Hi, all!

I got 1/2 lb of each of their milk, semi-sweet and bittersweet.

Anyone know the % cocoa of these?

Thanks!

—ak

I believe the bittersweet is about 53 or 54% —at least that’s what they call it at the Bulk Bark where I had them bring out the giant bag so I could find out for myself!  BUT.. there may be differences in labelling…so have a peek here (scroll to callets):
http://www.chocolatebysparrow.com/callebaut.asp

You could likely gauge by taste.  The 53% has a taste similar to a chocolate chips for cookies.

I believe the Bulk Barn is incorrect: therefore, the semisweet should be 53.5% (Bulk Barn claims it’s bittersweet, but that’s their labelling not Callebaut’s); the bittersweet is 70.4%; and the white is 26% cacao; and the milk is 33.6%—this is for their callets.

Thanks, Sherrie, you’re the best!

Sherrie - 05 February 2012 08:26 PM

I believe the Bulk Barn is incorrect: therefore, the semisweet should be 53.5% (Bulk Barn claims it’s bittersweet, but that’s their labelling not Callebaut’s); the bittersweet is 70.4%; and the white is 26% cacao; and the milk is 33.6%—this is for their callets.

My Callebaut bittersweet is labeled 60%.  I think the 70% is the “extra” bittersweet.  And, BTW, this percent means the percent of cocoa solids, which includes the cocoa butter.

CharlesT - 06 February 2012 12:02 AM

My Callebaut bittersweet is labeled 60%.  I think the 70% is the “extra” bittersweet.  And, BTW, this percent means the percent of cocoa solids, which includes the cocoa butter.

Charles, my bittersweet callets are labelled as 70.4% cocoa solids….is this a Canadian thing ?....I’ve included a link to my (Canadian) source.

http://www.goldaskitchen.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=7147&step=4

Sophia - 06 February 2012 08:57 AM

Charles, my bittersweet callets are labelled as 70.4% cocoa solids….is this a Canadian thing ?....I’ve included a link to my (Canadian) source.

Maybe we should split the difference and call it it 65%?   

Actually, I suspect that these terms aren’t used by Callebaut, which is Belgian after all…both your source and mine, I think, repackage the Callebaut products into smaller packages and apply their own labels.

Thank you both! The plot thickens!

I’ve emailed my store to see if they can email their vendor to see if they know ...

I mean, what freaking century is this, anyway, that it isn’t automatically labeled?  : )

—ak

Anne in NC - 06 February 2012 09:43 AM

I mean, what freaking century is this, anyway, that it isn’t automatically labeled?  : )

“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
  H. L. Mencken

CT—Too funny.

Got the answer, as reported by the distributor:

Bittersweet is 60.3%
Semisweet is 51.8%
Milk is 31.7%
White is 25.9%

I consider these slightly low, slack, percentages.  I’m glad I didn’t buy too much.  I’ll likely have to use a little unsweetened with them!!  They should mix well, enough, though, with other chocolates.

Cool Anne! You have a lot of fun ahead of you!

That’s craziness!  It seems to me that the easiest way to label the chocolate would be with the cocoa solids %.  Why on earth are these descriptive labels used anymore?  Enough ranting.

Anne in NC - 06 February 2012 10:41 AM

Got the answer, as reported by the distributor

Very impressive that they responded so quickly.

Very impressive that they responded so quickly.

Agreed!  The guy at my groc expected it to be at least 1/2 day!

Anne in NC - 06 February 2012 11:30 AM

Agreed!  The guy at my groc expected it to be at least 1/2 day!

Even 1/2 day is good.  Many companies that don’t sell directly to the customer won’t ever respond to email inquiries.  Even ones that do often take a couple of days.

I recently bought an Amish dining room table from a website.  I had sent inquiries to two companies; one of them responded within minutes and I traded emails with the sales person all day while I made my decision.  I didn’t hear from the other company for several days, and this directly affected where I made my purchase.