>Most milk chocolate doesn't have much chocolate in it.

Yep I think that was the point the nutritionist was
trying to make

At any rate Ive learned a LOT abt chocolate! Thanks
guys!

at Mon, 20 Sep 2004 01:02:00 GMT in
> ,
(Amarantha) wrote :

wrote in
:
>
>> Can someone tell me the diff between real chocolate vs milk chocolate?
>>
>> A nutritionist on TV said that a little chocolate each day is good for
>> you as long as it was REAL chocolate and had cocoa been in it. And
>> NOT milk chocolate.
>>
>> However..... everything I look at at the store says "milk" chocolate
>>
>> Can someone recommend a brand that is REAl chocolate?

You've seen a lot of postings, by this point, but I'll add some comments
and recommendations.

Milk chocolate can be considered to be "real" chocolate in the sense that
it contains cocoa solids. Cocoa solids are the pure substance you get when
you grind up cocoa beans. It's otherwise known as "chocolate liquor" (which
is non-alcoholic, btw). However, when the nutritionist was referring to
"real" chocolate, what they probably meant is that the cocoa solids
percentage should be high enough to have a significant health benefit.
IMHO, this would be about 50% or higher. Most of the chocolates in this
range are dark chocolates, with most of them being called "bittersweet".

The best way to find a "good" brand is to try different brands, and see
which one you like best. Also try a variety of percentages. European bars
tend to have the percentage of cocoa solids listed, while US bars generally
do not.

In general, there are broad "classes", which I will describe below. These
are NOT the same as USFDA definitions, which IMHO are misleading.

50% - 60%: Sweet dark chocolate. These bars will taste very sweet, although
they will have some chocolate punch. The texture is likely to be less
creamy than higher percentage bars, and the chocolate flavour is usually
fairly muted. If you're used to very sweet chocolate, or that's what you
want, this is the minimum level of cocoa solids I would recommend. However,
there are some good choices in this class.

60% - 65% : Semisweet chocolate. Rather a narrow range, these chocolates
taste more of chocolate than they do of sugar. However, the sugar is enough
to eliminate most bitter sensations, if that's something that you find off-
putting. These chocolates also display a lot more complexity and depth of
flavour than the sweet dark chocolates. Texture in these bars tends to be
good in quality brands.

65% - 75% : Bittersweet chocolate. These chocolates are all chocolate, all
the time, in flavour. It hits you right away with a powerful whack and
doesn't let up. Generally this is the percentage that a "typical"
chocoholic will prefer. Less sugar than this and the chocolate often tastes
flat and one-dimensional. In this class, the chocolate tastes wonderfully
complex and full. It's not necessary that it be bitter as such - a great
chocolate isn't bitter at all, but if there *is* any bitterness to the
beans that they used, the bar will *definitely* taste bitter.

75% - 90% : Extra bitter chocolate. Very, very strong, and almost
aggressively un-sweet. These chocolates are designed to deliver intensity
above all else. As I said before, they do have a tendency to be a bit
"flat", lacking in character and balance. However, the texture is usually
out-of-this-world, super-smooth because of the ability to use a very high
cocoa butter content. Unless the beans are first-rate, the chocolate will
taste very bitter indeed.

98 - 100% : Unsweetened chocolate. Yes, there are some brands of
unsweetened chocolate worth eating straight. This is very demanding of the
cocoa blend - it must be uncompromising in bean quality and roasting or
else the chocolate will be very harsh indeed. For health benefits, however,
as well as to solve a craving, these are impossible to beat.

50% - 70% milk : Dark milk chocolate. A few manufacturers have come out
with milk chocolates with 50%+ cocoa solids. These will taste a lot more
complex and chocolatey than a typical milk chocolate. Virtually all the
brands in this category are very good and very expensive. But if you find
you need the milky sensation, these deliver a great chocolate *and* the
milk flavour.

It will also depend on your budget. Some of the very high-end bars are
about $5.00/100g, compared to a decent-but-not-ultraprestige brand which
might be $2.00/100g. You can get even more expensive chocolate than that,
although more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.

So what I'll do is list a few chocolates in each category worth trying to
start. Then you can decide for yourself after trying them which one you
prefer. A good place to get most of them is http://www.chocosphere.com.
Also check out http://www.chefshop.com for more.

50 - 60% : Callebaut 54.5%, Marche du Monde Organic Dark Chocolate (Cost
Plus World Market's house brand), Cafe Tasse 59%. Many organic chocolates
in this range are excellent, and probably all come from the same original
manufacturer (most organic brands are simply repackaged chocolate from one
of the larger manufacturers). Callebaut defines the reference for this
range.

60-65% : Almost any Guittard chocolate in this class. Gourmet Bittersweet
and L'Harmonie are truly great blends. Their Colombian is an outstanding,
delicate varietal. Valrhona Gran Couva. Amedei 63%. Guittard has a way with
chocolate of this class which no other manufacturer can touch. I strongly
recommend them.

65-75% : Here the choices explode. There are really 2 separate classes,
varietals (chocolates made from a single type of bean, often a single
plantation), and blends. So:

Blends : Michel Cluizel Amer Brut, Valrhona Guanaja, Dolfin Noir 70%. Each
offers a different leaning. The choices in quality blends in this class are
bewildering. It's hard to go too far wrong. I give the nod to Cluizel but
your opinion may differ.
Varietals : Amedei Chuao, Domori Porcelana, Michel Cluizel Hacienda Los
Ancones. How to choose when it's apples vs. oranges? Each of these is VERY
good and VERY different from each other and other chocolates. There are
many, many other good varietals, each with their own characteristics.
Expect them to be very expensive and usually worth the price. Amedei's
Chuao, for instance, is $8.00/50 g but that price gets you one of the
greatest chocolates ever produced. Domori and Cluizel lead the field in
producing a broad selection of excellent varietal chocolates.

75-90% : Lindt Excellence 85%, Domori Blend No. 1, Galler Noir 85. Other
people have recommended Excellence 85%. I second that. This is the
definitive extra bitter chocolate, and a great chocolate by any measure.
The others I've listed are also excellent. Be careful here, though because
there are a lot of not-so-great chocolates from otherwise excellent
companies.

90%+ : Michel Cluizel Noir Infini, Domori 100%. When Cluizel brought out
Noir Infini he created quite a media stir and single-handedly defined a new
class - quality unsweetened. It remained in a class by itself for many
years until Domori came along. Now others are following suit. IMHO
Cluizel's is still the best but there are others worth talking about. Eat
small amounts.

50%+ milk: Michel Cluizel Chocolat Grand Lait Cacao Pur Ile de Java 50%,
Bonnat Asfarth 65%, Slitti Lattenero 62% and 70%. Again, Cluizel was first
off the mark with a category-buster. It's probably still the best, although
Slitti's is certainly stronger.

Ghirardelli also makes an excellent bittersweet chocolate that's widely
available, but they don't list the cocoa solids percentage. Their milk
chocolate is similarly excellent, but it's not anywhere near 50%.

If after trying some of those you're interested in learning more, I can
point you towards more stuff to try.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

at Mon, 20 Sep 2004 01:02:00 GMT in
> ,
(Amarantha) wrote :

wrote in
:
>
>> Can someone tell me the diff between real chocolate vs milk chocolate?
>>
>> A nutritionist on TV said that a little chocolate each day is good for
>> you as long as it was REAL chocolate and had cocoa been in it. And
>> NOT milk chocolate.
>>
>> However..... everything I look at at the store says "milk" chocolate
>>
>> Can someone recommend a brand that is REAl chocolate?

You've seen a lot of postings, by this point, but I'll add some comments
and recommendations.

Milk chocolate can be considered to be "real" chocolate in the sense that
it contains cocoa solids. Cocoa solids are the pure substance you get when
you grind up cocoa beans. It's otherwise known as "chocolate liquor" (which
is non-alcoholic, btw). However, when the nutritionist was referring to
"real" chocolate, what they probably meant is that the cocoa solids
percentage should be high enough to have a significant health benefit.
IMHO, this would be about 50% or higher. Most of the chocolates in this
range are dark chocolates, with most of them being called "bittersweet".

The best way to find a "good" brand is to try different brands, and see
which one you like best. Also try a variety of percentages. European bars
tend to have the percentage of cocoa solids listed, while US bars generally
do not.

In general, there are broad "classes", which I will describe below. These
are NOT the same as USFDA definitions, which IMHO are misleading.

50% - 60%: Sweet dark chocolate. These bars will taste very sweet, although
they will have some chocolate punch. The texture is likely to be less
creamy than higher percentage bars, and the chocolate flavour is usually
fairly muted. If you're used to very sweet chocolate, or that's what you
want, this is the minimum level of cocoa solids I would recommend. However,
there are some good choices in this class.

60% - 65% : Semisweet chocolate. Rather a narrow range, these chocolates
taste more of chocolate than they do of sugar. However, the sugar is enough
to eliminate most bitter sensations, if that's something that you find off-
putting. These chocolates also display a lot more complexity and depth of
flavour than the sweet dark chocolates. Texture in these bars tends to be
good in quality brands.

65% - 75% : Bittersweet chocolate. These chocolates are all chocolate, all
the time, in flavour. It hits you right away with a powerful whack and
doesn't let up. Generally this is the percentage that a "typical"
chocoholic will prefer. Less sugar than this and the chocolate often tastes
flat and one-dimensional. In this class, the chocolate tastes wonderfully
complex and full. It's not necessary that it be bitter as such - a great
chocolate isn't bitter at all, but if there *is* any bitterness to the
beans that they used, the bar will *definitely* taste bitter.

75% - 90% : Extra bitter chocolate. Very, very strong, and almost
aggressively un-sweet. These chocolates are designed to deliver intensity
above all else. As I said before, they do have a tendency to be a bit
"flat", lacking in character and balance. However, the texture is usually
out-of-this-world, super-smooth because of the ability to use a very high
cocoa butter content. Unless the beans are first-rate, the chocolate will
taste very bitter indeed.

98 - 100% : Unsweetened chocolate. Yes, there are some brands of
unsweetened chocolate worth eating straight. This is very demanding of the
cocoa blend - it must be uncompromising in bean quality and roasting or
else the chocolate will be very harsh indeed. For health benefits, however,
as well as to solve a craving, these are impossible to beat.

50% - 70% milk : Dark milk chocolate. A few manufacturers have come out
with milk chocolates with 50%+ cocoa solids. These will taste a lot more
complex and chocolatey than a typical milk chocolate. Virtually all the
brands in this category are very good and very expensive. But if you find
you need the milky sensation, these deliver a great chocolate *and* the
milk flavour.

It will also depend on your budget. Some of the very high-end bars are
about $5.00/100g, compared to a decent-but-not-ultraprestige brand which
might be $2.00/100g. You can get even more expensive chocolate than that,
although more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.

So what I'll do is list a few chocolates in each category worth trying to
start. Then you can decide for yourself after trying them which one you
prefer. A good place to get most of them is http://www.chocosphere.com.
Also check out http://www.chefshop.com for more.

50 - 60% : Callebaut 54.5%, Marche du Monde Organic Dark Chocolate (Cost
Plus World Market's house brand), Cafe Tasse 59%. Many organic chocolates
in this range are excellent, and probably all come from the same original
manufacturer (most organic brands are simply repackaged chocolate from one
of the larger manufacturers). Callebaut defines the reference for this
range.

60-65% : Almost any Guittard chocolate in this class. Gourmet Bittersweet
and L'Harmonie are truly great blends. Their Colombian is an outstanding,
delicate varietal. Valrhona Gran Couva. Amedei 63%. Guittard has a way with
chocolate of this class which no other manufacturer can touch. I strongly
recommend them.

65-75% : Here the choices explode. There are really 2 separate classes,
varietals (chocolates made from a single type of bean, often a single
plantation), and blends. So:

Blends : Michel Cluizel Amer Brut, Valrhona Guanaja, Dolfin Noir 70%. Each
offers a different leaning. The choices in quality blends in this class are
bewildering. It's hard to go too far wrong. I give the nod to Cluizel but
your opinion may differ.
Varietals : Amedei Chuao, Domori Porcelana, Michel Cluizel Hacienda Los
Ancones. How to choose when it's apples vs. oranges? Each of these is VERY
good and VERY different from each other and other chocolates. There are
many, many other good varietals, each with their own characteristics.
Expect them to be very expensive and usually worth the price. Amedei's
Chuao, for instance, is $8.00/50 g but that price gets you one of the
greatest chocolates ever produced. Domori and Cluizel lead the field in
producing a broad selection of excellent varietal chocolates.

75-90% : Lindt Excellence 85%, Domori Blend No. 1, Galler Noir 85. Other
people have recommended Excellence 85%. I second that. This is the
definitive extra bitter chocolate, and a great chocolate by any measure.
The others I've listed are also excellent. Be careful here, though because
there are a lot of not-so-great chocolates from otherwise excellent
companies.

90%+ : Michel Cluizel Noir Infini, Domori 100%. When Cluizel brought out
Noir Infini he created quite a media stir and single-handedly defined a new
class - quality unsweetened. It remained in a class by itself for many
years until Domori came along. Now others are following suit. IMHO
Cluizel's is still the best but there are others worth talking about. Eat
small amounts.

50%+ milk: Michel Cluizel Chocolat Grand Lait Cacao Pur Ile de Java 50%,
Bonnat Asfarth 65%, Slitti Lattenero 62% and 70%. Again, Cluizel was first
off the mark with a category-buster. It's probably still the best, although
Slitti's is certainly stronger.

Ghirardelli also makes an excellent bittersweet chocolate that's widely
available, but they don't list the cocoa solids percentage. Their milk
chocolate is similarly excellent, but it's not anywhere near 50%.

If after trying some of those you're interested in learning more, I can
point you towards more stuff to try.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)