White Chocolate
White chocolate isn’t really chocolate at all. While it contains the cocoa butter of true chocolate, it lacks cocoa solids, the element responsible for milk and dark chocolate’s characteristic brown color and nutty roasted flavor. Other pale confections labeled simply “white” chips or bars (these boast less than the 20 percent cocoa butter required to earn the designation “white chocolate”) are just as common in the baking aisle of the supermarket. These milky products usually contain partially hydrogenated palm oil, palm kernel oil, soybean oil, or cottonseed oil in lieu of some or all of the cocoa butter. Could the fakes match the flavor of real white chocolate and perform the same in cooking?
We gathered nine brands (four real, five fake) to taste plain, eliminating four brands outright for off-flavors, grainy textures, and over-the-top sweetness. Surprisingly, these losers were not confined to the fake brands—two were real white chocolate containing at least 20 percent cocoa butter. Almost all contained artificial ingredients and more sugar than higher-ranked brands.
Next, we prepared the top five in white chocolate mousse. Better brands melted and blended well to create creamy mousse with balanced milky, vanilla flavors and moderate sweetness. Lesser brands tasted more sweet than complex. In addition, two looked oily when melted and produced slightly grainy mousse. This problem, it turned out, occurred only in the real white chocolate. Due to its high concentration of cocoa butter, real white chocolate melts and solidifies at a lower temperature than the fake stuff and will form crystals if it cools too quickly. Refined fats in the fake white confection, in contrast, can help it melt and solidify at a higher temperature, preventing the crystals that cause grainy mousse.
With the fake white confection’s edge in cooking, our winner turned out to be not real white chocolate at all but an artificial white chip: Guittard Choc-Au-Lait White Chips. Tasters raved over a creamy texture akin to “crème fraîche” and a strong vanilla flavor. In mousse it was “not too sweet” and “remarkably smooth.” It was the second-cheapest brand in the lineup, costing just 27 cents per ounce, and beat out a real white chocolate from the same manufacturer.
We also found that a good brand of imitation white chocolate like Guittard has another decided edge over the real white deal: A lesser amount (or lack) of cocoa butter keeps it from oxidizing too quickly and extends shelf life. White chocolate, on the other hand, rapidly goes rancid when exposed to bright light or heat (the antioxidants in the cocoa solids in milk and dark chocolate help temper this reaction), plus it has the tendency to pick up surrounding odors. When we stored some white chocolate in a clear plastic container in a fluorescent-lit storage room, within one week, it had gone rancid and smelled (and tasted) like plastic.
| Product Tested | Origin | Price* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highly Recommended | |||
|
Columela Extra Virgin Olive OilOur favorite premium extra-virgin olive oil from a previous tasting, Columela is composed of a blend of intense Picual, mild Hojiblanca, Ocal, and Arbequina olives. This oil took top honors for its fruity flavor and excellent balance. Tasters praised its “big olive aroma, big olive taste” with a “buttery” flavor that is “sweet” and “full,” with a “peppery finish.” One taster said: “It’s very green and fresh—like a squeezed olive.” Another simply wrote: “Fantastic.” |
Spain | $19 for 17 oz |
| Recommended | |||
|
Lucini Italia Premium Select Extra Virgin Olive OilTasters noted this oil’s flavor was “much deeper than the other samples,” describing it as “fruity, with a slight peppery finish,” “buttery undertones,” and a “clean, green taste” that was “aromatic, with a good balance.” “It has the flavor that some good EVOOs have,” said one admiring taster. |
Italy | $19.99 for 500 ml ($39.98 per liter) |
|
Colavita Extra Virgin Olive OilVirtually tied for second place, this oil was deemed “round and buttery,” with a “light body” and flavor that was “briny and fruity,” “very fine and smooth,” and “almost herbal,” with “great balance.” “Good olive flavor. I could smell it and taste it,” approved one taster. In a word, “pleasant.” |
Italy | $17.99 for 750 ml ($23.98 per liter) |
| Recommended with Reservations | |||
|
Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive OilA clear step down from the top oils, tasters noted “overall mild” flavor and “very little aroma,” with only a “hint of green olive” and a “hint of spiciness at the end.” In pasta, it was initially “not complex,” but gradually “bloomed in your mouth.” Overall, it was “worthy of a second bite.” |
Italy, Greece, Spain, and Tunisia | $12.49 for 750 ml ($16.65 per liter) |
|
Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive OilWhile some tasters found this oil “sweet” and “buttery” with “medium body” and “slight spice at the end,” others complained that it had “zero olive flavor” and was “so floral it’s almost like eating perfume”; still others noted a “bitter” aftertaste. In pasta, it was “extremely mild” to the point of being “boring.” |
Italy, Greece, Spain, and Tunisia | $10.99 for 750 ml ($14.65 per liter) |
|
Goya Extra Virgin Olive OilComments: The best comments tasters could muster were “mild” and “neutral.” Some liked it on pasta (though one called it “Snoozeville”), but complaints were myriad: “metallic,” “soapy,” “briny,” “hints of dirt.” Carped one taster, “I can’t imagine what is in here, but they have a nerve calling it EVOO.” |
Spain | $13.99 for 1 liter |
For complete access to the results,
start a 14-Day Free Trial.
Start Your 14-Day Free Trial Membership
Every Recipe. Every Rating. Every Video from
Every Magazine & Every Episode!
- 8 years of Cook’s Country Foolproof Recipes
- Complete Cook’s Country TV Video Library
- 2,900+ Equipment Ratings and Ingredient Taste Tests
- Step-by-Step Technique Photos
- Save Favorites, Create Menus, Print Shopping Lists
