What Exactly IS White Chocolate?

It definitely doesn't look -- or taste -- like chocolate.

It doesn't look like chocolate or smell like chocolate, and it sure as hell doesn't taste like chocolate. That's because it's not chocolate at all. So really, it's no wonder white chocolate is a controversial impostor; people either love it or they hate it, and there's nothing in between.

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White chocolate doesn't qualify as genuine chocolate because it doesn't contain chocolate solids (a.k.a. cocoa powder). White chocolate is typically made from a blend of cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, milk fat and lecithin -- a fatty emulsifier that holds it all together.

If you're on team White Chocolate, you can make it at home in the microwave from cocoa butter, powdered sugar and powdered milk. If you're not, you can make something delicious and authentically chocolate -- like this absurdly tasty chocolate cake. Whatever you do, make sure to have dessert today.

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