What is white chocolate?

Search: what is white chocolate

Why: James was eating Lindor Truffles, and now so am I.

Answer: White chocolate contains cocoa butter, a product of the cocoa bean that is also used to produce chocolate. The cocoa butter, which does have a faint chocolate flavor, is combined with milk, sugar, and often other flavoring ingredients (such as vanilla) to create the creamy confection known as white chocolate.

For the FDA to call something "chocolate," it must contain chocolate solids from chocolate liquor - the thick liquid produced when fermented, dried, and roasted cocoa beans are shelled and ground. When chocolate liquor is pressed, the fat can be removed; this fat is called cocoa butter.

To make plain chocolate, the cocoa butter is reblended with the chocolate solids, and maybe sweetened, blended with milk, etc. to make confection. In white chocolate, however, the cocoa butter is not reunited with the solids or cocoa powder. Since the caffeine in chocolate is found in the cocoa solids and not the cocoa butter, white chocolate does not contain any caffeine. Perfect for dinner!

Just like regular chocolate, white chocolate is then heated, cooled, and processed to the desired consistency, texture, and sheen. This processing is known as conching and tempering. The final product may then be placed into molds in order to attain the final shape in which the chocolate will be marketed.

Source: Essortment

The More You Know: Did you know Lindor Truffles come in more than 10 flavors? Stracciatella mixes white chocolate and other chocolate. They would make a good present for me, in case you can't think of anything.

(Stracciatella - from Italian stracciato, "torn apart" - is also a kind of soup.)