EmailBest Reviewed
Baking Chocolate
- Best baking chocolate overall Callebaut Intense Dark Chocolate L-60-40NV *Est. $8
- Best supermarket chocolate Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar *Est. $3
- Best gourmet dark chocolate Valrhona Manjari *Est. $4
- Best unsweetened chocolate Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Pure Dark Chocolate *Est. $9
- Best chocolate chips Guittard Classic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips *Est. $2
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Best supermarket chocolate
- Right balance of sweet and bitter
- Easy to find
- Complex, with notes of fruit and coffee
- Small bars easy to chop
- Far superior to other supermarket baking bars, such as Baker's
- Not as complex or rich as some other chocolates
- More expensive than other supermarket brands
Cook's Illustrated, the San Francisco Chronicle and the blog Chocolate in Context have all reviewed Ghirardelli's bittersweet baking bar. With the exception of Cook's, these publications taste chocolate plain. We appreciate the fact that Cook's testers cooked with Ghirardelli chocolate instead of just sampling it plain.
Reviewers are in solid agreement that Ghirardelli is the best baking chocolate. Not only is it readily available, it strikes a good balance between sweetness and bitterness. According to reviewers, this chocolate melts into glossy puddings and rich-tasting brownies. It is not, however, as complex in flavor as top-rated Callebaut Intense Dark Chocolate L-60-40NV (*est. $8.75 for 17.5 ounces), which is only available in large chunks or bars and costs less per ounce than Ghirardelli.
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Our Sources
1. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Cook's Illustrated staffers sample 12 dark chocolate bars, each of which contain about 60 percent cacao. Ghirardelli competes with Callebaut Intense Dark and Dagoba, among other bars.
Review: Tasting Dark Chocolate, Editors of Cook's Illustrated, Jan. 2008
2. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
This older report, in which 20 editors taste nine chocolate bars raw, in chocolate sauce and baked into a cake, is still useful for shoppers. Ghirardelli Bittersweet Premium Baking Bar is among those considered.
Review: Tasting Dark Chocolate, Editors of Cook's Illustrated, Mar. 2004
Testers sample 14 widely available dark chocolate bars and taste each one raw. Ghirardelli figures among the unranked chocolates tasted.
Review: Panel Deems Dagoba Best Dark Chocolate, Carol Ness, Jan. 7, 2004
Emily Stone interviews Elizabeth Falkner, owner of San Francisco restaurant Citizen Cake, about her favorite chocolates. Although it isn't her favorite, Falkner likes Ghirardelli.
Review: Chocolate Rosebud: Wisdom from Elizabeth Falkner, Emily Stone, Oct. 29, 2007
Baking Chocolate Runners Up:
3 picks by top review sites.
