Does Chocolate Contain Dairy?

Have you ever wondered: Does chocolate have milk in it? And how much milk is in milk chocolate, let alone white and dark chocolate? Here's a look at what we found:

Dark Chocolate 

Dark chocolate contains at least 35 percent pure cocoa and may also be referred to as bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, depending on the amount of sugar added. Dark chocolate is made by adding fat and sugar to cocoa, and usually doesn’t contain milk – although some brands may have up to 12 percent. It can be bitter, especially varieties with an 80-plus percentage of cocoa. 

Milk Chocolate

As you may guess, milk chocolate is chocolate made with milk (at least 12 percent) – whether that’s milk powder, liquid milk or condensed milk – as well as cocoa butter and sugar. As a result, milk chocolate tastes creamier than dark chocolate. In the U.S., milk chocolate needs to contain 10 percent pure chocolate. 

White Chocolate 

White chocolate is a type of confection made of sugar, milk, cocoa butter and sometimes vanilla. Some argue that it’s technically not chocolate, since­ it doesn’t contain cocoa solids. While it can vary by brand, white chocolate usually has at least 14 percent milk solids.