ObservanceSunday, November 7, 2027
National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
- Date
- Recurs
- Every year on November 7
- Category
- Food
National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day is marked on November 7. Who started it, and when, is not documented in any source worth citing. What can be stated precisely is what the label means: under the federal standard of identity, "bittersweet" and "semisweet" chocolate are the same thing — one definition with two interchangeable names.
History
The origin of this observance is not well documented. No founding organization, proclamation or first observance traces back to a primary or otherwise acceptable source. The date circulates through daily-holiday aggregators, which is not evidence of anything, and this page will not invent a founder to fill the gap.
The regulation behind the name is a different matter, and it is more interesting than the holiday. The Food and Drug Administration's standard of identity for sweet chocolate, 21 CFR 163.123, sets a floor of 15 percent chocolate liquor by weight at paragraph (a)(2). Paragraph (a)(3) then defines the darker grade: "Semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate is sweet chocolate that contains not less than 35 percent" chocolate liquor by weight. One definition, two names, and the regulation's nomenclature paragraph permits either on the label. A bar sold as bittersweet and a bar sold as semisweet can be identical in composition, and neither word tells you anything beyond "35 percent or more." That is why a 54 percent bar and a 72 percent bar can both legitimately be called bittersweet.
The almonds are inside the standard too, though barely. Paragraph (b)(3) lists ground whole nut meats among the optional spices, flavorings and seasonings a sweet chocolate may contain, alongside ground coffee, salt and dried malted cereal extract.
Almost all of the almonds are American and almost all of the American ones are Californian. The Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated California's 2022 bearing almond acreage at 1,350,000 acres, with 1,380,000 acres preliminary for 2023, out of 1,630,000 total acres planted. Nonpareil led all varieties by bearing acreage, followed by Monterey, Independence, Butte and Carmel.
How to observe
Read the number, not the word. Because "bittersweet" is a legal floor rather than a description, the cacao percentage printed on the wrapper is the only part of the label carrying information. Buy two bars at clearly different percentages — say the mid-50s and the low 70s — both with almonds, and taste them side by side. The difference you notice is the part the word on the front cannot tell you.
If you can find a bar that names its almond variety, buy that one. Growers distinguish Nonpareil from Monterey or Carmel sharply; confectioners rarely pass that distinction on to the wrapper, and almost no chocolate bar names it at all.
Frequently asked questions
Is bittersweet chocolate the same as semisweet chocolate?
Under federal law, yes. 21 CFR 163.123(a)(3) gives a single definition — sweet chocolate containing not less than 35 percent chocolate liquor — and allows either name on the label.
Does bittersweet chocolate have a minimum cacao percentage?
It has a minimum of 35 percent chocolate liquor by weight. There is no upper limit and no further federal gradation above that floor, which is why the percentage on the wrapper, not the word, is the useful number.
Who created National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day?
No acceptable source names a founder or a first year. The origin of this observance is not well documented.
Where do the almonds come from?
Overwhelmingly California. USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated 1,350,000 bearing almond acres there in 2022, with Nonpareil the leading variety by acreage.
Is the plain chocolate in a bar held to the same standard?
Sweet chocolate generally must contain at least 15 percent chocolate liquor by weight under 21 CFR 163.123(a)(2). Only at 35 percent or more may it be sold as semisweet or bittersweet.
When is National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | November 7 | Sunday |
| 2028 | November 7 | Tuesday |
| 2029 | November 7 | Wednesday |
| 2030 | November 7 | Thursday |
| 2031 | November 7 | Friday |
Sources
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 163.123 — Sweet chocolate (2013 edition PDF; the current eCFR text could not be retrieved while this page was written) — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2013-title21-vol2/pdf/CFR-2013-title21-vol2-sec163-123.pdf → the 15 percent chocolate liquor minimum at (a)(2); the single "semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate" definition at not less than 35 percent chocolate liquor at (a)(3); both names permitted in the nomenclature paragraph; ground whole nut meats among the optional ingredients at (b)(3).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 California Almond Acreage Report, released April 27, 2023 — https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Almond/Acreage/202304almac.pdf → 1,350,000 bearing acres in 2022; 1,380,000 acres preliminary for 2023; 1,630,000 total acres; Nonpareil leading all varieties by bearing acreage, followed by Monterey, Independence, Butte and Carmel.
- Not sourced, and therefore not claimed: the observance's founder, its founding year, and any first observance. Nothing beyond daily-holiday aggregators names any of them.
- Note on the omitted Timeline: no dated milestone for this observance, or for the pairing of bittersweet chocolate with almonds specifically, could be established from an acceptable source, so the Timeline field is deliberately empty rather than filled with aggregator dates.
- Rejected as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, confectionery-marketing blogs and recipe-site listicles, all of which supply an origin for this day without evidence.
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