What is milk chocolate?
Milk chocolate is not defined by:
percentage
sweetness
colour
What is milk chocolate made from?
Image by @inmasantiago
Milk chocolate is chocolate with milk powder incorporated as a main ingredient. The basis for a milk chocolate would contain cocoa beans, sugar, milk powder, and most often cocoa butter. These ingredients are ground up together in the chocolate refiner into a smooth silky chocolate. Most commercial milk chocolate also contains vanilla or vanilla flavouring and also often contains lecithin.
Milk chocolate & percentage
Most commercial milk chocolate contains somewhere around 30-35% cocoa bean. However, higher quality milk chocolates contain closer to 40-50% milk chocolate, making them less sweet. In the fine craft chocolate world, there is also what is called “dark milk chocolate” which often contains 60-65% cocoa bean. This is about double the amount of cocoa bean found in most commercial milk chocolate, and looks more like dark chocolate than the light colour of commercial milk chocolate. These dark milk chocolates have a more robust flavour, are not too sweet at all, and still have that creamy milk chocolate essence.
Who invented milk chocolate?
Milk chocolate was invented by Switzerland in the 19th Century by a chocolate maker called Daniel Peters and a chemist known as Henri Nestle. Since chocolate is a fat based product, water-based ingredients (such as fresh milk) cannot be added to the ground up cocoa nibs. Therefore, Daniel Peter joined forces with nestle to add his powdered milk into the chocolate, thus inventing the first milk chocolate bar.
Single Origin Milk Chocolate
Some chocolate enthusiasts scoff at the idea of milk chocolate. A part of me understands that. There is no chocolate more satisfying than an incredible fine single-origin dark chocolate. Many believe the addition of the milk powder distracts from the fine flavour of the cocoa bean. Although there is some truth to this, a fine single-origin milk is like a very well made latte or cappuccino made with fine espresso. The quality of the fine espresso still shines through the milk. In the same way, the fine cocoa bean still shines through as it marries together with the milk in milk chocolate. Below are some exquisite fair-trade single-origin milk chocolate bars sold here at Bean To Bar World.
Belu is a chocolate maker based in El Salvador.
Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Whole Milk Powder, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cane Sugar, Cacao Butter
Suggested Flavour Notes: Cinnamon, Sugar Cookies, Toffee.
Belu jumped into the recent revival of Salvadorian cacao production. El Salvador produces beautifully aromatic cacao. Belu started out creating drinking chocolate with traditional methods, and now produces a range of Salvadorian made cacao products.
50 g
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Maker: Black Jaguar Chocolate based on Vancouver Island, Canada.
Cacao Origin: The biodiverse rainforest of the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. The income of the local Indigenous People here is supplemented by the cacao they sell.
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cacao Butter, Organic Cane Sugar, Whole Milk Powder.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Coffee, Tannic, Kiwi. Others suggest Toffee, Fudge, Caramel, Warm Spices.
75g
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Maker: CocoAH! is a chocolate maker based in Milan, Italy.
Made with Arriba Nacional cacao from Hacienda Limon cocoa farm in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. CocoAH! uses a medium to low roast temperature for these beans.
Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Cane Sugar, Whole Milk Powder, Cocoa Butter.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Caramel, Cream.
50g
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Maker: Kakoa Bean To Bar based in Mexico City, Mexico. Watch an interview with Maria here.
Cacao Origin: Arroyo Alcocer, Chiapas, Mexico
Ingredients: Cacao, Cane Sugar, Milk Powder.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Fruity and Citrus. Others suggest Cinnamon, Pastry Crust, Woody, Lavender.
Bars by Kakoa are lightly roasted with a shorter refining time giving them a more untamed and vibrant flavour and texture.
60g
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Maker: McGuire Chocolate. Based in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.
Watch this interview with Mark & Victoria of McGuire Chocolate!
Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Milk Powder, Organic Cocoa Butter.
A fan favourite. Creamy, milky chocolate everyone is going to love. The bar is named after the family pet, Hank, a lovely cat sure to warm anyone’s heart.
50g
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Maker: Qantu Chocolate based in Montreal, QC, Canada.
Cacao Origin: Bagua, Peru.
Ingredients: Organic Cocoa Beans, Whole Milk Powder, Organic Cocoa Butter.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Hazelnuts, Truffle Cream.
A lovely sugar-free and unsweetened chocolate bar which is neither bitter nor bland. Lovely for those who wish to enjoy a smooth milk chocolate. Enjoy on it’s own or melted on a piece of fresh bread. Pairs very well with soft delicate flavoured cheeses (Fresh Brie, mozzarella), nuts, and even salami. Add in a glass of wine and you essentially have a meal!
50 g
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Maker: Soma is based in Toronto, Canada.
Cacao is grown on a small farm called Hacienda Las Bromelias in Ocumare, Venezeula. The cacao is Criollo Merida, a type of cacao from this region.
A crunchy comfort. Ingredient wise, this bar is a milk chocolate, although it may not feel like it. The grinding time is very short, so the nibs, sugar, and milk powder are not ground until smooth. It feels as though you’re eating a delicious chocolate cookie, but it’s chocolate. Those Venezuelan cocoa beans give it the right amount of comforting cookie, molasses, and nutty flavour notes.
Ingredients: Organic Cane Sugar, Cacao Nibs, Milk Powder, Cacao Butter.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Cookie, Molasses, Nutty, Yogurt.
90g
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Maker: Soma is based in Toronto, Canada.
The cacao beans are grown by farmers in Haiti under PISA (Produits Des Iles SA) which is a central fermentation facility in Northern Haiti which has helped improve bean quality and allow farmers to sell their cacao at better prices.
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk Powder, Salt.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Caramel, Malt, Jasmine.
65g
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Maker: Schoki Chocolate based in Nelson, BC, Canada.
Cacao is from San Vicente de Chucuri, Colombia.
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Canadian Whole Milk Powder, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin.
Suggested flavour notes: Many find strong notes of vanilla, caramel, and custard. A milk chocolate that is sure to please most! Not overly sweet, and packed with flavour that comes only from the cocoa bean and how it marries with the milk.
65g (2.3 oz)
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Maker Origin: Utopia Tropical based in Brazil. Watch this interview with Julian of Utopia Tropical.
Made with cacao from Tocantins River in Pará, Brazil. Communities living on the island off the coast of the city Mocajuba harvest the native cacao. The local fermentation facility is built on stilts over the river because the water is the only area with direct sunlight to dry them.
Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Cocoa Butter, Organic Cane Sugar, Milk Powder.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Milky, Traditional Milk Chocolate.
70g (2.5 oz)
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Maker: Wallace Chocolate based in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Made with cacao from the Ej Flomo Cacao Farm in Liberia where Mark, owner of Wallace Chocolate, worked for many years in the cocoa Industry. Mark worked with farmers in West Africa. This bar is a reflection of his relationships with those he directly trades with in Liberia.
Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Whole Milk.
Suggested Flavour Notes: Nutty, Cinnamon Bun, Chicory. Others may suggest Crackers, Sugar Cookie, Vanilla Flan, Strawberry, Custard.
60 grams
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Maker: Aroko Chocolate based in Riese Pio X, Italy with strong connections in Venezuela.
Watch this Interview with Johonny of Aroko Chocolate!
Made with Trinitario cacao but also genetic input from ancestral Criollo (Porcelana, Bocadillo, Guasare) grown near Lake Maracaibo in Zulia, Venezuela.
Ingredients: Whole Milk, Natural Venezuelan Cacao Butter, Cane Sugar, Sur Del Lago Cacao Beans (20%).
Suggested Flavour Notes: Pineapple, Tamarind, Peach. Others suggest milk, cookie, tonka bean, vanilla pudding.
50g
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Looking for better deals on chocolate bars? Check out the Gift Boxes! A random selection of bars, as well as other helpful chocolate tools & products.