Any type of chocolate, whether white, dark, or milk, all begins with the beans of the cacao tree. The trees, which can only be grown in a narrow region 20° above or below the equator, produce the cocoa bean, the main ingredient used to make chocolate.
The transformation from raw, bitter beans into commercial chocolate is a lengthy process. The beans have to be fermented, dried, and roasted. Later in processing, the formulation for each chocolate variety diverges.
Milk chocolate contains additional milk ingredients, usually in the form of milk powder. White chocolate is made without cocoa powder, explaining its lack of brown coloring. Finally, dark chocolate is produced without any milk powder, meaning the cocoa is more concentrated. For years, these three chocolates reigned.
In 2017, the world was introduced to a pink-hued chocolatey treat named Ruby. Swiss company Barry Callebaut created the first rose-colored cacao product, something people had never seen before or even imagined could exist.
Nearly two years after its introduction to the world, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally gave Barry Callebaut the go-ahead to sell and market Ruby as chocolate.
