Is white chocolate an oxymoron?
What is white chocolate? Where does it come from? Does it have the same properties as its black counterpart? And most importantly, can we call this product … chocolate?
Cube of chocolates history
Let’s start from the beginning, chocolate has been known for centuries, but it was only in the 19th century that it gained the form of a well-known bar. Previously, it was popular in manors around the world as a liquor. To prepare dark chocolate you need cocoa butter, sugar, and cocoa powder, i.e. most cocoa beans are used. This means that all fat-free ingredients are used. Additionally they have many health-promoting and oxidizing properties.
So what is white chocolate?
The product was created in 1930 by Henri Nestle (known name?). Here it was about using the excess cocoa butter that was left as a by-product. As a result, the combination of this ingredient with sugar and milk ingredients (e.g. whey) resulted in a variety of white chocolate, which in 1948 was used to create the first bar – Alpine White. People liked this product. Still what distinguishes this type of sweet is its relatively creamy and buttery texture that melts in your mouth. Even if you belittle and underestimate white chocolate, you need to know that producing this product is not that easy. The ingredients mentioned earlier – cocoa butter, sugar, and dairy ingredients – are easily disturbed, resulting in a mix that is either too sweet or too fatty. Therefore, to get the right taste and aroma, it is important to balance the elements properly.
Why the bad opinion?
Some of these products available on store shelves do not contain raw cocoa, i.e. instead of cocoa butter, they contain fat, sugar, and milk. Such products cannot be called chocolate, so it is worth checking the composition of the goods we buy. It is worth knowing that the best white chocolates contain as much as 33% of cocoa butter, and the lower the content, the worse the quality of the product.
Values that can be obtained by consuming white chocolate are often mentioned – vitamins from group A and E. There are nutrients in it, but compared to dark chocolate, these amounts are negligible. White chocolate is primarily a source of saturated fatty acids, which, when consumed in excess, are harmful to health. The composition of high-quality white chocolate contains small amounts of unsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. However, this is still a minor contribution. The advantage of consuming white chocolate is that the product does not contain cocoa, i.e. it is devoid of caffeine, which can be a big plus for people sensitive to this ingredient.
White chocolate is not only a sweet snack, but also has a wide range of uses in the kitchen. It is a product that goes well with many cakes and desserts. On the basis of white chocolate, you can prepare sweet coatings for cakes or a warming drink. White chocolate can be used as a sprinkle for ice cream and other sweets. The only thing you need to remember is that before serving white chocolate and desserts with it should be cooled beforehand, thanks to which its sweet taste will not be striking.
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