Holiday Chocolate 101

Chocolate like wine is something that humanity on the whole would be less without. All chocolate starts out the same It starts with the cocoa been which is made into a liquid that produces two components. The cocoa solids give it the chocolate flavor and the cocoa butter that gives it that buttery smooth texture. When put into different combinations these produce a number of different chocolate tastes and texture.

All chocolate becomes an individual product when things such as milk, sugar, nuts, and other flavorings are added. Both the FDA and the EU have different requirement for what constitutes pure chocolate.

Bitter or Baking Chocolate is a base product in baking and confections. It is also known as unsweetened chocolate and every child remembers their shock of biting into a cube of their mother's baking chocolate.

Dark Chocolate or Semi-sweet chocolate is used in baking and confections as well. It is sometimes known as Bittersweet chocolate. It contains sugar and cocoa solids and utilized the chocolate liquor from the chocolate bean extraction process. The EU says that semi sweet chocolate must has at least 43%minimun of liquor and the FDA stipulates that it must have at least 35% liquor. These are only minimums and some contain a great deal more chocolate liquor.

Milk Chocolate is mixed with milk, cream, and sugar. The FDA only allows it to have 10 chocolate liquor and the EU sets the standard at 25% liquor. Family milk chocolate in the United Kingdom is a compromise milk chocolate that can have up to 20% chocolate liquor and if it contains more than 5% vegetable fats it must be listed on the packaging.

Milk contains milk or cream, sugar, and flavorings. The EU stipulates a 25% minimum of cocoa solids. The USA stipulates a 10% minimum of liquor.

White chocolate is not chocolate technically at all. It contains cocoa buttermilk, sugar and other flavorings. Covertures are a very thick cocoa butter used by confectioners to create gourmet chocolate products.

Two consistently excellent forms of European chocolates are Swiss and Belgian chocolate. Belgium chocolate textured it melts the minute it enters your eager mouth. The traditional shape of Belgium chocolate is shells. Good Belgium chocolates are made by have and of course contain pralines. The chocolate shells are called 'ballotin de praline'.

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