Cocoa Butter and Chocolate

Cocoa butter tends to be bitter and is dark and rich. Confectioners and chocolatiers process the cocoa butter m ore to increase the appeal. Sugar is added to make chocolate sweeter (which adds calories.) Milk solids are added to make milk chocolate (which includes saturated fats.)

American milk chocolate can contain as little as 10% cocoa, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards. The FDA is debating a proposal to let candy makers substitute vegetable oil for cocoa butter. (In my opinion this would ruin chocolate as we know it.)

End Result: Processing could make some chocolates taste sweeter and look lighter. But in the process it removes healthy ingredients and adds harmful ones.