Dark chocolate is sophisticated, mysterious, and packed with healthy antioxidants.
Milk chocolate tastes really, really good.
Milk chocolate is the chocolate of s’mores and basket bunnies and foil-wrapped treats in plastic pumpkins. It’s the chocolate memories are made from.
But in recent years, dark chocolate has been getting all the press, touted for its vitamin and flavonoid (antioxidant) content.
Seriously? If you want vitamins, eat some broccoli. If you want something sweet that melts like velvet and balances salty nuts, candy coating, caramel, cake, pretzels and anything else you can coat, crunch or cover, then milk chocolate is the chocolate.
Milk chocolate contains chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, vanilla, milk solids, and lecithin. Specific guidelines determine what can be considered milk chocolate – it must contain 10% chocolate liquor, 3.7% milk fats, and 12% milk solids. It also contains less chocolate liquor than dark chocolate, which gives it a milder, sweeter flavor without the bitter finish.
According to the National Confectioners Association, chocolate sales for the 2009-2010 grew 4 percent, much of which is attributed to an increase in the sale of single bars, which saw a 12.2 percent increase. The dark chocolate trend has impacted the candy industry, with many companies developing special edition, dark chocolate versions of old favorites like Milky Way, Kit Kat or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
The calorie count for dark and milk chocolate is close, especially considering the milk chocolate bar is .1 oz larger. Dark chocolate offers less saturated fat, less cholesterol, 0 sodium, more dietary fiber and more iron content than the milk chocolate bar. The milk chocolate offers a gram more protein, and a bit of calcium.
Still, milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses, M&M;’s Plain Chocolate Candies, and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy Bars are still the top three Consumer Package Good brands in the U.S., according to consumer research firm Harris Interactive. Classic milk chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups rank sixth on the list.
Milk or dark, eat what you like in moderation. If you need the excuse of good health, go for the dark. If you want to feel good after, have milk chocolate for dessert.
Chocolate wars: Dark versus Milk
Dark Chocolate – 1 Special Dark Hershey’s bar (1.45 oz)
220 calories (110 fat calories)
12 grams of fat
7 grams of saturated fat
0 trans fat
< 5 mg of cholesterol
0 sodium
25 grams of carbohydrates
3 grams of dietary fiber
2 grams of protein
21 grams of sugar
4% RDA Iron
Milk Chocolate – 1 Milk Chocolate Hershey’s bar (1.55 oz)
230 calories (120 fat calories)
13 grams of fat
9 grams of saturated fat
0 trans fat
10 mg of cholesterol
40 mg of sodium
25 grams of carbohydrates
1 gram of dietary fiber
3 grams of protein
22 grams of sugar
8% RDA Calcium
2% RDA Iron
Source: www.hersheys.com
