White chocolate

The popularity of snow-white chocolate in 2018 is no lower than that of dark chocolate bars. But what is this product made of then, since it has this color?

Does white chocolate contain real chocolate?

The main distinguishing feature of snow-white tiles from dark ones is the absence of such an important ingredient as cocoa powder. This element gives the brown color to ordinary tiles. Therefore, when answering the question about the presence of chocolate in a light bar, you can give a negative answer.

Is snow white chocolate healthy?

The benefits and harms of the product will be discussed below. Indeed, to correctly answer this question, you need to understand not only the composition of the product, but also the history of its origin.

History of chocolate

The emergence of chocolate dates back to the Mayan era. Or more precisely, their predecessors – the Olmecs. These tribes were the first to have plantations of cocoa trees and were also the first to taste watery chocolate.

The Mayans came to replace the Olmec tribe. Then the Aztecs became the owners. The delicacy spread evenly throughout Europe. For several centuries, chocolate existed only in a watery and dark form. The first tile of a dark product appeared only in the middle of the 19th century in Great Britain.

Why is the color of chocolate snow-white?

The emergence of snow-white chocolate dates back to the 30s of the 20th century. This happened when the Nestle company was developing ways to utilize the remaining cocoa butter. This was the beginning of the production of snow-white chocolate. But this original delicacy gained enormous popularity 50 years later.

Reference! The calorie content of snow-white chocolate is 554 Kcal per 100 g of product. This is 14 kcal more than dark tiles.

White milky or bitter

The snow-white bar does not contain powerful antioxidants, which are found in the other two types of chocolate. The prerequisites for this are the absence of cocoa bean butter. In addition, the presence of vitamin to the proper absorption of calcium and selenium. These elements strengthen the body's immune system.
Bitter, also called dark, contains in its composition a huge number of necessary parts that help lower blood pressure and protect the vessels of the circulatory system from the action of harmful radicals. Also, a bar of this chocolate can increase the presence of platelets in the blood plasma (the internal environment of the human and animal body) .
Lactic. This product should not be considered healthy either. The presence of milk in the composition leads to the fact that the beneficial effect of cocoa products is reduced.

Any type of natural chocolate contains cocoa butter. Therefore, it is not permissible to answer the question about which type is better.

The benefits and harms of snow-white chocolate

Despite the calcium content in snow-white tiles, they can be harmful to the health of the body. This product can be enjoyed, but it is not recommended to be included in your daily diet. Let's look at the benefits and harms of snow-white chocolate.

What are the benefits of snow-white chocolate?

The usefulness of snow-white chocolate directly depends on the amount of the product eaten. You should not use tiles very often. But it has its merits.

When answering the question why snow-white chocolate is healthy, I would immediately like to mention its positive effect on the central nervous system of the human body. Do not forget about the formation of serotonin (the hormone of joy), its presence in the body helps to reduce the pain of certain diseases.

It is also worth mentioning the presence of choline in the composition. This substance takes an active role in the production of insulin, strengthens the nervous system and helps strengthen memory and controls lipid metabolism in the liver.

Tocopherol (vitamin (low molecular weight organic compound of relatively simple structure, necessary for all living things) E), which is also in the composition, is considered the vitamin of youth and supports the functioning of the endocrine nervous system.

The advantages of snow-white chocolate relate to a natural product.

Video of making snow-white chocolate at home

Negative effects of sweets

Speaking about the benefits, do not forget about the dangers of snow-white chocolate. Constant consumption of the bar leads to increased sugar consumption, regardless of the fact that the snow-white product contains less of this element than dark chocolate. Sugar harms teeth and blood vessels, and a person is also at risk for developing heart disease and diabetes.

Despite all the positive aspects, the harm of snow-white chocolate is much more dangerous, so you should not overeat this product.

The composition of BJU of snow-white chocolate and calorie content per 100 g of product are as follows:

proteins – 6.9 g;
fats – 35.7 g;
carbohydrates -52.4 g;
Kcal – 554.

What is white chocolate made from?

This sweet has many fans, but only a few ask the question of what real snow-white chocolate is made of.

Among the ingredients, sugar, cocoa bean butter, vanilla and milk powder are added to the product. However, the oil concentration does not have to fall below 20%.

Reference! If you find a bar in the store, and the composition of snow-white chocolate is presented without 1 or several designated ingredients, then think about whether to get this product.

Most product manufacturers prefer to save on the ingredients of snow-white chocolate. Because of this, products, even in small quantities, will do more harm than good. The composition may include various additives and sugar substitutes. But if the product contains trans and hydrogenated fats, then it is not worth getting.

The conclusion about the low quality of the product lies in the list of ingredients that give it a very sweet taste and a catchy snow-white color.

How to create snow-white chocolate at home

The advantage of making tiles at home is that cooking is a pleasure. Well, the product will be more useful because you purchase the ingredients without the help of others.

What real snow-white chocolate is made from is already clear, but nothing is said about the quantity:

30% cocoa bean butter – 100 g;
sugar, preferably powder – 100 g;
powdered milk – 100 g.

In total, the ratio of goods is 1:1:1. Therefore, set the quantity without the help of others. It all depends on the volume required. Also take a little vanilla or vanillin. Almost 1 sachet.

Reference! Use a silicone vessel for making homemade chocolate, as it will be easier to remove chocolate from it than from a plastic container.

Cocoa bean butter should be finely chopped and heated in a water bath.
Once it melts, add powder, milk and vanilla. If there are difficulties with powdered milk, then it is allowed to take milk food for babies.
Mix directly in the bath with a mixer or by hand.
Distribute the resulting mass into molds and place in the refrigerator to thicken.

Reference! To easily remove the purchased product from the molds, grease them with vegetable oil.

The product should be infused in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The resulting chocolate is delicious, and it only comes out that way at home.

Vegetarian recipe

In 2018, vegetarianism is gaining popularity. Natural chocolate with that composition is not suitable for them. But there is a way out. You can make snow-white chocolate by substituting the main ingredients:

instead of dry milk, use plant-based soy milk - 1 teaspoon;
a quarter plus a tablespoon of sugar, grind in a coffee grinder;
salt – 1 pinch;
cocoa bean butter - a third of the cup;
vanilla extract - half a teaspoon.

Noteworthy facts

The age of snow-white tiles is at least 100 years. And its occurrence was an accident. It was necessary to get rid of the fruit oil.
At first, the sweet delicacy did not enjoy popularity and success, but in the 80s of the last century, to this day, almost everyone likes the product.
Almost all psychologists believe that systematically eating dessert in huge quantities causes addiction on a mental level.
In the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also the Soviet Union - a state that existed from 1922 to 1991 in Europe and Asia) there was no snow-white chocolate. And this is the unadulterated truth. The fact is that at that time such a product was considered harmful. Therefore, it was not carried out on the terrain of the country.
Such products, unlike dark ones, are in much greater demand for decorating dishes. Snow-white chocolate often becomes the icing for Easter cakes.

Breastfeeding treat

There are several views from doctors regarding the benefits and harms of chocolate for the body of mother and child during breastfeeding.

You should not make any changes in your diet for the first six months.
Any product affects the properties of milk and affects the baby.
You are allowed to eat no more than 100 grams per month.
Split the dose into 3 doses, approximately 30 grams each.

Despite all the benefits and beautiful taste, it is quite difficult to purchase real snow-white chocolate in stores in 2018. But preparing such a dish at home will not be particularly difficult. Therefore, think again about whether you should buy the products in the store or whether it is better to prepare snow-white chocolate on your own at home.

But if the decision to purchase is still made, then carefully read the composition of the product.

White chocolate: calorie content, composition, health benefits

Not many sweets lovers have any idea how snow-white chocolate is made. But out of the huge number of types of unique dessert, almost everyone prefers to eat this particular type. The fact that dark chocolate, which is made from cocoa powder, has a positive effect on the body is clear to almost everyone. How is snow-white chocolate made and why is it snow-white? Does it belong to the level of chocolate products and what are its health benefits?

Composition of snow-white chocolate
Calorie content
What is white chocolate made from?
The benefits of snow-white chocolate
How harmful is snow-white chocolate?
Use in cooking

Composition of snow-white chocolate

To understand what snow-white chocolate is, you need to familiarize yourself with its nutritional composition. Typical dessert recipe:

butter squeezed from cocoa beans;
milk powder;
sugar;
vanillin.

A real high-quality product should contain from 20% or more oil pressed from cocoa seeds. Small grains ripen inside the fruits of trees that grow in the tropical climate zone. In contrast to dark and milk varieties, no cocoa powder is used in the production of snow-white chocolate. Powdered milk imparts originality to the taste sensations when consumed, creating a light caramel smell.

Calorie content

The calorie content of snow-white chocolate is 540 Kcal per 100 g, so it is recommended to consume it in limited quantities. The highest nutritional value of the product is justified by the content:

proteins – 4-9 g;
fat – 30-45 g;
carbohydrates – 50-65 g.

Depending on the type of product, as well as the manufacturer’s company, the number of calories and characteristics of BZHU have insignificant differences.

What is white chocolate made from?

Almost all lovers of the savory product are curious about why snow-white chocolate is snow-white? The answer to the question is quite simple - it contains cocoa butter instead of the powder added to other classic varieties. As a result, after processing it becomes light in color, sometimes slightly yellowish in color.

The dessert can be considered a real chocolate product thanks to the cocoa component included in the product in the form of oil, which is subjected to preparatory cleaning and deodorization. For this reason, light chocolate bars do not have a pronounced aroma, like black types. They emit subtle, unique, barely perceptible notes of caramel aroma.

The benefits of snow-white chocolate

It is not for nothing that connoisseurs of extraordinary desserts prefer to consume snow-white chocolate, the usefulness of which is undeniable due to the content of cocoa butter, saturated with a whole complex of valuable chemical components. These include:

vitamin (low-molecular organic compound of relatively simple structure, essential for all living things) E – exhibits massive antioxidant characteristics, is an antihypoxant, reduces the possibility of developing cancer, strengthens the cardiovascular system, increases immunity;
unsaturated fatty acids – improve metabolism, brain functioning, normalize hormonal levels, reduce the amount of sugar in the blood (the internal environment of the human and animal body) ;
vitamin (a low-molecular organic compound of relatively simple structure, essential for all living things) K - ensures proper metabolism, the functioning of the urinary system, has a positive effect on connective tissue (The structure of tissues of living organisms is studied by the science of histology) ;
selenium – strengthens the body’s immune forces, fights infections;
caffeine – acts as a psychostimulant, used for migraines, to improve intellectual activity and physical endurance;
tannin – has astringent, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic characteristics.

Due to its rich chemical composition, it is widely used in the cosmetology industry. The product acts as a useful ingredient in the production of healing resources for facial and body skin care. Among them:

masks for dry skin types;
anti-inflammatory agents for pimples, acne, boils;
caring and healing creams, gels, ointments, balms.

Both regular and porous snow-white chocolate often act as a high-calorie healthy product in addition to tonic drinks such as coffee or tea. This becomes irreplaceable when there is no time for a real breakfast or lunch, and the body asks for a nutritional recharge. Snow-white tiles can be offered to unexpectedly arriving guests as a tasty, unique snack.

Chocolate dessert helps to increase the production of serotonin, the so-called “happiness hormone”, as a result of which a person’s emotional state noticeably improves and their mood increases.

How harmful is snow-white chocolate?

If you consume sweetness in moderate doses, it will not cause harm. But an excess can cause bad changes, especially if there are some health problems.

Individualization of product introduction into a nutritional diet:

milk fat contained in snow-white chocolate in large quantities provides higher calorie content, therefore it is undesirable in the diet of overweight people;
due to the high content of carbohydrates, the product is contraindicated for those with diabetes;
consumption in large portions can disrupt the activity of the heart muscle and blood vessels;
an excess of sweets negatively affects the condition of teeth;
in people prone to developing allergies, cocoa butter can provoke a bad reaction;
Excessive consumption of sweets causes tachycardia and increased blood pressure.

Use in cooking

White chocolate is used in the culinary industry:

as part of the interior and glaze for baked goods, ice cream, sweets;
in watery form for the purpose of adding to mousses, hot drinks with a creamy, caramel taste;
like figured chocolate products;
as an ingredient in sweet cream for cakes and pastries;
for decoration of desserts.

This type of chocolate is also used in the independent production of confectionery products. By using ingenuity, an everyday sweet dish will turn out to have an unusual taste and will also acquire a light, pleasant and unique smell.

You can create your own white aerated chocolate at home. The advantage will be the undeniable usefulness of using natural products.

To make a homemade dessert you will need:

cocoa seed butter – 100 g;
sweet powder – 100 g;
powdered milk – 100 g;
vanillin – 5 g.

Cocoa bean butter is sold in pharmacies. Its size can be increased: this will only improve the taste of the finished chocolate. Instead of sugar, you can add bee honey to create a more natural and fragrant product.

The hard cocoa fat should be crumbled and melted in a water bath, adding other ingredients in the process. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. The finished watery mass needs to be poured into molds, then put in the refrigerator for the next hardening.

Advice! It is better to take silicone containers for the production of snow-white chocolate that have been previously treated with vegetable oil, this will significantly simplify the extraction of the purchased product.

After keeping in the cold for about 60-90 minutes, the delicacy is ready for tasting.

The chocolate production recipe can be supplemented with other ingredients, such as raisins, prunes, dried fruits and berries, and nuts. It all depends on the manifestation of creative imagination and the taste preferences of the creator of a homemade chocolate masterpiece.

Having understood the question of how snow-white chocolate is made, we can say with confidence that the product is undeniably useful when consumed in moderation. Taking into account the unique taste and delicate smell of snow-white chocolate, chocolate lovers will appreciate this type of sweetness.

And yet: is snow-white chocolate chocolate or not?

Tags:

The feeling that no matter how you answer this question, it will never go away. There will still be people who believe that snow-white chocolate is made from condensed milk.

Is this chocolate? Someone will say: “Yes, chocolate, but...”, and someone “No, not completely, but. »

We invite you to think about this “but” so that you can form a personal worldview.

Composition of snow-white chocolate.

Snow-white chocolate contains quite a few ingredients: cocoa butter, milk powder and sugar.

If we want to figure out whether snow-white chocolate is chocolate, let’s figure out what goes into chocolate in principle.

Chocolate, as we know, is made from cocoa beans, which are approximately 50% cocoa butter, and the other 50% are black fibers. Pure (real) dark chocolate contains: cocoa mass (finely ground cocoa beans) and sugar; + It may also contain an emulsifier, for example, lecithin, but it is added only to improve fluidity, which helps in work. Chocolate gets its brown color and its flavor personality from cocoa fibers. If they are removed from the cocoa mass, then only cocoa butter remains, which has a faint odor.

By the way, cocoa butter is the main ingredient responsible for the physical characteristics of chocolate: it gives it shape, texture, hardness or softness, shine, crunch when broken, and shrinkage when hardening. If you want to find out more about cocoa butter, then read our article on precrystallization. But first read this one

White chocolate does not contain cocoa fibers. That's why it's light, not brown, and doesn't actually taste like cocoa.

It turns out that if we grind cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder, we get a product called snow-white chocolate. With all this, cocoa butter in the entire volume of the product should not be less than 26%, otherwise everything will crumble and fall apart.

How did snow-white chocolate come about?

The first snow-white tile was cast in the 1930s by the Swiss concern Nestle, when they were finding ways to recycle excess cocoa butter. Yes, snow-white chocolate arose as a result of the organization of waste-free production. But it hit the audience so well that colleagues decided to create snow-white chocolate as an independent product.

GOST states that snow-white chocolate is chocolate.

Clause 3.6 GOST R 52821-2007 “Chocolate. General technical conditions".

“White chocolate: A confectionery product made from cocoa butter, milk and (or) its processed products and sugar, which contains at least 20% cocoa butter and at least 14% milk solids and (or) its processed products, including at least 3.5% milk fat.”

It is curious that the definition of snow-white chocolate in our GOST coincides exactly with the European one:

Directive 2000/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 June 2000 relating to cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption.

"6. White chocolate designs the product obtained from cocoa butter, milk or milk products and sugars which contains not less than 20% cocoa butter and not less than 14% dry milk solids obtained by partly or wholly dehydrating whole milk, semi- or full-skimmed milk , cream, or from partly or wholly dehydrated cream, butter or milk fat, of which not less than 3.5% is milk fat.”

It turns out that, based on the beliefs of municipal standards, snow-white chocolate has the right to be called chocolate because it contains the required amount of cocoa butter (more than 20%).

What we think.

Looks like snow white has every right to be called chocolate.

If you're curious about CHOCOLOGY's worldview, it's this: YES, snow-white chocolate is chocolate, just like milk chocolate and carob chocolate. Why not? After all, if you put a piece of snow-white chocolate on your tongue with your eyes closed, the only difference from dark or milk chocolate will be that instead of the taste of cocoa there will be a milky-sweet taste, and the texture, crunch and pleasant melting will remain literally the same. For us, chocolate is, first of all, an understandable product containing cocoa, which carries a certain scenario for use and feelings from this use. There can be any color or flavor. If we turn to history and look at what the red-skinned Mayans, who began to consume cocoa as food, called chocolate, it was a drink made from ground cocoa beans, brewed and tempered in water. There wasn't even sugar there. Because what chocolate is, quickly, is described by culture and time. And within this cultural phenomenon, chocolatiers invent their own interpretations :).

Benefits and harms of snow-white chocolate

Since childhood, each of us has developed a strong association with the word “chocolate”. Cakes, sweets, whole bars of this sweet gold - all with the appropriate color and taste. And here in the world of delicacies a completely new product with an already familiar name appears. The question immediately arises: is it chocolate? It all depends on how to understand the meaning of this tasty word.

In the footsteps of chocolate history

Snow-white chocolate began its long journey to your table in Central and South America. For many years, the Mayan and Aztec tribes made a bitter, cool drink from roasted cocoa beans and peppers. And since 1520, Hernan Cortes brought a new product to Europe. In its original form, the drink did not appeal to Europeans and quickly transformed into a hot and sweet dessert. Quite expensive, by the way. Only representatives of the nobility could treat themselves to this delicacy given to us.

Chocolate, as we know it, came into this world with the light hand of the Dutch inventor Van Houten. In 1828, he invented a cheap method of squeezing cocoa butter, which made it possible to create hard bars. And about 50 years later, milk chocolate appeared, the creation of which was established by the Swiss company Nestle. It was in its workshops that the first snow-white chocolate was produced in 1930.

It’s amazing that he gained his popularity only half a hundred years later. Almost everyone did not know what snow-white chocolate was made from and were wary of the news.

What is real white chocolate made from?

At first, Nestle just tried to get rid of excess cocoa butter. And how successful it turned out. The tender creamy taste has sunk into the soul of those with a sweet tooth. Even confectioners could not ignore this sweetness.

The composition of snow-white chocolate took a long time to reach the brain. And in 2004, the United States (the United States of America is a state in North America) adopted a standard that was supported by other countries. From that moment on, a tile made from the following ingredients can be considered true:

cocoa butter at least 20%;
milk powder 13-15%;
milk fat 3-4%;
not more than 55% sweet powder or other sweeteners.

The composition usually contains vanilla or vanillin in small quantities to improve the taste of the tile. It is also common to have lecithin as an emulsifier.

Unfortunately, charlatans replace cocoa butter with other vegetable fats. This not only changes taste personalities. Some additives may have a negative effect on your health.

Real snow-white chocolate simply melts in your mouth, leaving no greasy aftertaste. It has a gentle creamy color and a light vanilla scent. In addition, real tiles will never be cloyingly sweet.

The effects of snow-white chocolate on the body

No matter what sweetness brings pleasure and satisfaction. Some “seize” their tasks with desserts and delicacies. But what does sweets do to our bodies? In order to find out whether snow-white chocolate is good for health, let’s look at each of its components separately.

The main element of chocolate, cocoa butter, is the most useful part of the bar. It contains the following substances:

Vitamin (a low-molecular organic compound of relatively simple structure, essential for all living things) is a massive antioxidant. It prevents damage to cell membranes. It is also clear about its positive effect on the human reproductive system.
Vitamin (low molecular weight organic compound of relatively simple structure, essential for all living things) B4 – lowers cholesterol levels (Insoluble in water, soluble in fats and organic solvents.) in the blood (internal environment of the human and animal body) , has a nootropic effect and will affect the body as an antidepressant.
Oleic acid. Its main highlight is the reduction of cholesterol levels (Insoluble in water, soluble in fats and organic solvents.) in the blood (the internal environment of the human and animal body) , which has a positive effect on blood vessels and improves blood circulation (blood circulation throughout the body) .
Stearic acid. Restores the body's water balance, helps reduce edema (excessive accumulation of fluid in the extracellular tissue spaces of the body) . Improves the absorption of almost all necessary substances.
Linolenic acid. Improves brain function by relieving the load on nerve (an animal organ that serves to transmit important information for the body to the brain) .

You see, the health benefits of white chocolate are completely clear. But it is not in vain that people say that everything good should be in moderation. Do not forget that almost half of the entire size of this product is sugar. Its destructive effect has been repeatedly covered in almost all scientific journals. Therefore, in addition to its usefulness, snow-white chocolate can also cause damage to the body.

Let's look at the negative effects of excess sucrose on the body:

It provokes changes in blood glucose levels (in the internal environment of the human and animal body) , which cause sensory instability and addiction to sweets.
Risk of obesity and diabetes. White chocolate is a very nutritious sweet. For people leading a sedentary lifestyle, a sweet “diet (Diet is a set of rules for eating food by a person or other living organism) ” is a direct path to diabetes.
Lack of chromium. The individuality of modern processing of goods often deprives them of chromium, which helps regulate blood sugar (the internal environment of the human and animal body) .
Development of caries. Sweets contribute to the development of caries. This is due to the fact that sucrose deposited on the teeth is a good breeding ground for the development of pathogenic microbes and fungi.

The negative effects of snow-white chocolate include the appearance of an allergy to this product. This beneficial cocoa butter is a very powerful allergic agent.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of chocolate is not desirable for a pregnant and nursing mother. Although snow-white chocolate does not have such a powerful stimulating ability, it does affect the motility of the intestinal tract, promoting the release of gases, which will cause anxiety or tearfulness in the baby.

The health hazards of snow-white chocolate can be easily removed if you do not indulge in the delicacy. 40 grams per day is an ideal option that will allow you to enjoy the delicate taste while maintaining your health.

What about calories?

This age-old problem is as scary as you want sweets, but it’s scary to gain a couple of extra pounds. And if we are completely conscientious, the calorie content of snow-white chocolate is quite high, in general, like its darkest relatives.

A regular snow-white chocolate bar weighs approximately 110 g and has a calorie content of 595 kcal. The weight of one slice is about 5 grams, which means its energy content will be approximately 27 kcal. Not encouraging results. But don’t be in a hurry to lose heart. An entire bar of chocolate is completely burned by an hour of jogging or 3 hours of active typing at the computer.

It is important to bring small joys for yourself. Such a fascinating and delicious thing as snow-white chocolate must certainly be in the diet of a happy person.