Chocolate 101.
To truly understand chocolate it is important to know what goes into the making of it.
- Cocoa Liquor
- Cocoa Liquor is made from ground cocoa nibs, which contain cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The flavor of the chocolate is determined by its origin, fermentation, roasting and conching, and by the blending of cocoa beans by the chocolate manufacturer.
- Cocoa Butter
- The flavors of the cocoa butter, while more subtle than the cocoa liquor, can vary depending on its origin. Rather than having an impact on the flavor, what cocoa butter brings to chocolate is “mouth-feel.” That is, how the cocoa butter distributes the flavor around your mouth. The cocoa bean contains approximately 50 – 53 percent cocoa butter and more cocoa butter is usually added to a better quality chocolate.
- Sugar
- A little sugar enhances the flavor of the cocoa liquor, but too much makes it unpalatable. High-grade cane or beet sugar is used in the manufacturing of chocolate.
- Milk or Cream
- There are different milk products used in the manufacture of milk chocolate. These include condensed milk, dry milk powder, dry cream powder, or milk crumb (which is a process that brings a rich caramelized flavor to the milk chocolate).
- Spices
- Spices can include such ingredients as Vanilla or Vanillin (an artificial vanilla), cinnamon, cassia oil and other essential oils.
- Soy Lecithin
- Lecithin is added during conching as an emulsifier and stabilizer in order to improve the texture of the chocolate.
- Fat Substitution for Cocoa Butter
- There are a number of tropical fats such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil that are used in place of cocoa butter in the manufacture of compound chocolate coatings to reduce costs, improve production time (no tempering) and increase storage limits. These products cannot use the name “real chocolate” and are sold as “Compound Coating” or “Confectioner’s Coating”. If you are not sure if you are buying real chocolate or confectioner’s coating, look at the ingredients — real chocolate does not contain any fats or oils except cocoa butter.