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    Premium Chocolate Bars: A Cheat Sheet

    By | Shine Food – Fri, Jan 29, 2010 6:51 PM EST

    Some of the most familiar names in chocolate are touting the cacao percentages of new premium bars. Why did they have to go and ruin the fun with math? Here's a cheat sheet from our taste test, for chocolate-bar lovers.


    CACAO RESERVE BY HERSHEY'S
    35% Premium Milk Chocolate
    This newcomer is just slightly darker than a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar (29%)-and sweet and creamy enough to please the youngest chocolate fans.
    Try it in Double Chocolate Fondue »


    NESTLÉ CHOCOLATIER PREMIUM BAKING CHOCOLATE CHUNKS
    53% Cacao Dark Chocolate
    If you like snacking on semisweet chocolate chips, you'll eat these up, too. They're a bit less sweet than semisweet chocolate, which falls in the mid-40% range.
    Try it in Dark-Chocolate-Ginger Crinkles »


    LINDT EXCELLENCE ORIGINS MADAGASCAR
    65% Cacao Bar
    A high percentage of cacao means lower sugar content. Test your tolerance for dark chocolate with this new bar: A hint of vanilla tempers the bitterness.
    Try it in Peppermint Chocolate Cookies »


    E. GUITTARD
    72% Cacao
    Black-coffee drinkers will dig this chocolate. At 72% cacao, there's not much sugar and no added butter, just serious cacao flavor.
    Try it in Brownie Bites »


    SCHARFFEN BERGER
    99% Cacao Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
    This is one of the most intense chocolates on the market. Take one bite and you'll understand why it's meant for baking, not snacking.
    Try it in Chocolate-Chile Cake »

    By Every Day with Rachael Ray staff | Photography by Levi Brown

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