percentage

What does that number on your chocolate mean? Chocolate is made up of cocoa solids (also known as the liquor), which give chocolate its taste; cocoa butter, which makes it creamy; milk; sugar; vanilla; and sometimes lecithin, which keeps the ingredients emulsified. The percentage number on the chocolate tells you the proportion of cocoa solids that is in the chocolate, which serves as a guide to the intensity of taste. Milk chocolate has about 35 percent cocoa solids, giving it a mild taste. Semisweet chocolate can be anywhere from 51 percent to 65 percent cocoa solids, and bittersweet chocolate is usually 68 percent to 72 percent. Unsweetened chocolate has no percentage listed because it is virtually 100 percent cocoa solids, and white chocolate has no cocoa solids, so has a 0 percent value.