RSID: <<2025-07-17T23:38Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>

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From Deutsche Welle:

Why US chocolate tastes weird to the rest of the world

Chocolate is popular almost everywhere. But tastes vary
depending on the continent. While some regions like their
chocolate sugary sweet, others prefer more fruity or nutty
notes.

Katharina Abel
July 7, 2025

Chocolate fans can attest to the vast range of flavors that this
sweet treat has to offer, not only from brand to brand, but also
from country to country. Consumer preferences are just as
diverse.

US chocolate tends to be very sweet

Cocoa arrived in the North American colonies as a drink from
Latin America in the 17th century.

The dense, sweet chocolate that is popular today, however, was
brought to the New World by Swiss chocolatiers in the second half
of the 19th century. Despite their common origins, Swiss and US
chocolate taste very different.

In the United States, the most successful brands prioritize a
long shelf life and a flavor that many European palates take some
getting used to.

This is partly due to the use of butyric acid, which gives US
chocolate a slightly sour note — which is often unsettling to
European palates. But the high sugar content and additives such
as corn syrup or vegetable fats are also typical of the flavor of
American chocolate. "What is also very popular there are large,
thick bars with filling," explains German chocolate sommelier
Julia Moser.

European chocolate makers value traditional recipes

In Western Europe — especially in Switzerland, Belgium, France,
and Germany — the focus is on fine taste and high quality.

Chocolate recipes in the EU, for example, are more strictly
regulated than in the US: Milk chocolate must contain at least
25% cocoa solids, and cocoa butter is required as the main fat.
Manufacturers rely on traditional processes such as conching,
which gives chocolate its fine, creamy texture. "The appreciation
for good chocolate is growing here, even though milk chocolate is
still the most widely consumed, because that's what most of us
are used to from childhood," says Moser. "Dark chocolate only
starts to become more popular in adulthood."

Growing markets in India and Africa

In India and other parts of Asia, chocolate is a relatively new
delicacy. Industrial production only began here in the mid-20th
century.

However, the market is now growing rapidly and is replacing
traditional sweets, especially among younger people. "Indian
chocolate is considered an insider tip at the moment," says Julia
Moser, "The cocoa beans there have a very distinctive fruitiness
with a nutty note."

Africa, especially West Africa, is the world's largest producer
of cocoa. However, chocolate consumption there accounted for only
around 4% of the global market in 2018.

This is also due to the heat, which makes it very difficult to
produce chocolate bars, explains Julia Moser: "People there
typically enjoy the fresh pulp of the cocoa beans or make a paste
from roasted beans, which they then use to make chocolate
drinks."

In countries such as Ghana, however, the world's largest cocoa
producer after Cote d'Ivoire, interest in locally produced
chocolate is growing.

In Japan, KitKat bars which come in flavors such as matcha, soy
sauce and wasabi have been cult favorites for years.

The dark side of chocolate production

Despite all the pleasure we derive from delicious and special
types of chocolate, we should not forget the dark side of its
history: Cocoa's triumphant journey from Latin America to the
rest of the world is inextricably linked to colonial
exploitation. It was the European colonial powers that
deliberately introduced the cocoa plant to their tropical
colonies in order to meet growing demand in Europe. Cultivation
and harvesting were carried out with the help of the local
population — usually under inhumane conditions.

And even today, many cocoa farmers are still at the mercy of the
power mechanisms of the global market. Despite their hard work,
many live in extreme poverty because they are not adequately
compensated due to the low prices paid by trading companies.

https://www.dw.com/en/why-chocolate-tastes-different-around-the-world/a-73159385
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A 1930s gas station is now the Flour Girls Baking Company in
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Close-up of the brick painting at the Flour Girls Baking Company
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Sunset over Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
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The Radio Free Europe monitoring station in its old Munich
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Interior shot of the Coe Hall manasion at the Planting Fields
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Sunset at the Spring Peeper Meadow at the Minnesota Landscape
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Our painting of the week is a creation for Mural Mania 2025 in
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