Dark VS Milk

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Replies

  • siqiniq
    siqiniq Posts: 237 Member
    So many people say dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate. Grab a bar of dark and milk and compare. there almost 99% identical. so were do people get this idea the dark is healthier than milk chocolate?

    Identical in what way ? There's no added milk fats in dark for one thing

    Dark - Cocoa Solids 36% minimum
    Milk - Milk Solids 20% minimum, actual 23% ,Cocoa Solids 20% minimum

    (Data comparing Carbury's Dairy Milk with Cadbury's Bournville from tesco.com/groceries)

    Bourneville isn't very high in cocoa content... maybe you'd get a better comparison if you compare it to 85% cocoa chocolate. Not that I've ever compared them that closely... just that Bourneville is not the most chocolatey dark chocolate.


    Minimum means the smallest amount. It could be considerably higher.
  • siany01
    siany01 Posts: 319 Member
    Cadbury's Dairy Milk is the best. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I can't touch any at the moment. My will power is not that strong. Hopefully one day I will be able to eat it and not devour the whole bar without a second thought, but not today :sad:
  • pandorakick
    pandorakick Posts: 901 Member
    Calorie wise they may be nearly the same. But, dark chocolate 2 squares. Milk chocolate I will eat the whole bar.
    This ^^^^ with dark chocolate I'm much less likely to overeat.
  • glitterstreet
    glitterstreet Posts: 144
    Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Dark chocolate, I like it but I prefer milk or white chocolate so if I'm going to have a chocolate treat I will have milk or white chocolate and just fit it into my calories but if you like dark chocolate than that's great since it has a better nutritional value.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
    ofcourse not all dark chocolate is created equal same with white/milk chocolate

    Lest anyone be confused, 'white chocolate' should be left out of this entirely as it isn't actually chocolate!

    Milk has less cocoa - which is why it's considered less healthy. I haven't compared the sugar content but I"ll check next time I'm in the store.

    I have some 55% dark squares in the pantry right now and I agree with the previous posters, a square or two has a rich satisfying chocolate taste. I never crave a whole bar - it took me a couple of weeks to go through a bar!
  • styledsky
    styledsky Posts: 121 Member
    Lest anyone be confused, 'white chocolate' should be left out of this entirely as it isn't actually chocolate!

    Why not? It contains products of the cacao bean (cocoa butter) just like any other decent chocolate, just no cocoa solids. I don't subscribe to that argument. I also reject the notion of "milk" and "dark" chocolate as many people refer to it - based on percentage of cocoa solids! My favourite chocolatier makes a bar that is 49% cocoa solids but still contains milk solids. That's higher % than either of the Cadbury or Nestle default "dark" offerings! So is it milk chocolate or dark based on that logic? He calls it milk based on the presence.

    Anyway, here's a bit of health & economics for you regarding chocolate - taken from my MFP blog, there is a whole treatise there if you're interested.


    The Health & Economics of Good Chocolate

    Let's compare two types of chocolate - a typical block from the supermarket (like your Cadbury Dairy Milk, and this should be representative of all the common brands like Hersheys, Nestle, etc) - and a bar of my favourite 65% Madagascan from a real chocolatier.

    Cadbury block - about 21% cocoa solids, full of sugar, emulsifiers, stablisers and other stuff, very little (if any) cocoa butter, uses cheap bulk-purchased beans. Costs around $4 for a 200gm block. Usually fails to snap properly, has a grainy texture and doesn't smell or taste very nice to me.

    Boutique bar - 65% cocoa solids, the remaining 35% is made up of cocoa butter, sugar and a spot of vanilla. $10 for 100gm. Glossy, good snap, smells earthy and rich, smooth texture, tastes terrific!

    OK, so the supermarket block works out to $2 per 100gm, whereas the boutique bar is 5 times that amount. But fear not, for the equation shifts pretty quickly!!! The amount of chocolate FLAVOUR in the boutique bar is 3 times that of the basic one. It contains less sugar and fat, meaning you could - if you wanted - have more of it for the same calories (nearly double the straight up quantity, in fact - its about 2.7cal/gm vs 5.3cal/gm if memory serves) - but here's the kicker - YOU DON'T NEED TO! Why? Simply because that wonderful chocolate hit you will get from the boutique bar will actually be sufficient. Let's put that another way

    A 20gm "serving" from a boutique bar is generally under 60 calories, and contains as much "good chocolate" as... wait for it... about 280 calories of basic chocolate (a 60gm serve).

    So let's look at the price point again. With the boutique bar needing 1/3rd of the amount of the basic bar, we have 5 x 20gm servings for our $10 - to match it with the basic bar, we'd need 300gm, which would cost us $6 (assuming you can by half a bar). That made it a lot more comparable all of a sudden, didn't it? But wait, there is a third option.

    Most premium chocolatiers will sell bulk bags of their chocolate in button form. If you go this way - the same chocolate I used in the previous comparison just became $20 for 500gm. A serve is still 20gm, and you now have 25 serves in the bag, at what, $0.80 per serve. Your equivalent (in chocolate intensity) of the supermarket offering is about on par with that, but your caloric count is so much lower with the boutique chocolate. This is win-win!

    Food for thought.
  • quackers82
    quackers82 Posts: 55 Member
    So many people say dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate.

    There are no healthy or unhealthy foods, just your diet as a whole is ether healthy or unhealthy. The same people who say dark chocolate is healthier will more than likely say Apples are healthy, but if you ate nothing but apples your body would not be great and lacking many things. The dark one is nutritionally better yes, but If you like the milk have the milk.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Anyway, here's a bit of health & economics for you regarding chocolate - taken from my MFP blog, there is a whole treatise there if you're interested.

    Let's compare two types of chocolate - a typical block from the supermarket (like your Cadbury Dairy Milk, and this should be representative of all the common brands like Hersheys, Nestle, etc) - and a bar of my favourite 65% Madagascan from a real chocolatier.

    Cadbury block - about 21% cocoa solids, full of sugar, emulsifiers, stablisers and other stuff, very little (if any) cocoa butter

    Let's stop right there -

    Cadbury's Dairy Milk
    INGREDIENTS
    Milk, Sugar, Cocoa butter, Cocoa mass, Vegetable fat, Emulsifiers (E442, E476), Flavourings.

    If cocoa butter is ahead of cocoa mass in the ingredients list (listed by weight) then surely it has to be at least 10.5% cocoa butter ??
  • styledsky
    styledsky Posts: 121 Member
    If it were higher then I'd expect it to snap properly. I can't find an exact listing, but from what I understand from the various experts (chocolatiers, chefs, etc) there isn't a lot in there. I also acknowledge that the recipe for it will vary by locality (you can taste the difference between Cadbury bars made in the UK and in Australia, for instance).

    If someone can find the actual breakdown by weight/% of the ingredients in a Cadbury bar I'd be rally curious to see it. I've never been able to track one down.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Lol, who cares? They're both chocolate, so let's eat!

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
    The sugar in Milk chocolate causes me to crave more and more.

    I've even adjusted myself to being able to eat quite a lot of 70%, so avoid it.

    I used to like Green and blacks, but really I don't think it compares to Lindt. I buy lindt 90% or 85% - meets craving for chocolate or something sweet without kicking off cravings for the next two days. Not to be eaten on its own, but 1-2 squares with a cup of tea or coffee is perfection.
  • fishermanmatt
    fishermanmatt Posts: 308 Member
    Eat what you like in moderation.

    As for me, the darker the better. Bonus points for sea salt or hot pepper added to the mix.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    Calorie wise they may be nearly the same. But, dark chocolate 2 squares. Milk chocolate I will eat the whole bar.

    This tends to be my reasoning as well. I love them both but for some reason, I don't feel satisfied after just a little milk chocolate. Also, I prefer my almonds and pomegranate seeds covered in dark vs milk, while hazelnuts are better in milk.

    Eat what you like if you can make it fit into a healthy diet.
  • cilu90
    cilu90 Posts: 31
    I used to be a milk chocolate addict, but after living the 'healthy' lifestyle for 5 months, I find it too sweet and have moved to Dark Chocolate (only 60-65% so far) which I used to find bitter, but now suits my taste. Additionally as people above have said, you need a lot less of it to satisfy, 3 squares of Green and Blacks at 55 cals keeps me happy!

    Me, too! I've started enjoying dark chocolate more and more and there are more types showing up every day, it seems. Chocolate has always been a weakness, but I don't need as much to make me happy. 1-3 squares is all it takes. Also, I really like Scharffenburger (sp?) and Vosges bars, but they are more expensive (esp. the Vosges), but that just makes me see it as a very special treat to savor. I'm even less likely to rush through the bar!
  • darwinwoodka
    darwinwoodka Posts: 322 Member
    You all go ahead and eat that milk chocolate sugar filled Hersheys and Dove and stuff. Save the good dark stuff for me. ;^)
  • aFootballLife25
    aFootballLife25 Posts: 63 Member
    Doesn't matter, the cacao is ruined when it's heated and made into chocolate. Don't think for a minute that you're doing your body any good by downing a sugary chocolate bar. No matter how dark.

    Raw cacao powder if you want the health benefits.

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