Taste Test: Milk Chocolate Bars
Milk chocolate often gets dismissed as the immature younger sibling of dark chocolate, but we are not ashamed of loving it. When good, milk chocolate melts on the tongue like butter. Of the ten brands we tried in a blind tasting, see which were the most butter-melty, which had weird notes of beef jerky, and which belong only on s'mores. Our results, after the jump.
The score sheet.
Best Overall
While Switzerland is probably a really nice country to visit, you could still be pretty satisfied just eating its Lindt bar ($2.69 for 3.5 ounces) from afar. Smooth and creamy, without tasting too rich, it's what you want in a milk chocolate bar. There's no weird notes or whiffs of anything off-tasting--it's just chocolate done right. lindtusa.com
Another favorite was the Deutschland chocolate bar, Ritter Sport ($2.50 for 3.5 ounces). The four-by-four pattern of little chocolate pegs is very satisfying. Each of the sixteen squares is smooth, sweet but not too sweet, and easy to break off and share. ritter-sport.com
Honorable Mention
There was something subtly almondy or cinnamony about the Ghirardelli ($2.29 for 3 ounces) that kind of worked. While the ingredients didn't list anything to match these suspicions, the smidge of mysterious flavor complemented the classic milk chocolate taste. ghirardelli.com
Most Butter-Like
According to confectionery literature, good chocolate should melt on the tongue like butter, and this one did--or, hypothetically, how we imagine throwing a stick of golden fat on our tongues would be like. Imported from Belgium, the Trader Joe's brand ($1.79 for three 1.75 ounce bars) is not only cheap but enjoyably smooth and melty. traderjoes.com
During the tasting, each chocolate nubbin was served to tasters upside down to avoid obvious logo giveaways.
Best Organic
Paul Newman did so much for the food world, from egg-binging to soy crisp development. What a man. And of all the organic brands we tasted, Newman's Own Organics ($2.99 for 2.25 ounces) was by far the most edible. Luscious and moderately gooey, it was the right amount of sweet with a tiny hit of salt. newmansownorganics.com/food_chocolate
Most Like Stale Halloween Candy
From the first whiff, we could identify this one. Whether it was the memories of "Fun Size" Halloween candy or those powdery instant cocoa packets, this was clearly Nestle ($1.59 for 5 ounces). Though more fake chocolate-tasting than chocolate-tasting, we were mostly fine with that. Nostalgia is a powerful thing. nestle.com
Most Like Dark Chocolate
Both Dagoba ($2.79 for 2 ounces) and Whole Foods 365 Brand ($2.49 for 3 ounces) pulled off the grainy bitterness that dark chocolate fans will appreciate. Are they ashamed of being milk chocolate? A little identity crisis here. dagobachocolate.com; wholefoodsmarket.com
Most All-Around Funky Tasting
Whoa, there. For being the most expensive bar we tried, Green & Black's ($3.99 for 3.5 ounces) was a huge disappointment. Was that beef jerky? Something in there was bizarrely tangy and threw off the whole experience. More power to the company for using fair trade, genetically-unmodified, organically-grown cocoa, but this chocolate just ain't good. greenandblacks.com
Most Belongs on a Graham Cracker
As long as there are campfires and microwaves, there will be Hershey's ($1.99 for 4.4 ounces). Though gritty and chalky in bar form, it transforms into a magical ooze when multiplied by intense heat, graham crackers, and marshmallows. hersheys.com
Bonus: Robyn's Choco Doodle
There's only so much cocoa butter our cells can digest before we start doodling freaky scenes of talking chocolate bars chasing stick figures. Thank you Robyn for illustrating this sentiment.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
51 Comments:
I'm disappointed you didn't test my personal favorite Dove.
tapioca at 4:19PM on 08/10/09
I agree about the Lindt. It's the best you can get from the supermarket. I'm sad that you didn't test Côte D'Or. They make some of the best chocolate you can find in wide distribution. And what the heck is Hershey's doing there? That stuff isn't even chocolate.
SqueezeBottle at 4:26PM on 08/10/09
and you didn't test Cadbury Dairy Milk! Although the selection was good--and yeah, while i am a dark chocolate lover sometimes a good piece of silky milk chocolate just hits the spot.
veggieout at 4:27PM on 08/10/09
sometimes, the only thing that will cure a chocolate craving is a Hershey's bar. especially if you alternate bites of Hershey's with handfuls of popcorn.
colordiva02 at 4:40PM on 08/10/09
i agree with tapioca and veggieout, you missed two of the best milk chocolates around
GoodEatsNJ at 4:45PM on 08/10/09
my hotel keeps a chocolate stash conveniently located . . at my desk!! and while i usually resist eating any and all (because once you start, you can't stop) this article forced me to reach for 3 pieces. thanks serious eats. thanks.
emoelely at 4:48PM on 08/10/09
+1 for Cote d'Or. Fell in love with it when I was overseas and have finally been able to buy it locally. Force myself to hold off on that most of the time, but I feel the old familiar tingle beginning....
lemons at 4:52PM on 08/10/09
sounds like you should do choco tasting part deux..!
and @emoelely: i'm about to dig into my stash too-ha.
gastronomeg at 4:55PM on 08/10/09
Right on veggie out! Cadbury's! Cadbury's from england (different from the stuff packaged here) will make a team of dark chocolate lover's go milky. I luv valrhona for baking.
Cantaloupe Alone at 4:57PM on 08/10/09
Next time we do a tasting, we'll post asking for input on what we should gather. Almost every time we do one, we always get "Where is XYZ?!?!"
Adam Kuban at 4:57PM on 08/10/09
I've always been drawn to Ritter Sport because it seems like the "Gatorade" of the chocolate family, something to enjoy midway through your 10k run, I imagine it contains electrolytes and other essential nutrients for an active lifestyle, which is why they call it "Sport."
redfish at 5:02PM on 08/10/09
Don't forget Scharffen berger's milk almond (milk chocolate with "sea salted almonds". Revelatory.
okupin at 5:27PM on 08/10/09
Milka chocolate from Germany. Fell in love with it when I took German in college. I'm not a fan of milk chocolate most of the time, but Milka and Trader Joe's brand are my go-tos.
amanda0730 at 5:37PM on 08/10/09
I second Milka.
hmw0029 at 5:42PM on 08/10/09
Lindt reminds me of margarine both in texture and artificial flavor, which is just gross. I avoid buying mass produced chocolate and stick to artisan chocolates.
yayfood at 6:32PM on 08/10/09
The Alpine Milk Chocolate from Ritter sport is a far superior milk chocolate in my opinion. I have been enjoying these chocolate squares for quite some time and have always been amused at the choice to go with sport as a marketing tool for chocolate.
dennisharvey at 7:29PM on 08/10/09
this isn't at all about milk chocolate, but i am sitting hear reading this and just took a bite into a stem ginger and honey chocolate truffle i purchased at the borough market in london--and i think my life just changed because of it.
veggieout at 7:34PM on 08/10/09
i also buy only chocolate made by artisans. i pay them in mead and lute strings.
bobbob at 7:52PM on 08/10/09
lol @ bobbob.
These taste-test things always make me munchier than usual (I always get mysterious cravings when I read SE, but even more so than usual as of late).
hungryhungryhippo at 8:09PM on 08/10/09
I don't eat much milk chocolate at all, don't really care for it. I'm a super dark chocolate fan. I wanted to make a triple chocolate cookie recipe and broke down and bought a starbucks milk chocolate bar...it was better than most of the milk chocolates i've tried, but a little pricy for being sold at walmart
honeywheat at 11:13PM on 08/10/09
i adore scharffenberger milk chocolate.
cybercita at 12:04AM on 08/11/09
i think the choco doodle was really well done
foodinmouth at 12:04AM on 08/11/09
fyi bobbob I added what you said as a quote on my facebook. hilarious.
Yeah, where is Milka? Green & Black's Milk Chocolate may be wild, but their Toffee flavour is un-freakin-real.
krr07a at 12:51AM on 08/11/09
I was given a tin of Lindt's milk chocolates as a Christmas gift one year....absolutely delicious!!! Didn't want to share!
jlewfoodie at 2:06AM on 08/11/09
Green & Blacks 'darker' milk chocolate is fantastic for baking...it makes everything about 37% more chocolatey. And there's nothing wrong with that. They have a new 'milkier' milk chocolate of which I am not a fan.
If I buy a product from Lindt, it will be Lindor Truffles. Like heaven in a chocolatey ball. Seriously.
NotAmerican at 2:07AM on 08/11/09
Whoa, there. Are YOU guys serious? G&B is amazing. Intensely cocoa-y rather than sugarly, without that overly-sweet-turned-sour aftertaste that most milk chocolate has. I love it! Lindt and Ritter sport are nice texture-wise but so, so...BORING. All milk and sugar.
Hm. To each his own I guess. But chocolate riles me up. D:
Pammeh at 4:40AM on 08/11/09
Third for Milka. I have to say I find Hershey's one of the most unappealing chocolate bars. Lindt is by far the best one you tested.
masalha at 5:11AM on 08/11/09
I'm sure there are plenty of brands that didn't get hit in this taste test, but particularly surprised to see that Vosges was omitted. Their "deep milk chocolate" is outstanding, but maybe it's a little too dark for this taste test - I think it's 40-45% cacao. It's the type of chocolate they use in the original Mo's Bacon Chocolate Bar, which is one of my all-time favorite chocolate bars.
toad3000 at 9:04AM on 08/11/09
I think Serious Eats needs more of Robyn's doodles.
emgroff at 10:49AM on 08/11/09
No Godiva? I thought they were still widespread.
I love lindt, especially their truffles.
SpatulaQueen at 11:16AM on 08/11/09
that's some funny stuff @bobbob, made my morning, thanks!
leighana at 11:22AM on 08/11/09
I think the Theo Milk bar is great, as is the Askinosie bar... and the single-origin milk chocolate bar from Santander, available in most groceries, is fantastic! I know they bulk sell their chocolate to the finer chocolatiers in the US too. Creamy, not too vanilla and not too sweet. Smooth, with a hit of bitter. Look for it in the chocolate bar section, it has a yellow outer box.
jcpaula at 12:23PM on 08/11/09
Just an aside... the "sport" in Ritter Sport refers to the fact that its square shape was designed to fit in the pocket of a sports jacket (a taller bar would fall out).
smallandshiny at 12:35PM on 08/11/09
I've eaten waaayyy to much Ritter sport in my lifetime. The hazards of having the last name Ritter...
krr07a at 5:30PM on 08/11/09
i agree for the most part with all of this, but i have to say that green & black's toffee flavor is beyond delicious so don't discount them entirely..
i think lindt and ghiradelli are the smoothest chocolates out there, but then again, there are a number of brands out there that i haven't tried!
are you going to test dark chocolate next!? let me know, i'll be there! (for real)
leolove at 9:18PM on 08/11/09
Lake Champlain's Milk Chocolate bar with sea salt and almonds is my absolute favorite -- salty, sweet and just the right amount of crunch! It blows the other bars in the organic category away....just try it you will taste what I mean.
danielle710 at 11:05AM on 08/12/09
I agree, Lindt does make an excellent product. Those who erroneously think that Godiva is 'the thing to buy' should stop for a moment and realize that the original Godiva that was/is made in Belgium is totally different than the substandard manufactured by the US company(Campbells soup) here. It was recently sold to another company. The dairy products used in Europe are different as are the cocoa and fats in it. I believe that many Americans pay high prices for the Godiva here in the US because they feel that they are being connoisseurs of the 'finer things in life' when i actuality they are simply following the line blindly.
fal18 at 11:55AM on 08/13/09
I'd just like to brag a little. Lindt just opened an outlet store about 3 kms from my house. What does this mean? It means that if you go in after xmas, you can get 2 dozen 'Christmas wrapped' lindt truffle ball things for about...$2 CDN...that's even less than $2 for you of the American persuasion. Ditto for all the other holidays. There is always somethign about 75% off. They distribute Ghirardelli as well.
I've had to alter my routes home from places so as not to stop all the time. My ass can't handle it...or rather, my pants can't.
BananaMonkey at 12:46PM on 08/14/09
Cadbury, definitely my favorite, and always has been. When I was a little girl in Nova Scotia, Cadbury Jersey Milk was readily available. But I couldn't get it when I visited my relatives in Syracuse because it wasn't available in the States at that time. Thankfully, Cadbury has become ubiquitious. Carmello is a burst of caramel heaven!
SavtaShayna at 1:07PM on 08/14/09
Dove and Cadbury! Whattup?
Trilby at 9:36AM on 08/15/09
I never liked chocolate growing up, which makes sense when all I had at my disposable were Nestle and Hershey's. Once I went to Australia this summer I couldn't stop eating Cadbury and Kinder though, it was sooo delicious. It makes me think that American chocolate is just not very good...
Also, Ritter Sport for the win! :) My favorite is the one with the biscuit in the center, mmm...
luxie at 10:15AM on 08/15/09
Here's another vote for the Cadbury, but once again the kind you can buy in Boston isn't nearly as nice as what you get in Ireland/England. I find that most American milk chocolate (Hershey's for example) is "waxy" for lack of a better word. Nothing is as nice as a proper Daily Milk with a cuppa on the couch! :)
Aclunney at 5:13PM on 08/15/09
I love milk chocolate, and agree with you about Lindt. Yum.
In round two, I'd suggest adding Dove. And if you've ingested too much milk chocolate to complete round 2, I'm sure you'd get a willing panel among those who have commented.
tschuhster at 9:36AM on 08/17/09
I'm not a true chocaholic because I don't care for dark -- only milk chocolate. I was introduced to Hershey's chunks (forget name, small rectangles, individually wrapped chunks) at of all places, as a giveaway at best Thai restaurant around here. The word may be nuggets, but that doesn't seem right eit her.Delicious. Especially those with almonds.
I too have noted difference in Cadbury's in England and here -- when we lived there for a bit years ago, found out they didn't even sell them in summer because not "preserved" to withstand heat. Probably why they're so good.
aurora89
aurora89 at 10:58AM on 08/17/09
I have to second okupin- by missing the Sharffen Berger milk and milk with salted almonds bars, you are missing the best.
spicegirl at 12:42PM on 08/17/09
I don't know where you are writing from but my alltime favorite (55 years worth) is See's candy. They are on the West coast and fantastic.So creamy, so chocolately, no fakiness. Their truffles are stupendous, white, dark or milk chocolate. They cannot be outdone by anything except for a few things that Moonstruck (Portland Oregon) chocolates has produced.The pecan rolls or molasses chips are possibly my favorites, or maybe the keylime truffles with white chocolate, gooey carmel turtles with almonds or anyone of them at certain times of the month. Give them a try (they mail) you won't regret it.
sallee at 7:35PM on 08/17/09
See's Bordeauxs are the single best pieces of chocolate candy on the planet. Period.
onedrummer at 3:34AM on 08/18/09
Ritter Sport is my absolute favorite! I especially love the one with the buttery biscuit inside-- swoon!
kiki695 at 10:22AM on 08/18/09
Another reason to buy Ritters besides the great taste and handy shape - it is fairly low in carbohydrate and you can break off the appropriate number of "squares" that works into a Diabetic food plan.
Also, for sheer cheapness, the chocolate bars sold at Ikea are really yummy. Haven't got any at the moment to check for name, but it is the only brand they sell, probably something like, "Berskolitz" or "Iglun!"
bareneed at 12:15PM on 08/21/09
@BananaMonkey - if memory serves me correctly, you are from the Chatham, ON, area. I am from London and I woud like to know where the LIndt factory outlet is located - sounds like a day trip comin' up!
bareneed at 12:27PM on 08/21/09
Ritter Sport has always been my favorite Milk Chocolate. If you want a little more quality you should try Ritter Sport Alpenmilch (Alpine Milk).
Another good milk chocolate is Milka (from Germany also).
mmm Ritter Sport, now you gave me a craving lol
velascomike at 8:05PM on 08/22/09