287187 Mon May 14 11:41:31 -0700 2001 4 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1543387 Generally, what is (or should be) the difference in sugar content between semisweet and bittersweet chocolate? Other differences? Thanks. Mon May 14 11:41:31 -0700 2001 0 chuck 1 1543390 Hi Chuck Chocolate is classified by cacao content. Bittersweet is about 70% cacao. Semisweet tends to be @ 60% cacao. The higher the cacao % the lower the sugar. Chow!!! Mon May 14 14:38:54 -0700 2001 1543387 0 Brandon Nelson 2 1543393 Any idea how much sugar there should be in say 8 oz of bittersweet? Would two ounces of it be sugar? Mon May 14 16:25:26 -0700 2001 1543390 0 chuck 3 1543422 2.4 oz by my (often flawed) math Tue May 15 13:35:15 -0700 2001 1543393 0 Brandon Nelson 1 1543484 Guidelines vary, but a good semi-sweet is 58% cacao "content" or less--this is the sum of the cocoa butter and cocoa solids (the dark paste without the cocoa butter)--so the remaining percentage (42) is essentially sugar, with less than 1% for vanilla and an emulsifier,usually soy-based lecithin. a good chocolate discloses the cacao %--and also has the ingredients on the label. rarely does a manufacturer disclose more--i.e. the exact percentage of cocoa butter, the exact percentage of cocoa solids. this is important because two 58% chocolates could behave and taste very differently--even if they are made by the same manufacturer from the same beans--because if one has more cocoa butter, it will be more fluid--and if the other has less cocoa butter but more cocoa solids, it will be more viscous and thick--and taste more bitter in the mouth. but both would still be listed as 58--still with me? so a good bittersweet--to follow--is 58% and above cacao content, up to about 70%--though most are in the range of 64-66%; that means the sugar content is 100 minus that %, approximately. the category above bittersweet is something called "extra bittersweet" and has been all the rage for awhile--anything above 70% cacao--and would have the lowest sugar content of all. check out this article: http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_38/b3699270.htm bittersweet that can be bought in stores? my recommendations: try Michel Cluizel--my favorite--from echocolates.com; when I lived in SoHo I saw block SharffenBerger in the Gourmet Garage; and lots of places have block Valrhona now--look for "Manjari" or "Caraibe," my favorite two varieties of Valrhona. NY Cake and Baking has the best price I've seen for block Valrhona retail, though I haven't been there in a while. you should realize, though, that the whole notion of a good chocolate is relative--it depends on what you are going to do with it. for eating straight out of the hand or for ganache and confectionery, it matters. for baking--where you are going to heat the chocolate up--it doesn't matter as much and you could buy a less good chocolate and still get good results. but you'll probably find, as I have, that truly excellent chocolate is addictive--and as hard a habit to break as giving up grinding your own arabica beans and going back to Maxwell House. Wed May 16 15:15:25 -0700 2001 1543387 0 Steve Klc