DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHOCOLATES
If you are looking for a more intense chocolate flavor you can use bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet. For the most part, semisweet and bittersweet can be used in baking interchangeably, depending on personal preferences. Bittersweet chocolate is at least 35% pure chocolate with some small amount of sugar added. In Europe it might be labeled dark chocolate.
It’s usually – but not always – darker and less sweet than semisweet.
Specific sweetness and color intensity varies by manufacturer’s recipes and cacao bean sources. It can be used for baking and straight eating.
Semisweet chocolate is also at least 35 percent pure chocolate, but it has added cocoa butter and usually a bit more sugar. It’s the most versatile chocolate, and you’ll see it called for over and over again in all kinds of baking recipes. It comes in many forms such as block, discs, squares, and chips. It also can be used for baking and eating.
