Schlaerth 1

Katherine Schlaerth

Professor Freeland

English Composition II 1201-510

21 March 2021

Why are American milk chocolate and English milk chocolate so different, and is one
“better” than the other?

Milk chocolate is a worldwide sugary favorite. Since it is made around the world, there

are bound to be some differences in flavor. There are many factors that influence these

variations that cause milk chocolate to taste different depending on where it is made.

People tend to think that the milk chocolate they are used to is the way it is supposed to

taste, and often people prefer chocolate from their own region. This was recently

highlighted in the social media debate between the Americans and Brits on who has the

better chocolate. But in order to understand whether one milk chocolate is actually

“better” than another, one has to understand the factors that influence the flavor and

then determine if there really is one “right” way to make milk chocolate.

Some of the main reasons for flavor differences in chocolate are the variety of recipes

used and the manufacturing process the cocoa goes through. Cadbury is based in

England, but Hershey’s, which is based in America, “holds the rights to manufacture

Cadbury chocolate products in the US ” (Spector). Hershey’s is also allowed to tweak

the chocolate recipe and process. That causes Cadbury to taste different in both

countries.
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In England, chocolate has to contain 25% or more of cocoa solids to be considered

“milk chocolate” and milk is listed as the first ingredient. In comparison, American

chocolate has to contain 10% or more of chocolate liquor to be considered “milk

chocolate” and sugar is listed as the first ingredient (Spector).

The location of the cocoa pod’s growth is another important factor that affects the

chocolate's taste. Africa, Latin America, and South-East Asia are the main places for

cocoa exports. The environmental and soil conditions need to be at their best to have

good growth in the cocoa plants. These conditions include the temperature, rainfall,

humidity, soil type, soil PH, soil nutrition, and more. The cocoa exports vary since they

aren’t from the same locations and experience contrasting influence from their

environment on the chemistry of the cocoa itself.

A certain factory in America shared the process of making their chocolate. That factory

dries out and ferments the cocoa beans themselves. The beans are then roasted and

shaken in a machine to get the shells off. What’s left is something called cocoa nibs.

The cocoa nibs are then put in machines to grind them until it’s runny, and that product

is called “chocolate liquor.” The liquor is pressed to get cocoa butter, and cocoa solids

are left over. The cocoa then goes through a process of dehydration, mixing, and

hydration. During the mixing stage of the liquor, cocoa butter is added to get the desired

viscosity. The liquor is then combined with the cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder to

make chocolate (Science Channel, Youtube).

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Instead of going through the early stages of chocolate with machines, one chocolate

shop gets their cocoa from Malaysia where the workers dry and ferment the cocoa

themselves without the help of machines. The rest of the process is quite similar to an

average American chocolate factory, but instead of using milk powder, they use actual

milk and they don’t contain butyric acid.

The milk fats in chocolate is where butyric acid comes from. Butyric acid is an end

product from a process known as lipolysis. That is where the “fatty acids in the milk

decompose, resulting in a rancid taste” that much of American chocolate has (Nariman).

One company that uses lipolysis is Hershey’s. They use controlled lipolysis to give their

chocolate that distinct flavor that is in most of America’s chocolate. Many other

chocolate companies started adding butyric acid to their chocolate so it would have the

same tastes as Hershey’s.

There is also a special protein that has been found to affect the different flavors of

chocolate. It is called the “7S Vicilin” and it is mostly in the aroma aspect of chocolate

(Nariman). Another factor that affects the taste is the “sequence and the amount of

amino acids” and “both are determined by the plant’s DNA” (Nariman). In the end,

chocolate in the US and England contrasts in many ways and those differences are

influenced by many factors.

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Works Cited

Afoakwa, Emmanuel Ohene. Chocolate Science and Technology. Wiley-

Blackwell, 2016.

DiscoveryTV, director. The Whole Process Of Making Chocolate | How Do They

Do It? YouTube, YouTube, 23 Mar. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=P_JuQCiKWUc.

Nariman, Julie. “Finding the Flavor of Chocolate.” Penn State University, Penn State

News, 1 Sept. 2000, news.psu.edu/story/140591/2000/09/01/research/finding-

flavor-chocolate.

ScienceChannel, director. Milk Chocolate, From Scratch | How It's Made.

YouTube, YouTube, 30 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtMfiWDQHT8.

Spector, Dina. “Why British And American Chocolate Taste Different.” Business

Insider, Business Insider, 27 Jan. 2015.