Growing up, one of my favorite books was Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The story of a young boy’s adventure into the magical world of the master-chocolatier, Willy Wonka, captivated my imagination, not to mention the fact that both Charlie Bucket and I share the same first name. When I think about Willy Wonka’s magical factory, I immediately picture the chocolate waterfall. In Willy Wonka’s wise words: “No other factory in the world mixes its chocolate by waterfall! But it’s the only way to do it properly!” The sugary, milky sludge cascading from the factory’s canopy is a cinematic image, and it translated beautifully to screen. It’s delightful to think about, and surely a real treat to taste. A delicious candy, enjoyed by many as a part of childhood that follows them as a favorable taste as an adult. The role of chocolate as a treat is important in understanding its reality… Chocolate is candy.
I’m sure that many people can remember their first taste of chocolate. It was something new and exciting. Both sweet, rich, and decadent, a simple piece of chocolate can pack quite a punch. However, it is, among all other candies, mainly sugar. Let’s consider the Hershey Kiss, a popular form of chocolate. In a meager seven Hershey Kisses (the listed serving size), one consumes nearly one-third of their daily value in sugar (18g). This is comparable to both Mike & Ikes and Hot Tamales, each of which contain 18 grams of sugar in one serving. How can these treats contain the same amount of sugar, and not both be considered “candy.”? The answer is that they ARE both candy. Merriam-Webster defines candy as “a confection made with sugar and often flavoring and filling.” Chocolate is made of sugar, cocoa flavoring, and, sometimes, fillings such as caramel or creme.
The question of chocolate and its association with the world of confectionery sweets has been a hot topic for years. Early forms of chocolate were said to have nutritional and health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, and an improvement of blood flow. As recently as 2018, a manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa products, Barry Callebaut AG Switzerland petitioned the FDA for permission to make a Qualified Health Claim (QHC) for high flavanol chocolates as having the properties of reducing cardiovascular disease. Callebault states: “Supportive but inconclusive scientific evidence suggests that consuming at least 200 mg of cocoa flavanols daily, such as provided by high flavanol cocoa powder, or high flavanol semisweet or high flavanol dark chocolate, may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This product contains at least 200 mg cocoa flavanols per serving.” As noted, the benefits in question do not apply to the confection that most people think about- milk chocolate. Instead, it is dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao that is possibly beneficial to heart health.
Most chocolate enjoyers do not regularly eat the dark and baker’s chocolate that contain high flavanols and can, possibly, contribute to heart health. The most common and popular form of chocolate, milk chocolate, contains as much sugar as the regular “fruit-flavored” candy on the market. Although chocolatiers have argued that chocolate deserves its own category as a confection, the limited views of the community fail to take into account the perspective of the consumer: people eat chocolate because it is a sweet treat. They eat chocolate because it is candy. Surely, Willy Wonka would agree.