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Semisweet Chocolate
Balanced sweetness with real cocoa bitterness underneath, less sugary than milk chocolate.
Lens analyzedSemisweet chocolate sits between bittersweet and milk chocolate in sugar content, typically around 35-55% cacao, and is the standard chocolate for chocolate chips and baking bars in North American recipes. It holds its shape well at room temperature, which is why chip form keeps its structure through baking.
Where it comes from
Semisweet became the default baking chocolate in the United States largely through Nestlé's mid-20th-century marketing of chocolate chips for cookies, which standardized a sugar level that had been far more variable before. That standardization is why most American cookie recipes assume this specific chocolate style.
Buying it
Check the cacao percentage on the label if a recipe specifies one; bars and chips both work, though chips are formulated to hold their shape while bars melt more smoothly.
Storing it
Store it in a cool, dry pantry away from direct heat; chocolate can develop a pale bloom if it warms and then cools again, though it stays safe to eat.
Keeps about 1 year in the pantry.
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