What is the difference between milk, plain and dark chocolate?
Question from Kelly Olsen
Dark and milk chocolate both contain cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar, but as its name suggests, milk chocolate also contains milk in the form of milk powder, liquid milk or condensed milk. In the US, chocolate must be at least 15 per cent cocoa solids to be labelled dark, while milk chocolate must be at least ten per cent cocoa solids and 12 per cent milk.
In the UK, dark chocolate must be at least 35 per cent cocoa solids and milk chocolate must be at least 20 per cent cocoa solids and 3.5 per cent milk. Plain chocolate is just another name for dark chocolate: they have the same ingredients.
Answered by Joanna Stass for Brain Dump in How It Works issue 111.
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