White chocolate

White chocolate

Type	Chocolate
Place of origin	Switzerland
Main ingredients	Cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids
Ingredients generally used	Vanilla
Media: White chocolate

White chocolate is a chocolate made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. It is ivory in color and lacks the dark appearance of most other types of chocolate as it does not contain the non-fat components of cocoa (cocoa solids). Due to this omission, as well as its sweetness and the occasional use of additives, some consumers challenge whether white chocolate should be considered chocolate.

Of the three traditional types of chocolate (the others being milk and dark), white chocolate is the least popular. Its taste and texture are divisive: admirers praise its texture as creamy, while detractors criticize its flavor as cloying and bland. White chocolate is sold in a variety of forms, including bars, chips and coating nuts. It is common for manufacturers to pair white chocolate with other flavors, such as matcha or berries. White chocolate has a shorter shelf life than milk and dark chocolate, and easily picks up odors from the environment.

White chocolate is made industrially in a five-step process. First, the ingredients are mixed to form a paste. Next, the paste is refined, reducing the particle size to a powder. It is then agitated for several hours (a process known as conching), after which further processing standardizes its viscosity and taste. Finally, the chocolate is tempered by heating, cooling and then reheating, which improves the product's appearance, stability and snap.

White chocolate was first sold commercially in tablet form in 1936 by the Swiss company Nestlé, and was long considered a children's food in Europe. It was not until the 1980s that white chocolate became popular in the United States. During the 21st century, attitudes towards white chocolate changed: markets for "premium" white chocolate grew, it became acceptable for adults in the UK to eat it, and in the US it was legally defined for the first time. A variant, blond chocolate, was created by slowly cooking white chocolate over several days.