Chocolate Key Terms

Whet your palate with some delectable chocolate key terms

Chocolate is a delicious dessert in numerous forms. From chocolate bars to cakes to cookies or even adorned dipped fruit, chocolate is a popular commodity. If you have customers who wish to purchase chocolate items, it's imperative to know the different types of chocolate that are available. With choices such as milk, dark or bittersweet chocolate, you must know how to use each. You also need to if it's better for baking, dipping or coating. Learn some key terms before diving into this delectable sweet.

 

Milk chocolate

Milk chocolate is a combination of ingredients including chocolate liquor, vanilla, milk solids, cocoa butter and lecithin. In order to fit the qualifications as a milk chocolate, it must have 10% chocolate liquor mixed with 3.7% milk fats and 12% milk solids. Usually milk chocolate isn't as bitter as darker chocolates, making it a good choice for candy coatings and garnishes.
Try: Visit the Joyofbaking.com to learn more about milk chocolate.

Dark chocolate

To produce dark chocolate, you need to add fat and sugar to cocoa beans. The way it differs from other types of chocolate is that it doesn't have any milk in it.
Try: Visit Happy News to learn more about dark chocolate and its benefits.

Bittersweet chocolate

Bittersweet chocolate contains 35% cocoa solids and 50% chocolate liquor. This type of chocolate has a more bitter flavor than semisweet chocolate.
Try: Wisegeek defines bittersweet chocolate.

Semisweet chocolate

Semisweet chocolate is best used for cooking purposes. It's the same as basic dark chocolate with only half the sugar content. Most semisweet chocolate contains at least 35% cocoa solids and is sweeter than bittersweet chocolate.
Try: Visit the CandyUSA for various chocolate definitions including semisweet.

Baking chocolate

Baking chocolate, also known as unsweetened or bitter chocolate, is a pure chocolate liquor made solely of cocoa beans. This type of chocolate is best only in baking as it tastes bitter when ingested on its own. It is also the main ingredient of all types of chocolate, excluding white chocolate.
Try: To learn more about baking chocolate, go to HowStuffWorks.

White chocolate

Despite its name, white chocolate doesn't contain chocolate liquor, which means it doesn't fit the description for a chocolate. However, most people still consider it a type of chocolate. The main ingredients in white chocolate are sugar, milk solids, cocoa butter and flavoring. You can use white chocolate as a coating.
Try: Check out Chocolate.com to learn more about white chocolate and how the FDA assists with its definition.

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