Is white chocolate really chocolate?

White chocolate has no middle ground, you either love it or you hate it. And the truth is that white chocolate is a delicious option that often generates controversy about whether or not it is “real chocolate”. So in today’s article we will reveal whether or not it is chocolate, how white chocolate came about and how it is made.

What is white chocolate?

First, each cocoa bean contains approximately 50% solid matter (the nutrients in cocoa) and 50% oil or fat, also known as cocoa butter.

Unlike dark or milk chocolate, which contain the solid part of cocoa, white chocolate does not. For this reason, many people question its authenticity as “chocolate”. However, white chocolate is made from cocoa butter, that is, from the cocoa fat itself, so it is indeed chocolate, since it comes from cocoa, even if it is 50% of the fat.

Who invented white chocolate?

The best known version is that Nestlé created it in Switzerland in the 1930s, some documents suggest that the original patent could be Spanish. According to the internet, the first documented record of the production of white chocolate dates back to June 18, 1923, according to Spanish patent 85,763 obtained by Santiago Gil Morillas, who had a factory established in Guadalajara, Spain. However, as its commercialization was only national, it is indicated that it was Nestlé that made it really known a few years later.

How is white chocolate made?

The process of making white chocolate is the same as that of any other chocolate. First, it begins with the fermentation and drying of the cocoa beans, which are then roasted to enhance their flavor. After the beans are roasted, the shells are removed to obtain the inner part of the cocoa, known as cocoa nibs. These nibs contain both cocoa solids and cocoa butter, since it should be remembered that 50% are the solid components and the other 50% the butter.

The nibs are ground to form a thick paste known as cocoa paste or cocoa liquor, which, despite its name, does not contain alcohol. Cocoa liquor is only the paste obtained by friction between the solid and liquid components of cocoa. If we wanted to make a dark or milk chocolate, it would be enough to add sugar or the rest of the ingredients to this paste.

But to make white chocolate, it is necessary to separate the solid components from the cocoa oil. So to extract the butter, the paste undergoes a hydraulic pressure process, where the cocoa solids (which are used to make cocoa powder) are separated from the cocoa butter, the fatty component that is essential for making white chocolate.

This extracted cocoa butter is then combined with other ingredients such as sugar, milk powder and sometimes vanilla to create the final white chocolate mixture. In addition, cocoa butter can not only be used to make white chocolate, but is also used in the beauty industry to make lip balms, for example.

Does white chocolate have benefits?

Although white chocolate does not contain the same antioxidant benefits as dark chocolate, it still has some properties.

To begin with, cocoa butter, despite having saturated fats, also contains healthy fats that help control cholesterol. In addition, fat is a quick source of energy if you do sports in the mountains, such as hiking or trekking.

At the same time, cocoa butter is a natural moisturizer and healer, so it is beneficial for the skin.

We are waiting for you at Kina Chocolates

White chocolate may not have the robust flavor profile of dark chocolate or its nutrients, but when white chocolate is made with only quality ingredients and exclusively with cocoa butter, milk and sugar (no other vegetable fats), it actually tastes quite pleasant, unique and not very oily.

So if you dare to try it or want to know more about cocoa and chocolate (white or not), we are waiting for you at Kina Chocolates.

Greetings chocoholics and see you next time!