Types of Chocolate

Baking chocolate (bakers chocolate) - Also known as unsweetened chocolate or chocolate liquor, baking chocolate is made from the finely ground centers (nibs) of roasted cocoa beans. There is no added sugar in bakers chocolate. It is one of the types of chocolate used often in dessert recipes with sugar as a separate ingredient.

Bittersweet chocolate (semi-sweet chocolate) - The darkest of eating chocolate, bittersweet chocolate has the highest percentage of chocolate liquor and may contain extra cocoa butter. Dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 35% chocolate liquor and less than 12% milk solids. Bittersweet and semi-sweet both fall under this definition; however, bittersweet is often the term used for choclate with a minimum of 50% chocolate liquor.

Chocolate flavored coating - Chocolate flavored coatings are a blend of chocolate liquor cocoa powder and vegetable fats in addition to or other than cocoa butter. Some coatings are made with chocolate liquor and have a vegetable fat added to the mixture. Coatings often appear similar to other chocolate products using sugar, milk and flavorings and are most often used to coat or cover confectionery or ice cream products, but also can be molded into solid bars or shapes.

Chocolate Liquor - Chocolate liquor is produced by grinding the cacao bean nib (center of the bean) to a smooth, liquid state. It may also be called chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, baking chocolate, or bitter chocolate. Chocolate liquor does not contain vegetable fat.

Cocoa beans - Seeds from the pod (or fruit) of the Tehobroma cacao tree which is native to tropical Amazon forests. it is commercially grown in tropical rainforests within 20 degrees latitude of the equator.

Cocoa butter - The fat naturally present in cocoa beans that melts at body temperature and gives chocolate its unique mouth feel. The amount of cocoa butter in cacao beans typically ranges from 50 to 60 percent. Cocoa butter is not a dairy product.

Cocoa powder - The product made by removing part of the fat (or cocoa butter) from the nib (center) of the cocoa bean and grinding the remaining material to a powder. The terms cocoa and cocoa powder can be interchanged.

Dark chocolate (or sweet chocolate) - Refers to both sweet and bittersweet chocolates containing high levels of chocolate liquor. Chocolate that contains a minimum of 15% chocolate liquor and less than 12% milk solids with varying amounts of sweeteners and cocoa butter. Many dark chocolates today contain more than 35% chocolate liquor. Dark chocolates may contain milk fat to soften the texture but do not generally have a milky flavor.

Dutch (or Dutched) Process - A treatment used during the making of chocolate liquor or cocoa powder in which cocoa solids are treataed with an alkaline solution to neutralize acidity. This process darkens the color of the cocoa and develops a milder chocolate flavor.

Milk chocolate - The most common type of eating chocolate and one of the most popular types of chocolate. It is made by combining chocolate liqauor, cocoa butter, milk or cream, sweeteners such as sugars and flavorings. Milk chocolate must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor and at least 12%milk solids. The onlly fats allowed in milk chocolate are milk fat and cocoa butter.

Semi-sweet chocolate (also known as bittersweet chocolate) - see bittersweet chocolate above.

Sweet chocolate - Sweet chocolate is a combination of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and sugar containing at least 15% chocolate liquor.

Unsweetened chocolate - Unsweetened chocolate is the same as baking chocolate and chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor is cooled and molded into blocks, one of the types of chocolate that can be used for baking.

White chocolate - White chocolate contains at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% milk solids, and 3.5% milk fat. It contains sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids and fats and flavorings. White chocolate is white because if contains no cocoa powder or chocolate liquor/unsweetened chocolate.