Sara Jayne Stanes

Commercial Chocolate

Appears in
Chocolate: The Definitive Guide
Chocolate

By Sara Jayne Stanes

Published 1999

  • About

Most of the chocolate we eat in Britain, often referred to as the ‘UK type’, is legally permitted to contain up to 5% vegetable fat of a type that is considered compatible with cocoa butter. The fat does not need to be specified but is usually from nuts, lllipe or perhaps palm oil. This type of chocolate is almost certain to have a very high sugar content, in the region of 55% +, which means that the cocoa solids content will be no more than 30%.

The trouble with this type of chocolate is that it does not have the brittle snap and clean bite and tends to leave a nasty aftertaste and a clingy sensation on the palate. It is of course infinitely more cost effective and profitable for the manufacturers who promote it as having a higher melting point and therefore longer shelf life.