Types of chocolate

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Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.
Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.

Chocolate is a name given to products that are derived from cacao which are then mixed with some sort of fat (e.g. cocoa butter, oil) and finely powdered sugar to produce a solid edible product. It exists in several types according to the proportion of ingredients used in a particular recipe. In several instances the use of particular name designations is subject to governmental regulation.

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[edit] Terminology

The cacao bean products from which chocolate is made are known under different names in different parts of the world. In the American chocolate industry:

[edit] Classification

Chocolate is a popular ingredient and is available in many types. Different forms and flavours of chocolate are produced by varying the quantities of the different ingredients. Other flavours can be obtained by varying the time and temperature when roasting the beans.

  • Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate, mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavour. With the addition of sugar, however, it is used as the base for cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.
  • Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to cacao. It is chocolate without milk as an additive. It is sometimes called "plain chocolate". The U.S. Government calls this "sweet chocolate", and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.[2]
  • Milk chocolate is chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added. The U.S. Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids.[2] In the 1870s, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter invented the process of solidifying milk chocolate using condensed milk, recently invented by Henri Nestlé.[3]
    • Hershey process milk chocolate, invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company , is able to be produced more economically, by being less sensitive to freshness of the milk. Although the process is still a trade secret, experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound, also found, for instance, in Parmesan cheese, rancid butter and vomit, gives the product a particular sour, "tangy" taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.[3]
  • Semisweet chocolate is often used for cooking purposes. It is a dark chocolate with a low (typically half) sugar content.
  • Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as 'couverture' (chocolate that contains at least 32 percent cocoa butter); many brands now print on the package the percentage of cocoa (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter) contained. The rule is that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate will be.
  • Couverture is a term used for chocolates rich in cocoa butter. Popular brands of couverture used by professional pastry chefs and often sold in gourmet and specialty food stores include: Valrhona, Felchlin, Lindt & Sprüngli, Scharffen Berger, Cacao Barry, Callebaut, and Guittard. These chocolates contain a high percentage of cocoa (sometimes 70% or more) and have a total fat content of 30-40%.
  • White chocolate is a confection based on sugar and fat (either cocoa butter or vegetable oils) without the cocoa solids.
  • Cocoa powder There are two types of unsweetened baking cocoa available: natural cocoa (like the sort produced by Hershey's and Nestlé using the Broma process), and Dutch-process cocoa (such as the Hershey's European Style Cocoa and the Droste brand). Both are made by pulverising partially defatted chocolate liquor and removing nearly all the cocoa butter. Natural cocoa is light in colour and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavour. Natural cocoa is commonly used in recipes which call for baking soda. Because baking soda is an alkali, combining it with natural cocoa creates a leavening action that allows the batter to rise during baking. Dutch-process cocoa is processed with alkali to neutralise its natural acidity. Dutch cocoa is slightly milder in taste, with a deeper and warmer colour than natural cocoa. Dutch-process cocoa is frequently used for chocolate drinks such as hot chocolate due to its ease in blending with liquids. Unfortunately, Dutch processing destroys most of the flavonols present in cocoa.[4]
  • Compound chocolate is the technical term for a confection combining cocoa with vegetable fat, usually tropical fats and/or hydrogenated fats, as a replacement for cocoa butter. It is primarily used for candy bar coatings, but because it does not contain cocoa butter, in the US it is not allowed to be called "chocolate." Unfortunately in America, to the untrained observer the adjective used for this substance appears to merely be the adjectival form of chocolate: "chocolatey". The candy bars sold in America often no longer have true chocolate as a major component. This is especially true for much candy passed as "white chocolate" , which need not contain anything from the cacao bush at all. This can translate to poor taste, texture and possibly health concerns, particularly when partially hydrogenated oils are used to replace cacao butter.

Flavours such as mint, vanilla , coffee , orange, or strawberry are sometimes added to chocolate in a creamy form or in very small pieces . Chocolate bars frequently contain added ingredients such as peanuts, nuts, fruit, caramel, or even crisped rice. Pieces of chocolate, in various flavours, can be found mixed with cereals in order to increase their taste.

[edit] United States

In the U.S., the FDA regulates the naming and ingredients of cacao products:[5][6]

In March 2007, the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, whose members include Hershey, Nestlé, and Archer Daniels Midland, began [7]lobbyingthe FDA to change the legal definition of chocolate to let them substitute "safe and suitable vegetable fats and oils" (including partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) for cocoa butter in addition to using "any sweetening agent" (including artificial sweeteners) and milk substitutes. Currently, the FDA does not allow a product to be referred to as "chocolate" if the product contains any of these ingredients. (2007P-0085, Copy of 2007P-0085 Appendix C-- search for cacao)

[edit] Definition

Chocolate is a product based on cocoa solid and/or cocoa fat. The amount and types of cocoa solids and fat that the term implies is a matter of controversy. Manufacturers have an incentive to use the term for variations that are cheaper to produce, containing less cocoa and cocoa substitutes, although these variations might not taste as good.

There has been disagreement in the EU about the definition of chocolate; this dispute covers several ingredients, including the types of fat used, quantity of cocoa, and so on. But in 1999, the EU at least resolved the fat issue by allowing up to 5% of chocolate's content to be one of 5 alternatives to cocoa butter; illipe, palm oil, sal, shea, kokum gurgi, or mango kernel [8].

A recent workaround by the US confection industry has been to reduce the amount of cocoa butter in candy bars without using vegetable fats by adding polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), which is an artificial castor oil-derived emulsifier that simulates the mouthfeel of fat. Up to 0.3% PGPR may be added to chocolate for this purpose. [9]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ CMA - Chocolate Manufacturers Association
  2. ^ a b Directive 2000/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 June 2000 relating to cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption
  3. ^ a b "Dark may be king, but milk chocolate makes a move", Julia Moskin, International Herald Tribune, February 13, 2008
  4. ^ Chocolate as a Health Food?. Retrieved on 2006-03-03.
  5. ^ Title 21 -- Food and Drugs, Chapter I -- Food and Drug Administration Department of Health and Human Services, Subchapter B -- Food for Human Consumption, Part 163 -- Cacao Products. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
  6. ^ Types of Chocolate Products (from hersheys.com). Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
  7. ^ To Our Stakeolders. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  8. ^ EU Agrees on Chocolate Definition Upsetting Major Cocoa Producers | Food & Drink Weekly | Find Articles at BNET.com
  9. ^ Let the chocolate flow
product chocolate liquor milk solids sugar
milk chocolate ≥ 10% ≥ 12%
sweet chocolate ≥ 15  < 12%
semisweet or bittersweet (dark) chocolate ≥ 35  < 12%
white chocolate ≥ 20% ≥ 14% ≤ 55%