In Defense Of Milk Chocolate

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First of all, thank you for voting on the chocolate survey. Thanks for satisfying yet another one of my, “I wonder…?”

In a food community I frequent and where I posted about the strawberries, a few gave me flack for using milk chocolate. It felt as if I announced I read pocket paperbacks to a theatre full of elitist bookworms. Que horror! Sadly, milk chocolate gets a bad rap. I’m not sure why. Do chocolate snobs feel holier than thou for eating “purer” chocolate? Do you feel better that you can appreciate it when others can’t? Are those limited to dark, sugar-free chocolates for health reasons wish they could go back to their milk chocolates? Is one type better than the other? OH? Why? Why can’t we all be entitled to eat whatever chocolate we like without getting an upturned nose and asked why we like “crap”? Sharing a box of chocolate varieties would be hellish then if we all wanted the same thing. I’ll take the caramels and milk chocolates and feel free to fight over the darks, thanks.

I eat all kinds of chocolate, and prefer one over the others depending on my mood. I’m an equal opportunity eater and I try to be as open-minded about other people’s preferences as much as possible. When I read the comment that I made someone cringe because I used milk chocolate, I was instantly reminded of what Nick Hornby said about reading on the preface of his book, Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt:

“…reading for enjoyment is what we should all be doing. [...] I simply mean that turning pages should not be like walking through thick mud. The whole purpose of books is that we read them, and if you find you can’t, it might not be your inadequacy that’s to blame. “Good” books can be pretty awful sometimes.

The regrettable thing about the culture war we still, after all these years, seem to be fighting is that it divides books into two camps: the trashy and the worthwhile. No one who is paid to talk about books for a living seems to be able to convey the message that this isn’t how it works, that “good” books can provide every bit as much pleasure as “trashy” ones. [...] Read anything, as long as you can’t wait to pick it up again.”

This is similar to what the NY Times article Dark May Be King, but Milk Chocolate Makes a Move** mentioned from an interview with a chocolatier:

“These pure origins are because we chocolatiers want people to think that chocolate is serious and adult like wine, but underneath it is not,” said Stéphane Bonnat, whose family began making chocolate in 1884. “The first thing we have when we close our eyes and taste must be the pleasure we remember from being 10 years old.” And that pleasure, almost invariably, was from milk chocolate.

I implore you to read the article when you have the time, because as fellow foodies I think we need to be informed. It’s important to learn to embrace the fact that we have choices exactly because everyone has different tastes, and it shouldn’t mean that one taste is superior over the other. It’s food…it’s there to be enjoyed! You might not like it, I might not like it — does that mean it’s bad? Who’s to say what the other person should like? That said, dark chocolate is not the end all and be all.

If you think milk chocolate tastes and costs ‘cheap’, you need to expand your horizons and check out your gourmet shops. You’d be surprised at the quality and range of prices for all sorts of chocolates. One of my favorites is the Green & Black’s with 34% chocolate — smooth as silk, and it has a nice sweetness to it that is not overpowering.

I love it when people take pleasure in their food because it brings them joy, and not just because it’s the hottest trend in town or the coolest thing to be seen eating. Let’s eat for our own pleasures and be merry. Cheers and Happy Friday!

** Thank you for pointing out this article.