Is chocolate sweet or savory?

While most people experience chocolate as sweet, it's more accurate to say that commercially available chocolate is made to be sweet. Here's a breakdown:

The Sweetness of Commercial Chocolate

Most commercially produced chocolate is undeniably sweet. This is because manufacturers heavily process it, adding large amounts of sugar, milk, and other additives. These ingredients are used to temper the natural bitterness of cocoa and create a palatable and popular product.

Key points about the sweetness of commercial chocolate:

• High sugar content is the primary driver of its sweetness.
• Milk products contribute to sweetness and a creamy texture.
• Additives are used to adjust flavor profiles and mask cocoa's inherent notes.

The True Nature of Cacao

According to the reference, unprocessed cacao beans—the precursors to chocolate—possess a far more complex and diverse flavor profile that can lend itself to savory applications. They are not inherently sweet. In fact, they can offer:

<ul>
  <li>Contrast</li>
  <li>Brightness</li>
  <li>Richness</li>
  <li>Depth</li>
</ul>

These characteristics enable cacao to be used in a variety of savory dishes. This highlights that the 'sweet' nature of chocolate is a manufacturing decision, not the inherent nature of the cacao from which it's derived.

Conclusion

Therefore, the answer to whether chocolate is sweet or savory is nuanced. While most readily available chocolate is sweet, the source material, cacao, is not inherently sweet and can be utilized in savory applications. The perceived sweetness is primarily due to added sugar and other ingredients.