Is White Chocolate Even Real Chocolate?

Depending on who you talk to, making the claim that white chocolate is real chocolate might get you a look of indignation and a quick correction. There's definitely a prevailing belief that white chocolate isn't real chocolate at all — a belief affirmed by the fact that the FDA once ruled out white chocolate as real chocolate completely. Most of the evidence for this claim is that, unlike dark chocolate and milk chocolate, white chocolate contains no cocoa solids. This makes white chocolate fairly distinct from traditional brown chocolates that do contain cocoa solids, but it doesn't mean that white chocolate shouldn't be considered chocolate at all.

While the presence of cocoa solids is one way to define something as chocolate, it's not the only thing. In fact, white chocolate is technically considered to be chocolate if it has at least 20% cocoa butter, the white fat derived from the cocoa pod. It must also not contain any other kinds of vegetable fat (like coconut oil), but only cocoa butter. So, even if some don't want to admit it, white chocolate is in fact chocolate, at least legally speaking. It can even pair well with certain cheeses just like other chocolates.

True white chocolate can definitely count as actual chocolate, but that doesn't mean all bars are created equally. Remember, in order to be considered chocolate, there's a heavy reliance on the presence of cocoa butter, without the addition of other oils. The presence of cocoa butter is what defines white chocolate as chocolate, and separates it from something like candy melts, which don't typically contain cocoa butter. This is why candy melts are a less-than-ideal substitution for white chocolate.

It also pays to know just what you should be looking for when choosing a white chocolate to ensure you're getting something that's high quality, and instead of some other kind of creamy confection. Cocoa butter has a yellow hue by nature, so a quality white chocolate isn't going to be stark white, but rather a pale or creamy yellow. This is a good sign that your selection uses cocoa butter, and is therefore "real" chocolate, at least as far as the rules go. If you're looking to increase the flavor of white chocolate, try caramelizing it.