SaurabhWhat’s the most popular brand of cookies? We all know the answer is Oreos. They are enjoyed around the world, and many questions have been asked and need answers.
Over the years there have been hundreds of Oreo flavors, with mint, vanilla, double stuf, lemon, birthday cake, mocha caramel latte, etc. Some are on the shelves and some people want flavors that were taken away back on the shelves. Even though there are so many choices, we are talking about the good ole classic Oreos with the sugary, plain white creme. They are still absolutely delicious and the first Oreos ever.
So, are Oreos really chocolate, or is it considered just a cookie? What are they even made of? Are they milk or dark chocolate? I have all the oreo answers you need.
Is Oreo Original Chocolate?
Starting strong with the questions about the topic of this article, are Oreos made of chocolate? According to the ingredients on a package of Oreos, they do indeed contain REAL chocolate, as well as cocoa powder. There is a smaller amount of real chocolate, but a large amount of cocoa powder.
If you have ever taken the cookie pieces off and eaten them without the creme center, I believe you would agree that the cookies taste a little like chocolate. There is a difference in the taste of real chocolate and an Oreo cookie. But at the same time, there is a little taste of chocolate.
How Much Real Chocolate Is In Oreos?
So, how much real chocolate is actually in an Oreo cookie if there is more cocoa powder and less real chocolate? As I have mentioned above, there is only a small amount of real chocolate, while the larger amount is cocoa powder.
However, I can’t seem to find any percentages for the two. Oreos are made with cocoa, just look at the color of the cookie. The cookie is a darkish brown color or a black color to some people. The chocolate part isn’t extremely noticeable.
What Is An Oreo Made Of?
Oreos have two different parts to them. There are delicious, chocolatey cookies, with a creamy white creme filling in between them. Multiple ingredients make up the classic Oreo cookie, but I will get to them soon.
There is no exact ingredient list given out to the public about what the Oreo creme is made of, but through the list of ingredients, you can kind of get an idea of what the creme is made of. The creme could be made up of soy lecithin, high fructose syrup, artificial flavor, sugar, and canola or palm oil.
Together the cookie and the creme work. They compliment each other very well with the sweet, sugary taste of the creme paired with the dark, crunchy feeling of the cookies. It is no wonder why this brand is the most popular.
Why Do Oreos Not Taste Like Chocolate?
I believe there are two different answers. Some people may think they taste like chocolate or cocoa. However, the other answer would be that some people may not think so.
There is no straight answer because everyone’s taste buds are different and everyone perceives the taste of chocolate differently. Whether or not you think it does, everyone is different.
So, there is no true answer to the question, “why do Oreos not taste like chocolate”. Everyone tastes things differently and everyone has their own opinion. It depends on your tastebuds.
Is Oreo Dark Chocolate?
Is Oreo dark chocolate? Well, the answer here is pretty simple. The classic Oreos are considered wafer cookies, but it is not considered dark chocolate. It is made of mostly cocoa powder.
Cocoa powder is a pretty popular ingredient to use in a lot of baking where you need the cocoa taste. I know I have asked myself this question and I’m sure many people have too. Is cocoa dark or milk chocolate? Cocoa powder is neither dark nor milk chocolate according to professional bakers.
They have made dark chocolate Oreos, which have dark chocolate creme, but the classic Oreos aren’t. They don’t have a lot of chocolate in them, to begin with. With that in mind, there are dark chocolate Oreos, they just are not the classic Oreos this is about.
Oreo Ingredients
There is always a nutrition label on everything food related, The nutrition labels give you the information you need about calories, sugars, trans fats, serving size, etc. Another thing that the nutrition label has on it, is the ingredients.
The ingredients are very important to have so you know what is in them. The list of ingredients for the classic Oreos is a pretty long one, which is pretty accurate for any type of packaged food item. That is why I am here. I will make sure you get the full list of Oreo ingredients for the classic Oreo cookies.
You can find the ingredients on the right side of the nutrition label, and the nutrition label is usually on the back of the packages. Oreos are made from the following ingredients:
- Unbleached enriched flour(wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, folic acid)
- Sugar
- Palm and/or canola oil
- Cocoa(processed with alkali)
- High fructose corn syrup
- Leavening (baking soda and/or calcium phosphate)
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Soy lecithin
- Vanillin-an artificial flavor
- Chocolate
- Contains: Wheat, Soy
What Were Oreos Originally Called?
When they first started Oreos weren’t called Oreos. In 1898, several baking companies, including the company Nabisco. This is the start of the Oreo cookie. Nabisco came up with a whole new cookie, or so they thought. The new cookie idea was very similar to a cookie that was already invented by a company called Sunshine Biscuits, which called their cookie Hydrox. Nabisco never claimed that they were the inspiration, though both companies made decorated cookies, with white creme in between.
In 1912, the original name for Oreos was Oreo biscuit. However, the name changed quite a few times. In 1921, it was changed to the name Oreo Sandwich. It changed yet again in 1937, becoming the Oreo creme sandwich. In 1974, it was changed for the last and final time. They finally settled on the name Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie, which the public shortened to Oreos.
Now, where did the name Oreo come from? Some speculate that they came up with the name Oreo, from the word cream and the word chocolate. They think that the r and e from cream and the two O’s are from chocolate, creating the word OREO.
Some others think it may be from the French word, doré, which means “gold”. They believe this because apparently, the main color of the early packaging was a goldish color. However, there hasn’t been any real answer to where the name originated from.
Why Are Oreos So Black?
I believe the reason that some may think classic Oreos are dark chocolate is because of the dark color of the cookies. The darkness is caused by the large amounts of cocoa powder in it. Oreos are made with alkalized cocoa, also known as dutch-process cocoa powder. This kind of cocoa is considered one of the most used in baking that needs it.
This is the main reason why Oreos appear so dark. To understand why cocoa makes such a dark color, we need to briefly dive into some dutch-process cocoa powder details. A Dutch chemist named Coenraad Van Houten created a process to make cocoa differently and uniquely that hasn’t been done before.
He incorporated an idea by the Aztecs, who were the original people to cultivate the cocoa plant thousands of years before. The way it is made is by treating the cocoa beans with pressure, separating the cocoa butter from the beans, then grinding them into a powder.
Once this process was invented and shared, it became an amazing way for companies like Cadbury, and the Oreos which are now owned by Mondelez International. Cadbury is one of the producers of Oreos as well.
Van Houten originally wanted to create a way to improve natural cocoa powder with chemical alkalis and invented a way to remove the cocoa butter fat from the beans. The result? A dry material that is so much easier to pulverize.
Now that we have answered some burning questions with thorough answers, it is time to go back to the original question, which is, “Is Oreo Considered Chocolate?” I am going to say it is made of a little real chocolate, but the main ingredient would be the cocoa powder it’s made with.
The cocoa powder is the reason for the extremely dark color, even though Mondelez International won’t admit there is an actual color. The color is pretty much dark, whether it is dark brown or black.
Oreos are one of the best cookie brands out there and today we figured out why, including what the original name is and the type of cocoa they are made with.
