Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Bar chart of minimum cacao required by U.S. standard: bittersweet 35 percent, sweet chocolate 15, milk chocolate 10 and confectionery coating none, against Marmels at 62 percent

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Compound Chocolate vs Real Chocolate: How to Tell Them Apart

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Aug 25 2026
Bite into a chocolate-covered pretzel that feels faintly waxy and you have met compound chocolate without being told its name. The whole difference is one ingredient: cocoa butter, which melts near 34 degrees Celsius, versus a cheaper palm or coconut fat that does not. United States Food and Drug Administration standards keep the word "chocolate" off the front of the package when that swap happens. Here is what the regulation requires, and three checks that settle it in seconds.
Bar chart of total sugar in a 60 g bar: Marmels 62 percent cacao 12 g, 70 to 85 percent dark 15 g, 60 to 69 percent 22 g, 45 to 59 percent 29 g and milk chocolate 31 g

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

How Much Sugar Is in Dark Chocolate?

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Aug 20 2026
Two bars on the same shelf both say "dark chocolate." One is 47% cacao and one is 72%, and the first holds roughly twice the sugar. The percentage on the front of the wrapper is a sugar ceiling in disguise: 70-85% cacao averages about 24 grams of sugar per 100 grams, while 45-59% averages 49. Here is the full breakdown by tier, what those grams mean against a daily budget, and the three things the percentage will not tell you.