Callebaut W2 is a Belgian white chocolate with 28% cocoa butter and 22% milk, packed as 22 pounds of callets. Like the 811 dark, it is one of the original recipes of company founder Octaaf Callebaut, and it has grown into the white chocolate many chefs keep on hand for everything from enrobing to mousse.

The taste is a study in balance: pronounced milky and creamy notes, a caramel sweetness, and a clear thread of vanilla, none of them shouting over the others. It melts to an ivory pool with a silky, mouth coating finish, and the medium fluidity makes it an all round performer. It coats bars and cookies in a smooth, pale shell, molds and pipes cleanly, pans nuts and dried fruit, and takes color beautifully for airbrush work. In a mousse or ganache it brings a gentle dairy sweetness that pairs easily with fruit, nuts, and spice.

Callebaut CW2 White Chocolate Callets (25.9%) is the thicker melting version for ganache and hollow figures, while Velvet White Chocolate Callets (32%) dials back the sugar for a milkier, more fluid white. For a step up in quality, Cacao Barry Blanc Satin (29.2%) adds milk fat for a richer, creamier melt.