Why does chocolate turn white?
If you’ve ever bitten into a piece of white chocolate and found it delicious, you may not know that it’s not chocolate at all. It’s made from cocoa (or cacao) paste, which is a mixture of cocoa butter, sugar, cocoa solids, natural flavors, and other ingredients. Cacao paste is actually the source of theobromine, the chemical found in chocolate that gives it its mood-boosting properties.
Why does chocolate turn white in microwave?
When you heat chocolate in the microwave oven, it reaches temperatures usually hotter than boiling water, which is about 212 degrees Fahrenheit. This heating process can cause the cocoa butter to form crystalline deposits on the surface of your chocolates. If you microwave cocoa powder you will notice it turning white. It is important to understand that cocoa butter does not affect the taste, so the color change is not a sign of poor quality. If you have a high-quality cocoa powder, this crystallization is normal
Why does dark chocolate turn white?
The simple answer is that cacao beans contain a pigment called theobromine. Theobromine is similar to caffeine, but it has a slightly different chemical structure. In order to make white chocolate, almost all of the cacao butter and theobromine are eliminated, leaving the pure cocoa mass. This means that white chocolate has no nutritional value and little flavor.
Why does chocolate turn white in water?
Most chocolates contain cocoa butter. This is the fatty part of the cocoa bean. This is the main source of cocoa butter. The cocoa butter acts as a natural sealant, which gives chocolates their glossy appearance and keeps them from drying out. This means that water is an enemy to chocolates. If water gets into the packaging, it can cause the cocoa butter to turn white. This is called white chocolate (or milk chocolate).
Why does dark chocolate turn white in the sun?
It's a bit of a strange phenomenon, but the darker the chocolate, the more susceptible it is to turning white when exposed to sunlight. The cocoa butter in dark chocolates absorbs the sun's UV rays, which can then damage the cocoa powder, turning it milk-like. The cocoa butter can also change color when exposed to sunlight.
