The Best White Chocolate Bar On Grocery Shelves Isn't Ghiradelli Or Lindt

Known for producing quality milk and dark chocolates, Ghirardelli and Lindt are heavy hitters in the industry. However, when it comes to the best white chocolate on grocery shelves, these iconic brands aren't it. After tasting several contenders, it was Tony Chocolonely's white chocolate bar that surprisingly took the top spot in our ranking of six grocery store white chocolate bars.

This creamy-colored confection was a winner on two fronts. Firstly, it had an incredibly smooth texture and melted wonderfully in the mouth without leaving any cloying stickiness behind. Secondly, the full-bodied flavor of the white chocolate was buttery, milky, and sweet. While the ingredient list doesn't include vanilla, it had a mild vanilla note to it, which can likely be attributed to the variety of cocoa butter used to produce it (some cocoa butters have a naturally floral quality that is reminiscent of vanilla to some noses). The other notable thing about the Tony's Chocolonely brand is its commitment to eliminating forced child labor and making the chocolate industry fairer by championing a living wage for chocolate farmers who have been systemically underpaid and undervalued.

A 6.35-ounce bar of Tony's Chocolonely white chocolate costs just over $6 at Target, and one of the five-star reviews encapsulated our thoughts completely: "what more can you ask from a chocolate bar? Great taste made with great ingredients from great sources from a company that stands for a great cause."

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with melting white chocolate is opting for chocolate chips versus a bar — the chips contain more stabilizers to prevent them softening and clustering together on store shelves, which makes them harder to melt smoothly for recipes like white chocolate mousse. Selecting a Tony's Chocolonely's white chocolate bar eliminates this issue, as it only contains sugar, cocoa butter, and dry whole milk (along with a single additive called soy lecithin, which lowers its thick viscosity and encourages the chocolate to stay smooth).

Simply break the bar into pieces by hand before melting gently over a double boiler to avoid clumps. You can also zap it for very short spurts in the microwave, taking care to stir it regularly to avoid burning the bottom. Just make sure your bowl and utensils are fully dry as water and steam can cause white chocolate to turn grainy and seize up.

The worst white chocolate in our taste test was Aldi's Choceur because it tasted too milky and had an artificial flavor to it. In terms of texture, it didn't melt as smoothly as the other contenders, such as Lindt's classic white chocolate bar, which ranked in at number two.