Milk vs. Dark vs. White Chocolate

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Okay, surely someone—but I love the stuff. But then I started thinking about how those of us who love it will practically pick up arms about whether our preferred flavor—dark, milk, white—is superior. So I decided to find out how they stack up against each other. 

Variety.

So since all chocolate is pretty delicious, I wanted to see how much variety and different options are available in each category, and to rank the chocolate based on how they vary within category. 

Dark chocolate is the purest form of chocolate. All chocolate begins as fermented cacao beans which are then roasted and pressed. Dark Chocolate is mixed with very small amounts of milk, sugar, cocoa butter, or vegetable fat. Dark chocolate must be at least 35% cocoa solids to qualify for the label. When the percentage of the original cocoa solids is so high, you can actually taste the difference in the original beans. Depending on where the Cacao beans were grown, they take on flavor from the soil and surroundings. (If you want to experience this first hand, Nuance Chocolate in Fort Collins is a must!) Because of this natural variability, dark chocolate scores highest on the uniqueness meter. 

Milk chocolate is dark chocolate with powdered milk, sugar, and cocoa butter added. To be considered milk chocolate, it must contain 10% cacao solids and 12% milk solids. So milk chocolate is typically more milk than chocolate! However, this means it can taste like pretty much anything. Since it relies heavily on sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and other flavorings for its flavor variations, it’s going right in the middle of the rating. 

White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate! You probably know that (or, if not, now you do!) but I’m going to talk about it anyway. Since white chocolate isn’t made from the cocoa bean, but the pressed-out cocoa butter, it is typically flavored with milk, sugar, and if desired, vanilla. So the taste of white chocolate is going to be similar no matter what: it’s always made from the same byproducts that don’t have much of a distinct flavor themselves. You can only do so much with milk and sugar! So variety-wise, white chocolate scores lowest.

 

Health Benefits.

Alright, I’ll be honest here: chocolate isn’t that good for you. In large quantities, it’s outright pretty bad for you. But let’s deconstruct how the three types of chocolate match up against one another healthwise. 

Dark: Dark chocolate scores best in this category as well. The cacao base of chocolate is high in flavonoids—if you remember from our very first post, these are antioxidants that give fruits and veggies their vibrant colors. The higher the cocoa percentage, the more flavonoids! While you should still limit your intake, if you’re going to reach for the chocolate, this is your best option.

Milk: While milk chocolate will still contain some of those flavonoids, but since it is by definition mostly made of milk products, those benefits will probably be significantly outweighed by the dairy, sugar, and fat content. Don’t worry, it’s fine in moderation. 

White: White chocolate is, unsurprisingly, probably the worst for you. It is entirely made of fats, sugars, dairy, and other delicious but unhealthy ingredients. As with all things, consume in moderation. We won’t tell. 

Popularity. 

At last, the final say. I performed a poll of various Facebook users and got the following results:

Dark: 49

Milk: 47

White: 20

While it was neck-and-neck for quite awhile, dark chocolate was the clear winner with 49 votes. I wasn’t too surprised by this, as most of the people I know prefer dark chocolate. I know I sure do! But hey, you learn something every day! And hopefully this post has taught you more than one something. 

Now go forth and enjoy the chocolate of your choice!