Sugar vs. sweeteners
The two formulations of the chocolate formulator, which sweeteners each one uses, and when to choose each option.
What is it?
The Formulation type: control offers two options, With sugar and With sweeteners. Your choice changes the ingredient that provides the sweetness and, therefore, the lines you see in the resulting composition.
With sugar (classic formulation)
- Uses sugar (sucrose) as the only source of sweetness.
- Standard, familiar sensory behavior.
- Classic labeling.
Recommended when the brand or the client asks for traditional chocolate, with no dietary claims.
With sweeteners
Replaces sugar with a fixed combination of three sweeteners, each with its own role:
- Erythritol — main sweetener (provides the bulk of the sweet volume).
- Xylitol — complementary sweetener (texture and stability).
- Monk fruit — high-intensity sweetener (fine-tunes the profile).
In the resulting composition, the sweetness is broken down into three lines in grams: Main sweetener:, Compl. sweetener:, and High-intensity sweetener:.
AreaCacao does not make health claims by default. The sweetener formulation is prepared for your technical use; you decide how to label the final product according to the regulations of your market.
When to choose each one
| Need | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Traditional premium product | With sugar |
| No-added-sugar line | With sweeteners |
| Diabetic-friendly line | With sweeteners (check your local regulations) |
| Quick test with a familiar profile | With sugar |
What changes in the formula?
If you switch between With sugar and With sweeteners while keeping the same type and the same cocoa percentage, the cocoa mass and cocoa butter stay in similar proportions: what changes is that the sugar line is split into the three sweetener lines (Erythritol, Xylitol, and Monk fruit).
Chocolate types
The 5 types supported by the formulator, with their exact cocoa percentage ranges, their fluidity factor, and the composition of each one.
Fluidity indicator
What the Fluidity factor of the chocolate formulator is, its range, the visual drop indicator, and why white chocolates lock it to 0.61.