. White chocolate products are often flavored with green tea, particularly matcha, as well as coconut, strawberry, coffee, pistachio and almond.
White chocolates made by craft chocolate makers exhibit large differences from mass-produced white chocolates. Some craft chocolate makers substitute ingredients typically used in white chocolate, such as dairy milk for goat milk, and deodorized cocoa butter for a non-deodorized product. Others add unusual ingredients, creating white chocolates with flavors including Thai shrimp curry, rosemary and sea salt, and vegetables such as kale and mustard. As of 2019, many bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers in France and Spain produce white chocolate, in addition to the more typical milk and dark types.