Dark chocolate seems to be more popular than ever before, but are you eating more of it? For all the statistics that indicate consumers are switching to dark from milk chocolate, it still seems that many - if not most - people will choose a piece of milk chocolate over a piece of dark when offered.
Milk chocolate may be slightly less popular than it once was, but it is still a huge favorite with chocolate lovers. It tends to be creamier and sweeter than dark chocolates, and the milder flavor plays a big role in why people love it; it is the same reason that many choose to have cream and sugar in their coffee. Some will say that "graduating" to a higher cacao percentage, to a darker chocolate, is a sign of a more refined palate, but it is really just another indicator of personal preference. Quality chocolates can be found in milk and dark varieties, mild and strong. Even the cacao percentages, which are definitely more commonly seen on dark chocolates, are being added to milk chocolate labels.
Which do you prefer - the trendier dark chocolate or the much-loved milk chocolate? Are you opting for dark more often now than, say, a few years ago?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-16-2006 @ 7:27AM
karen said...
I hate milk chocolate. I've always preferred dark chocolate and would choose it over milk at any time.
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9-16-2006 @ 8:51AM
Pamela Roza said...
I feel the same as Karen. Since I was a child I have preferred dark chocolate. It could be that many people tried dark chocolate when they were very young and found it too bitter and therefore never gave it another try once their palate had matured. With the advent of the ‘celebrity chef’ came a trend toward more adventurous eating for the general population. So perhaps many of those who once thought they didn’t like dark chocolate find that they now appreciate its rich, more complex flavors. To me, milk chocolate is to dark chocolate as Celene Dion is to Billie Holiday.
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9-16-2006 @ 9:23AM
Angela Pitt said...
Well, you already know I'm a chocoholic; dark, milk,
white (which is not truly chocolate), it's all the
same to me. I prefer the dark, but I'm willing to settle.
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9-16-2006 @ 11:35AM
calamari said...
I've always preferred dark chocolate -- the darker the better, bring on the terrifyingly bitter cacao percentages! -- but the dreadful truth is that I will happily forgo any chocolate bar for a See's nougat-filled candy or (on desperate days) a Reese's peanut butter cup. If Reese's would like to do a super-dark cup with crunchy peanut butter, I'll be first in line to try it.
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9-16-2006 @ 12:24PM
ben said...
i love dark choco too but cmon, who can say that milk choco is no good? lets be realistic. milk choco, if only for the fact that it usually has way more sugar, is really tasty, too. maybe in a more candy bar kinda way, but its still good. i would agree that appreciating the very dark dark chocolates might require a bit of a refined palate, in the sense that it takes some 'practice' to learn to like bitter flavors. either way, its choco, whats not to love?!
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9-16-2006 @ 2:03PM
Spitzmaus said...
With few exceptions (anything produced by See's, for instance), a semi-sweet chocolate is as "milky" as I'll go. Dark and bittersweet have always appealed to me; even my childhood preferences were for a less-sweet-more-oomph taste in chocolate.
That said, I'm second in line behind calamari for that Reese's super-dark/crunchy peanut butter cup! Hurt me.
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9-16-2006 @ 3:43PM
Allison said...
I'm a "give me salty and buttery" anything, any day, over sweets. But when I do want something chocolate -- it's always been the darker the better. Milk chocolate is simply too sweet, if not actually wimpy, and often kind of artificial tasting.
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9-16-2006 @ 8:54PM
LSN said...
To me, chocolate is that rarity - an affordable luxury. I am usually more of a fan of dark chocolate but there are some days where I need a bit more of that sweetness.
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9-16-2006 @ 11:00PM
Sera said...
I love chocolate in all its forms, dark, bittersweet, milk and white. When nuts and flavorings (like mint, blech) start to get added is when I start getting really picky, at least in a gourmet bar. Droste Bittersweet is my #1 favorite.
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9-17-2006 @ 10:19AM
Franz Hemingbeck said...
You know what they say- once you go dark, you never go back.
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9-17-2006 @ 1:54PM
rachel said...
i eat more dark but not for health reasons; because i'm older and more sophisticated now.
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9-17-2006 @ 7:54PM
Kat said...
Dark all the way!
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9-18-2006 @ 10:58AM
John said...
Dark for sure!
Two reasons for dark:
Less dairy (I don't do well with lots of lactose)
Tastes great! (less filling? hehe)
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12-28-2006 @ 12:10AM
patiwat said...
The only dark chocolate I've ever backed down from is Meiji 99%. The minimum that I've enjoyed is Perugina 60%.
When I was a kid, I liked milk chocolate, but that's because that was the only thing I could find at the time.
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