Alongside mountains and watches, there’s arguably nothing more synonymous with Switzerland than chocolate. Now, the Swiss national broadcaster SRF has endeavoured to find out what the country’s best milk chocolate is. The results? Controversial…

Which Swiss milk chocolate is best?

While chocolate and Switzerland already go together like two beans in a cacao pod, the country’s biggest achievement related to the food has to be the invention of milk chocolate. Indeed, it was Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter who developed the world’s first milk chocolate in 1875, creating a light, smoother blend that is still enjoyed today.

Now, to determine which milk chocolate rules supreme, SRF’s Kassensturz consumer advice programme brought together six chocolate experts from across Swiss cities and cantons to test 12 of the best-selling brands. The jury rated each chocolate out of five based on its smell, taste, texture, after taste and look. If two chocolate brands were given the same score by the jury, the cheaper of the two (per 100 grams) took the higher spot.

Crucially, to make sure the experts couldn’t be accused of favouritism, all packaging was done away with and all the chocolates were melted down into a standard mould by a professional chocolatier, so as to keep their flavour. 

Canton Ticino produces the best Swiss milk chocolate

According to the jury, the best milk chocolate available in Swiss supermarkets today is the Alprose Vollmilch brand from Canton Ticino, with a score of 4,8 out of five. In the review, experts praised the chocolate for a good balance between milk and chocolate, describing the flavour as “complex, harmonious and nutty.” At 2,25 Swiss francs a bar from Ottos, it is also good value for money.

Coming in second with a score of 4,7 was the Naturaplan Lait Chocolat Bio range from Coop, with the jury praising its "hints of caramel, brown sugar and vanilla." At 1,95 francs per bar, it was also rated as being very good value for money. 

Indeed, SRF found that a higher price tag is not necessarily a guarantee of the best flavour, with the Choba Choba 41 percent Fine Milk Chocolate brand from Alnatura coming mid-table, despite costing a whopping 6,9 francs per bar. However, not all cheap brands were highly rated, with the 0,60 rappen a bar milk chocolate from Denner coming second to last.

Shock as Cailler milk chocolate places last

Finally, at the bottom of the table was none other than Alpenmilchshokolade from Cailler, being given a rating of just four out of five. During the tasting, the chocolate was described as “very very sweet and grainy” by the judges and criticised for its lack of a strong chocolate or milk flavour. Other cult brands like Milka and Frey also found themselves near the bottom of the ranking.

Writing in a statement, Cailler’s owner Nestlé said that they were "very surprised" with the result of the test. The Swiss international company noted that in their own taste test with 250 members of the public: “Cailler milk chocolate was highly rated by the majority.”

Best and worst milk chocolates in Switzerland

In all, here are the 12 best-selling milk chocolate brands in Switzerland, ranked from best to worst:

1. Alprose, Vollmilch (4,8)
2. Naturaplan, Lait Chocolat Bio (4,7)
3. Migros Bio, Au lait - Fairtrade (4,7)
4. Lindt, Milch Extra (4,7)
5. Villars, Lait Suisse (4,5)
6. Choba Choba, 41 percent Fine Milk Chocolate (4,5)
7. Halba, Milch (4,4)
8. Munz, Feinste Milchschokolade (4,4)
9. Frey, Lait (4,3)
10. Milka, Alpenmilch (4,3)
11. Denner, Milch (4,2)
12. Cailler, Aplenmilchschokolade (4)

For more information about the study, check out the SRF website.

Thumb image credit: Carsten Reisinger / Shutterstock.com