Milk Chocolate

The most common, and along with white chocolate, the sweetest kind of eating chocolate. It was first made successfully in 1879 when a Swiss chocolate manufacturer, Daniel Peter, had the idea to substitute powdered milk for the whole milk or cream that had been attempted unsuccessfully previously. (Powdered milk had been invented in 1867 by his neighbour, Swiss chemist Henri Nestlé).

Milk chocolate is made by combining chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk or cream, sugar, and flavourings. It is then dried on heated rollers to produce the flavour more typical of European chocolate. In the US, it is mixed with slightly acidified milk to produce the flavour preferred there.

EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids, but bars of fine milk chocolate generally contain between 30% and 45% cacao. The most inexpensively made, commercial milk chocolate however can have as little as 5% cacao. The higher the cacao content, the more 'snap' a bar has, which means that milk chocolate has less snap than dark chocolate.