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Chocolate, Cocoa & Carob Types |
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choc·o·late
Pronunciation: 'chä-k(&-)l&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish, from Nahuatl chocolAtl
Date: 1604 |
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Nineteenth century engraving of the cacao fruit. |
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1: a beverage made by mixing
chocolate with water or milk
2: a food prepared from
ground roasted cacao beans
3: a small candy with a
center (as a fondant) and a chocolate coating
4: a brownish gray
- chocolate adjective
Scientific name: Theobroma Cacao (in Greek, theobroma means god
food) |
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1 ounce baking chocolate
EQUALS
1 square |
This is the usual measurement
for grocery store bought baking chocolate. Check the package for
measurements, just in case |
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The Chocolate
Time Line:
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 | 1824: John Cadbury, an English
Quaker, begins roasting and grinding chocolate beans to sell in
his tea and coffee shop. In 1842 Cadbury's Chocolate Company in
England creates the first chocolate bar.
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| 1875: A Swiss chocolate maker,
Daniel Peter, mixes Henri Nestle's condensed milk with chocolate
and the two men found a company to manufacture the first milk
chocolate. |
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| 1894: Milton Hershey adds a
line of chocolate to his caramel manufacturing business. Soon he
invents the Hershey Bar by experimenting with milk chocolate.
Hershey's Cocoa appears next. |
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| 1896: Leonard Hershfield
invents the Tootsie Roll, named after his daughter.
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| 1897: Brownies are first
mentioned in print, listed for sale in the Sears, Roebuck and
Co. catalogue. |
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| About 1900: A machine called
the enrober is invented to replace the task of hand-dipping
chocolate. |
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| Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar was
invented in 1900. |
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| Reese's Peanut Butter Cups was
invented 1923. |
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| Butterfinger was invented in
1923. |
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| Snickers Bar was invented in
1930. |
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| 3 Musketeers Bar was invented in
1932. |
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| Kit Kat was invented 1933.
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| Nestle's Crunch was invented
1938 |
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| M&M's were invented in 1940.
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There are about 30 milligrams of
caffeine in your average chocolate bar, while a cup of coffee contains
around 100 to 150 milligrams. |
One of the most
pleasant effects of eating
chocolate is the "good
feeling" that many people experience after indulging. Chocolate
contains more than 300 known chemicals. Scientists have been working
on isolating specific chemicals and chemical combinations which may
explain some of the pleasurable effects of consuming chocolate.
In the 1940s and 50s, Hershey extracted a
stimulant called theobromine from its cocoa beans and sold it to Coca
Cola, which used it to pep up its soda. |
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When cocoa beans are roasted and ground, they
can be mixed with fat and other solids to create chocolate, or processed
into dry cocoa powder.
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Swiss milk
chocolate:
Lindt Swiss Milk Chocolate
White chocolate:
Callebaut White Superior has a nice "middle-of-the-road" flavor and gets
my vote. Ghirardelli
is less expensive and just as good. Look for a bar that contains cocoa
butter and it off white, then you will have a better quality product.
Pure chocolate usually comes in blocks,
with smaller quantities in 1-ounce wrapped bars. But, you can also
purchase pure chocolate wafers -- they look like large chocolate chips
-- and you don't have to chop them. They are available at any outlet
that sells good, pure chocolate. Don't confuse them with
courverture or compound chocolate.
Good brands for high quality pure
chocolate are Valrhona, Lindt, Callebaut, Tobler,
and
Scharffren Berger, an
American brand. I
like to use Valrhona for
enrobing and Callebaut for
ganache
but, find a chocolate you like and stick
with it. |
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Chocolate has been called the food of the Gods. |
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Chocolate
comes from Cocoa beans. |
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Americans don't
win the prize for highest world wide chocolate consumption. The
Swiss, whose per capita consumption is a whopping 19 pounds per
person a year, wins. Following are Norway, the United Kingdom,
Belgium / Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Ireland,
Denmark, Sweden -- and then the U.S.A., at 9 pounds per person a
year. |
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 ABOUT
CHOCOLATE & COCOA POWDER:
There is specialty, pure chocolate, generally found in gourmet shops and baking
chocolate, found in the grocery store. Pure
chocolate can be melted to liquid form, poured into molds to cool, sculpted with
and become confections of any shape desired. Baking chocolate is perfect to use
in a recipe. Chocolate can be pressed into cocoa powder and used for baking,
making ice cream and sorbets. Chocolate chips or chunks can be added to a batter
before baking, creating a recipe studded with chocolate throughout.
For best results, be sure to use the
type of chocolate and cocoa powder that the recipe calls for, as different
varieties will react differently to heat and moisture, plus the taste and
texture can change. But, you can substitute one for another if you are aware of
how to do it. (Chocolate
& Cocoa Substitution Tips). Happy
Baking, Sarah
CHOCOLATE AND COCOA POWDER FROM THE COCOA BEANS AND OTHERS :
There are three main types of ingredients produced from the cocoa
bean: butter, powder, and extracts. (For
more detailed information about each type,
click here).
| VARIETY |
DESCRIPTION |
FLAVOR |
USE |
| CHOCOLATE LIQUOR |
Made by grinding
the center of the cocoa bean (nib) to a liquid form. Contains about half
cocoa butter and half cocoa solids when bean is pulverized. |
Bitter |
Baking ingredient |
| COCOA SOLIDS |
Responsible for the
dark, strong flavor |
Strong |
Chocolate ingredient |
| COCOA BUTTER |
The vegetable fat from the cacao
been extracted from chocolate liquor
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Creamy |
Baking ingredient |
| BAKING, BITTER |
Non-alcoholic unsweetened chocolate
liquor in solid form |
Bitter |
Baking ingredient |
| COCOA POWDER (NATURAL) |
Powdery remains of chocolate liquor
after cocoa butter is removed |
Ranges from mild to strong,
unsweetened |
Baking, reduced fat and calorie
recipes, ice cream flavoring |
| COCOA POWDER (DUTCH PROCESSED) |
Cocoa powder treated with mild
alkalizing agent such as baking soda |
Stronger flavor and darker color
than cocoa powder |
To create deep color in baked
goods, ice cream, beverages |
| DARK, SEMI-SWEET, BITTER-SWEET
CHOCOLATE |
The darkest of eating chocolates,
high chocolate liquor content with added sweeteners |
Strong chocolate flavor with
minimal dairy flavor |
Chocolate chips, baking, coatings |
| MILK CHOCOLATE |
Contains cocoa butter, milk,
sweeteners & flavorings that are added to chocolate liquor |
Creamy, mellow chocolate with
strong milk taste |
Candy bars, baking, coatings |
| CHOCOLATE (CONFECTIONERY) FLAVORED
COATING |
Used as coating for candies.
Contains sugar, milk powder, hardened vegetable oil & flavorings. It does
not contain cocoa butter |
Similar to other natural chocolate
but may have a waxy taste |
Less expensive alternative to
natural chocolates |
| WHITE CHOCOLATE: is not considered
chocolate because it does not contain cocoa solids. |
Blend of cocoa butter, milk solids,
sugar, flavorings, such as vanilla and contains no chocolate solids |
Sweet, dairy taste with hint of
chocolate from the cocoa butter |
Candy bars, baking, coatings |
| CAROB:
The carob
bean
is from an eastern
Mediterranean evergreen tree of the pea family.
It is not chocolate. |
Made from
the carob bean, it is sometimes used by those who are allergic to
chocolate |
Available as either toasted or untoasted powder (toasting helps bring out
the flavor) |
Carob powder, raw
pods and carob chips |
adapted from cnn.com
 Did
you know?...Experts who make chocolates are also known as 'chocolatiers'.
Chocolate lovers are called 'chocoholics'. |
HOW CHOCOLATE & COCOA POWDER ARE MADE:
To make chocolate and cocoa powder, processors ferment and then roast the cocoa
bean, the fruit (or pod) of the tropical tree, Theobroma cocao,
cultivated in tropical climates within 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the
Equator and on the Big Island of Hawaii. Like coffee, cocoa does not acquire the
richness of its color and the fullness of its flavor until it is roasted. Beans
that are going to be used for cocoa powder are roasted longer than those for
chocolate because chocolate goes through other processes after roasting that
develop flavor.
There are three basic things that must be done by the chocolate maker to
make a chocolate bar:
| Adding
ingredients - The chocolate that we eat contains sugar, other
flavors (like vanilla) and often milk (in milk chocolate). The chocolate
maker adds these ingredients according to his or her secret recipe.
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| Conching
- A special machine is used to massage the chocolate in order to blend the
ingredients together and smooth it out. Conching can take as long as three
days in the finest chocolates. Raw unprocessed chocolate is gritty, grainy
and really not suitable for eating. Swiss chocolate manufacturer Rudolph
Lindt discovered a process of rolling and kneading chocolate that gives it
the smoother and richer quality that eating chocolate is known for today.
The name 'conching' comes from the shell-like shape of the rollers used.
The longer chocolate (and any ingredients added like milk, vanilla, extra
cocoa butter) is conched, the more luxurious it will feel on your tongue.
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Tempering - is a carefully
controlled heating process. It is a process where the chocolate is slowly
heated, then slowly cooled. |
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Once roasted, the beans are cracked
and winnowed to expose the cocoa nib, or core. Cracking breaks the nib free of
the shell and reduces it to small pieces, allowing the winnowing to blow away
the hulls with powerful fans. Sometimes, the nibs are first blended with other
chocolate nib varieties of different and type to produce the unique and complex
"chocolate recipe" that is the characteristic of each chocolate manufacturer's
particular "flavor".
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European
chocolate tends to be creamier and with more flavor than American. It's
because European chocolate manufacturers roast the beans at a lower
temperature for a longer period of time, which develops their flavor. On the
other hand, most American manufacturers roast their beans at higher
temperatures for shorter periods of time. The flavor becomes rougher,
requiring more added sugar to compensate. However, this has changed recently
with Schaffran Berger, an American brand with European taste and texture. |
The chocolate nibs are then crushed
and ground while hot from roasting by large stone mills into a thick
rich-looking "liquor" or "mass" called chocolate liquor, also known as
the essence of chocolate.
Chocolate liquor is nonalcoholic,
despite its name, containing two components, cocoa solids (50 % to 58 %) and
cocoa butter (42 % to 50 %).
Cocoa solids are what give it its marvelous and distinct chocolaty flavor and
dark color, and cocoa butter contains the fat which is what gives it its smooth,
creamy richness.
Different
types of chocolate: If the bitter chocolate liquor is molded and
solidified after the nibs are crushed, ground and tempered, it is called
"baking" or dark "unsweetened" chocolate. These are referred to as "pure
chocolates". All chocolate types besides "baking" or dark "unsweetened"
chocolate are not considered to be "pure" chocolate. In general, the darker the
chocolate, the more chocolate liquor it contains -- from 100% in unsweetened
chocolate to 10% for milk chocolate. The darkest chocolate will provide the most
chocolate flavor.
COCOA
BEANS:
There are three major varieties of cocoa beans: forastero, criollo, and
trinitario. Both the Criollo and Trinitario varieties
are considered to have a better flavor than the Forastero. Thus criollo is
blended with forastero to improve the flavor.
| Forastero accounts
for more than 90% of the world's usage. It is produced primarily in the
West African countries of Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Ivory Coast.
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| Cridlo
is produced in Venezuela and Central America as well as Papua New
Guinea, Java, and Samoa. |
| Trinitario is
believed to be a hybrid of the other two varieties and is produced in
Venezuela, Trinidad, Sri Lanka as well as other countries. It is used in
the manufacture of certain high quality eating chocolates. |
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If not, the crushed nibs continue on
in the chocolate-making process and other types of chocolate are made. It's the
addition and proportion of ingredients to one another that distinguish one brand
of chocolate from another. The proportions of the ingredients for each type of
chocolate is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA).
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Chocolate's
Basic Ingredients:
Cocoa paste, cocoa butter, sugar and optionally milk (powdered
or condensed) are the four basic ingredients for making an entire range of
semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolates. Flavorings (usually vanilla) are
also added. |
Plain chocolate:
cocoa paste + cocoa butter + sugar
Milk chocolate:
cocoa paste + cocoa butter +
sugar + milk
White chocolate:
cocoa butter + sugar + milk |
Another type of
chocolate is gianduia. It is a blend of chocolate and roasted hazelnuts.
The result is a homogeneous, paste-like mixture which is already pleasant to
taste, but still feels gritty to the palate. .
After the ingredients for making a
certain type of chocolate have been carefully weighed out in accordance with the
recipe, they go into a mixer where rotating, kneading arms thoroughly mix all
the ingredients. Chocolate is mixed with small amounts of
lecithin. This helps it mix more easily and makes the chocolate smoother. The
finished mixture again goes through rolling machinery which pulverizes the tiny
particles of cocoa and sugar even further to give the chocolate its smooth,
eating texture.
 Conching
got its name from the similarity of the early machines to the shape of the
seashell. During the conching process, which can take up to 72 hours for a
high quality chocolate, the mixture is constantly aerated by stirring to
release volatile and off-flavors. Gradually, the bitter taste disappears and
the flavor of the chocolate becomes fully developed. Tempering, molding, and
hardening remain the final steps before packaging. |
The paste is transported to conching
machines which heat and stir the paste in the last and most important refining
process. As the paste is stirred, cocoa butter is added which makes the
chocolate ready for molding. As the chocolate turns over in the conching
machine, a kind of aeration of the liquid chocolate paste then takes place: its
bitter taste gradually disappears and the flavor is fully developed. The
chocolate no longer seems sandy, but dissolves meltingly on the tongue.
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High quality chocolate is conched for several days and lower quality
chocolate are conched for only a few hours. |
The still-warm conched chocolate is placed in a
tempering machine. This is the process that gradually raises then lowers and
raises the temperature to a set degrees. The tempering prevents separation in
the chocolate when it's filled into bar molds and hardens. Proper tempering also
results in a silky sheen and crisp "snap" when broken - another sign of a
superior quality chocolate bar.
The quality of
chocolate (and its price) is determined by its cocoa butter content.
By processes called
"rolling" and "conching" the chocolate develops a high degree of flavor and
smoothness that further refines these "eating" chocolates.
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 Chocolate
as a Thickener:
Did you know that ounce-for-ounce, unsweetened chocolate has more thickening
power than bittersweet? Cocoa solids are rich in starches, with unsweetened
having the more.
When I used unsweetened
chocolate in a Ganache filling
recipe, it was significantly stiffer and also had a viscous, gummy
quality. On the other hand, when made only with bittersweet chocolate, it
had a pleasantly smooth and creamy texture.
Comparable amounts of
bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate plus sugar will
not produce identical recipes. While a direct swap might work well enough in
fudgy brownies, it could wreak havoc on a delicate custard or filling. |
The higher the cocoa butter content,
such as in Callebaut, the better the chocolate and higher quality the finished
confection will be. Read the chocolate's
label and it should read: "% cocoa butter".
For instance,
Callebaut Dark Semi sweet Chocolate CA-D811NV-25
is a dark couverture chocolate, that is bittersweet and has 51.5%
cocoa butter.
Callebaut Milk Chocolate CA-C823NV-25
contains 31.5% cocoa butter.
Cocoa butter is also one of the
ingredients of white chocolate.
However, the
high cost of cocoa butter has prompted some manufacturers to replace it with a
proportion of vegetable fat, labeled as such
Cocoa powder is made by taking chocolate liquor
and pumping it into special hydraulic presses that extract cocoa butter and
drain it off. The remaining compacted cocoa solids are released from the press
in the form of a hard cake, which is then broken up and ground to become cocoa
powder, called Natural Cocoa Powder. Cocoa powder still retains some of the
cocoa butter after pressing. Low fat cocoa, the most commonly used, has 10% to
12% fat, medium fat cocoa retains 14% to 16%, and high fat cocoa, sometimes
called "breakfast cocoa", has a fat content of 22% to 24%. For many
applications, cocoa powder is "Dutch processed", to reduce its natural acidity,
and to enhance its color and flavor.
The cocoa powder can be treated with
alkali either after roasting and after grinding. The alkali darkens its color,
softens its flavor and makes it able to be easily dispersed in liquid over
nonalkalized powder. If left untreated with alkali, the chocolate liquor is
processed into natural cocoa powder.
Key factors
to be aware of when tasting chocolate and chocolate confections:
These key factors, such as appearance, aroma, snap, texture, mouthfeel, flavor
and aftertaste are universally recognized. Chocolate is tested when it is the
cooler side of room temperature, for it tastes and looks best when it is.
To determine the "best" dark
chocolate, use the following criteria:
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Appearance: Chocolate should be lustrous and evenly colored,
with no gray streaks or dots. Dullness and signs of
bloom indicate that it has not been
handled properly. |
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Aroma: Chocolate should smell rich and flavorful, not burned or
harsh. The aroma is primarily chocolate and the fillings used should not
overpower it. |
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Snap:
Chocolate should break firmly and cleanly, not crumble or splinter.
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Texture / Mouthfeel: The chocolate should be smooth and creamy,
not greasy. It should melt in your mouth. When consumed, it should be
described as: smooth, velvety, and creamy. |
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Flavor: The flavor should be harmonious, well-balanced,
not too bitter or too sweet. Other flavors added should be harmonious and
not overpower it. |
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Aftertaste: The flavor should linger in your mouth pleasantly,
without a bitter or burnt aftertaste. |
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To determine the "best" milk
chocolate, use the following criteria:
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| Appearance--Fine
chocolate should be rich in color, with a smooth, glossy surface. Cracked
or dull-colored chocolate is an indication of poor quality. |
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| Snap--High quality
chocolate should have a decisive "snap" when it is broken.
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| Aroma--A strong
chocolaty aroma - not one that's fruity or flowery - indicates good
chocolate. |
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| Mouthfeel--Fine
milk chocolate should feel creamy and melt smoothly across the palate. The
extra fine creamy texture is achieved by conching (agitation/blending)
ingredients. The longer the conching, the creamier the chocolate.
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| Taste--The taste of
high quality milk chocolate should be rich, sweet and chocolaty - never
harsh or bitter. |
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Some information from Peters Chocolate, division of Nestle.
Well-wrapped, chocolate is best kept at around 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the
temperature of a nice pantry or dark cabinet, away from strong odors.
Kept at this temperature, chocolate
(assuming it isn't covering fruit or other perishables) has a shelf life of
about a year. When you freeze chocolate and then thaw it out, it will have a
greater tendency to bloom. But, I keep my chocolate frozen all the time.
If chocolate is
or improperly
tempered, a "bloom" will occur. This
is when the cocoa butter separates from the solids. You can see the bloom
because it appears as a colored film on the outside of the chocolate. It is
harmless and will disappear as soon as it is melted.
If
chocolate BLOOMS, a colored film appears on the outside.
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FILM
COLOR |
CAUSE |
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Gray |
Improper
tempering |
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Milky
(fatbloom) |
Melted &
resolidified during storage |
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Yellow
color (sugarbloom) |
Caused by
condensation |
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Fatbloom - When a thin
layer of fat crystals forms on the surface of the chocolate. This will cause the
chocolate to lose its gloss and a soft white layer will appear, giving the
finished article an unappetizing look. Fatbloom is caused by the
recrystallization of the fats and/or a migration of a filling fat to the
chocolate layer. Storage at a constant temperature will delay the appearance of
it.
Sugarbloom - This is a rough and
irregular layer on top of the chocolate. Sugarbloom is caused by condensation
(when the chocolate is taken out of the refrigerator). This moisture will
dissolve the sugar in the chocolate. When the water evaporates afterwards, the
sugar recrystallizes into rough, irregular crystals on the surface. This gives
the chocolate an unpleasant look. You can prevent sugarbloom by preventing
temperature shocks. When chocolate comes out of a cold room, it should be stored
in a warm area long enough before opening the package to keep direct
condensation from forming.
Chocolate is sensitive to heat,
changes in temperature, and also picks up flavors from other foods, so wrap it
well in foil and then again in plastic wrap. Go
to Pantry, Ingredient Storage
Recent studies have shown that
eating chocolate can be beneficial to your health. Chocolate contains a
substance called catechins that could help prevent cancer and heart disease.
 Q:
Can I give chocolate to my dog?
A: Unequivocally, NO!
The theobromine in
chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for
dogs, especially smaller pups. A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can
even be lethal. The same holds true for cats, and other household pets. |
Catechins are strong
antioxidants which clear away
destructive molecules in the body called free radicals. Free radicals damage
cells which help trigger heart disease and cancer. A large amount of
antioxidants in your diet can help reduce your risk for developing heart disease
and cancer.
Cocoa powder and chocolate are good sources of antioxidants. Dark
chocolate contains significantly higher amounts than milk chocolate per serving.
You can also find catechins in large doses in green tea.
In addition, researchers have discovered that physical and emotional enjoyment
from eating chocolate, even in small doses, can enhance immune function for
hours afterwards. They believe that life's small pleasures may have a cumulative
effect in boosting the immune system over a long period.
The good news is that moderate chocolate consumption offers health benefits. The
bad news is that you can't eat whatever you want because too much chocolate can
lead to weight gain.
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