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I feel like a real dummy but I need some help. I have a recipe that is calling for 8 oz of semi sweet chocolate finely chopped. I'm thinking that means a semi sweet chocolate bar chopped up. I read where a lady said each square is an ounce of chocolate but on the box it says there is 4 ounces but I bought the box and when I got it home and opened it, there are 8 squares in it. Why does the box say 4 ounces if each square is an ounce and there are 8 squares?

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    Well, if you need 8oz and one box says 4oz, I hope you bought two? Just because some chocolate comes in squares of 1oz, there is no standard that stipulates all chocolates are sold with the same design. Or simply put, the brand you bought has 1/2oz squares.
    – Stephie
    Commented Oct 8, 2017 at 17:59
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    "I read where a lady said each square is an ounce of chocolate" might have been correct in her example, but is hardly a reference statement.
    – user3169
    Commented Oct 9, 2017 at 5:35

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Bakers Chocolate used to come in 1-ounce squares, but doesn't anymore. This has caused me some confusion (and unexpected recipe results!) in the past, since decades of recipes specified chocolate quantities by squares, rather than by ounces.

I have no idea why they made the change. But, the solution/workaround is to go by weight rather than by squares. If a recipe calls for 8 ounces, look at the package and figure out how many packages (or fraction of a package) you'll need -- in this case, two packages. If a recipe calls for squares (e.g. "8 squares"), then keep in mind that used to mean one ounce per square, figure out the weight (8 ounces), and purchase / add to recipe accordingly.

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  • Possibly to make it easier to break the bar into small pieces for melting.
    – user3169
    Commented Oct 9, 2017 at 5:36

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