DEBUNK Cacoa content: US 10% requirement is only the cocoa powder, the EU requirement is ALL cocoa materials, including the cocoa butter. Both Hershey's and Cadbury have the SAME amount of cacoa after factoring this in. Sugar: This misconception comes from milk being labeled before sugar in EU and after sugar in the US. This actually comes down to the difference in how milk is labeled. In the US the milk is weighed by it's powdered milk form, while in EU the milk is weighed by it's liquid form, adding a lot of water-weight that's not present in the final product, yet still reflected in the label. Hershey's and Cadbury milk chocolate have very similar sugar contents. Fats: This depends greatly on the specific chocolate manufacturer, but the US actually takes the win here, as in the US they only use Cocoa butter, but in EU they use a mix of cocoa butter and vegetable oil (don't believe me? check the ingredient label of a Cadbury bar from the US and one from EU, the EU one will have vegetable oil, the US one won't). Coca beans: I'd say this is a good point, but... It only applies to small chocolate manufacturers. Industrial chocolate manufacturers Conch the cocoa beans in such a way as to strip those individual flavors from the beans in order to ensure every single bar, no matter which factory it comes from or when it was produced, tastes the same. --- The ACTUAL difference: How the milk is preserved before being used. American chocolate has Butyric Acid added to the milk to stabilize it. This adds a sour taste as this is the same compound responsible for the sour taste of vomit... But also the wonderful sour overtones in parmesan cheese, and several other foods. Europeans use a different process to preserve the milk, so it doesn't get that sour taste.
DEBUNK
Cacoa content: US 10% requirement is only the cocoa powder, the EU requirement is ALL cocoa materials, including the cocoa butter. Both Hershey's and Cadbury have the SAME amount of cacoa after factoring this in.
Sugar: This misconception comes from milk being labeled before sugar in EU and after sugar in the US. This actually comes down to the difference in how milk is labeled. In the US the milk is weighed by it's powdered milk form, while in EU the milk is weighed by it's liquid form, adding a lot of water-weight that's not present in the final product, yet still reflected in the label. Hershey's and Cadbury milk chocolate have very similar sugar contents.
Fats: This depends greatly on the specific chocolate manufacturer, but the US actually takes the win here, as in the US they only use Cocoa butter, but in EU they use a mix of cocoa butter and vegetable oil (don't believe me? check the ingredient label of a Cadbury bar from the US and one from EU, the EU one will have vegetable oil, the US one won't).
Coca beans: I'd say this is a good point, but... It only applies to small chocolate manufacturers. Industrial chocolate manufacturers Conch the cocoa beans in such a way as to strip those individual flavors from the beans in order to ensure every single bar, no matter which factory it comes from or when it was produced, tastes the same.
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The ACTUAL difference: How the milk is preserved before being used.
American chocolate has Butyric Acid added to the milk to stabilize it. This adds a sour taste as this is the same compound responsible for the sour taste of vomit... But also the wonderful sour overtones in parmesan cheese, and several other foods.
Europeans use a different process to preserve the milk, so it doesn't get that sour taste.
Now, Italy's standards are much more strict than in other west european countries (let alone eastern ones)