Chocolate Chunks

Chocolate Chunks

Cocoa beans in a Cacao Pod

Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Chocolate is made from cocoa, which is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree.  The Cacao tree is a small evergreen tree native to the deep tropical region  of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins.  The fruit, called a cacao pod ripens yellow to orange. This pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called “beans”, embedded in a white pulp. It is these seeds which are used to make cocoa and chocolate.

Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk.  Milk chocolate is formulated by substituting whole milk solids for a portion of the chocolate liquor used in producing sweet chocolate. The US Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor and the European rules specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids. Therefore milk chocolate does not contain as much chocolate liquor as dark chocolate, which gives it a softer chocolate flavour. The quality of milk chocolate varies, the better brands contain a higher percentage of chocolate liquor using pure ingredients with no artificial flavoring. European milk chocolate generally contains condensed milk, whereas American and British milk chocolate contains a milk and sugar mixture.

White Chocolate
White chocolate is  based on cocoa butter, milk and sugar. It has no cocoa solids and therefore it is not strictly chocolate. Cocoa butter is the fat from cocoa beans, extracted during the process of making chocolate, it has very little chocolate flavour. The cocoa solids or chocolate liquor, which is not found in white chocolate, is produced by grinding the cocoa nib to a smooth liquid state, hence the name chocolate liquor.

White chocolate has a creamy consistency and taste and should be ivory-coloured. However it lacks flavour because it contains no chocolate liquor which gives chocolate the bitter intense chocolate flavour. Therefore it is not normally used in cooking unless to complement plain chocolate. It can also be used as an alternative to dark and milk chocolate for decoration purposes. White chocolate is a delicate chocolate and must be melted over a very low heat to prevent it from scorching.

Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate without milk as an additive is also called plain chocolate. The US Government calls this sweet chocolate, and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.

Dark chocolate has recently been promoted for its health benefits, as it seems to possess substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals which are destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other illnesses. Dark chocolate has ingredients that lower blood pressure and fight disease, but white chocolate and milk chocolate don’t, studies show. It is a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants remove free radicals. It is the cocoa phenols in the dark chocolate that have been shown to reduce blood pressure. European chocolates typically have greater concentrations of cocoa phenols than those from the United States.

However the addition of milk to create milk chocolate or white chocolate may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants. So if you want to be as healthy as possible when eating chocolate then eat dark chocolate!

Cocoa Content
The finest, plain dark chocolate couvertures contain at least 70% cocoa (both solids and butter), whereas milk chocolate usually contains up to 50%. High-quality white chocolate couvertures contain only about 33% cocoa.

Different manufacturers develop their own “signature” blends based on the above formulas, but varying proportions of the different constituents are used.
Producers of high quality, small batch chocolate argue that mass production produces bad quality chocolate. Some mass-produced chocolate contains much less cocoa (as low as 7% in many cases) and fats other than cocoa butter. Vegetable oils and artificial vanilla flavor are often used in cheaper chocolate to mask poorly fermented and/or roasted beans.