Sugar

Sugar is typically the second most prevalent ingredient in dark chocolate and makes up an even more substantial part of many milk and white chocolates. Its purpose is simply to provide sweetness to the bitter cacao. Although FDA regulations permit the use of any nutritive carbohydrate sweetener in chocolate manufacture, crystalline sucrose from sugarcane or sugar beets is by far the sugar most commonly used in chocolate. The sugar in chocolate is not dissolved but is refined to very small particles to create a smooth mouthfeel. The crystalline sugar may be pulverized prior to being mixed with the batch or may be fully refined together with the chocolate liquor. Either way, the particle size must ultimately be reduced to less than 25 microns so that the chocolate will feel smooth in the mouth.