What actually is white chocolate...?

Nov 14, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Jan 11

Ignore the haters, white chocolate IS chocolate but simply doesn't contain all the ingredients of milk and dark chocolate! So what actually is it? Better question, why does this white concoction even exist? Thank the Swiss!

First, what is white chocolate... officially? 📋

Fun fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are relied on to define and monitor food globally, usually shared in their Codex Alimentarius collection of standards and guidelines enforced internationally. The FAO first shared definitions and regulations on chocolate in the Codex's “Standards For Chocolate And Chocolate Products” in August 1981... including on white chocolate!

Ever since, white chocolate has internationally been defined as a product obtained from "cocoa butter, milk or milk products, and sugars" however this Codex is regularly updated, with the last in 2022 specifying that it should contain "not less than 20% cocoa butter and not less than 14% milk solids". (Cocoa butter is the fat extracted from cacao beans and what makes chocolate solid yet melt in mouth!) It's this lack of cocoa solids that makes white chocolate its characteristic cream-ivory colour from the cocoa butter.

The international validity of this white chocolate definition can be seen through seeing the identical chocolate regulations from the UK, United Arab Emirates, all the way to Switzerland. However, some countries have added even more specifications to this definition, such as the USA which limits to a maximum of "55% nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners" (probably as yes, they like their sugar)🤣

How is it made? 🫘

White chocolate is made by pressing cocoa butter from fermented, dried, and roasted cacao beans, then blending this with sugar, milk powder, and other additional flavorings which is refined and tempered to solidify to the ideal chocolate consistency.

So... is this included as "chocolate"? 🍫

Cocoa butter besides cacao beans and cacao powder © NEW AFRICA, ADOBE STOCK

Let's return to our trusty FAO's guidelines... how do they define actual chocolate? Apparently anything chocolate must be prepared from "cocoa and cocoa materials with sugars and may contain sweeteners, milk products, flavouring substances and other food ingredients"... white chocolate contains cocoa butter which is a cocoa material and THUS makes white chocolate, well, a chocolate product!

Even returning back to the home of white chocolate (Switzerland, hi!), Swiss regulations consider white chocolate an official category of chocolate alongside milk chocolate and dark chocolate!

So why all the hate for white chocolate? 🥺

Many criticise the high sugar content of most mass produced white chocolate... with reason © 2018, BBC

Why don't people think white chocolate is chocolate... or even a respectable sweet? Some common points from thorough research (and personal comments):

"Very unhealthy": ok it's understandble, its higher sugar-to-fat ratio than dark or milk chocolate easily makes it seem too "fake" or "unhealthy"... especially as producers love adding more sugar for cost savings (but not all!)
"Not attractive": it lacks the rich colours of enticing sweets and I admit it does look a tad pale and almost medicinal (ironic as it WAS medicine...)
Not "real chocolate": unlike dark or milk chocolate, it doesn’t contain cocoa liquor/mass, so it lacks the signature brown colour and doesn't have that classic roasted, bitter, complex “chocolatey” taste... but as we now know it IS chocolate!
"Overwhelming" texture: the high cocoa butter and milk content can make it feel heavy, fatty, or cloying (...or creamy and indulgent in my opinion)
"Bland" quality variations: cheaper versions often replace cocoa butter with vegetable fats, giving a waxy mouthfeel and bland taste.

... why should we adore white chocolate? 😍

Incredible and incredibly simple marbled white chocolate © 2019, TheDecoratedCookie

Here are some reasons why many (and I personally) really love and appreciate white chocolate compared to "classic" milk and dark chocolates!

Showcases cocoa butter: it’s the only chocolate type of chocolate that lets cocoa butter's natural flavor and smooth, melting texture shine!
Creamy, velvety texture: its high cocoa butter and milk content give it a luxurious, melt-in-the-mouth feel.
Subtle, delicate flavors: like cocoa solids, cocoa butter also varies in taste! In general cocoa butter has unique notes of cream, vanilla, caramel, or even floral tones when well made.
Visual and creative appeal: its pale color makes it ideal for artistic creations and bold contrasts with darker ingredients like dark chocolate.
Comforting sweetness: its creamy sweetness make it a perfectly nostalgic, comforting indulgence.

What's the history of white chocolate?

What a coincidence of you to ask! We have a whole post coming up about it! And biggest spoiler: no, Nestlé did not create white chocolate and people MUST stop saying this!

1828: The new Swiss medicine... white chocolate? 🧪

Nestrovit drink and tablets , 1980 - 92 © NESTLE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

To summarise, thanks to Van Houten's invention of pressing cocoa solids to extract cocoa butter in 1828, many innovations with this multi-form and nutritious fat were released... such as white chocolate! White chocolate was created as a nutritious medicine by Swiss physicians in the 1850s with almost the same ingredients as now, but was exclusive as medicine for a long time.

1880s: Major milk (and white chocolate) promo 🥛

Accumulating innovations brought cheaper chocolate production and the rise of marketing- which many chocolate producers leveraged, such as encouraging the healthiness of their milk chocolate products to support the massive public promotion scheme of milk at the time! This thus boosted the popularity of all chocolate, though white chocolate still remained a tad mysterious.

1936: World's most famous white chocolate released ⭐

Advert for Nestrovit spinoff white chocolate bar Galak, 1936 © NESTLE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

However Nestlé changed this when they released the first mass produced- and now world leading- white chocolate brand Galak (MilkyBar in UK/Commonwealth) in 1937... and the rest is history! We're just touching the subject at the moment but feel free to immerse in its mystical history soon!

🍫 Conclusion

People really tend to judge things by appearances much too much... white chocolate may not look it but is definitely chocolate and this buttery delight can even be considered its most unique form! What do you think about white chocolate? Still not convinced?

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xx Demi