Types of chocolate

Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.

Chocolate is a name given to products that are derived from cacao which are then mixed with some sort of fat (e.g. cocoa butter, oil) and finely powdered sugar to produce a solid edible product. It exists in several types according to the proportion of ingredients used in a particular recipe. In several instances the use of particular name designations is subject to governmental regulation.

Terminology

Yummy

Classification

Chocolate is a popular ingredient and is available in many types. Different forms and flavours of chocolate are produced by varying the quantities of the different ingredients. Other flavours can be obtained by varying the time and temperature when roasting the beans.

• Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate, mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavour. With the addition of sugar, however, it is used as the base for cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.
• Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to cacao. It is chocolate without milk as an additive. It is sometimes called "plain chocolate". The U.S. Government has no definition for dark chocolate, only "sweet chocolate", which requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. Sweet chocolate is not necessarily dark chocolate as there is no restriction of milk in it. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.
• Milk chocolate is chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added. The U.S. Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids. In the 1870s, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter invented the process of solidifying milk chocolate using condensed milk, which was invented by Henri Nestlé in the 1800's.
  • Hershey process milk chocolate, invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company , is able to be produced more economically, by being less sensitive to freshness of the milk. Although the process is still a trade secret, experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, "tangy" taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.
• Semisweet chocolate is often used for cooking purposes. It is a dark chocolate with a low (typically half) sugar content.
• Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as 'couverture' (chocolate that contains at least 32 percent cocoa butter); many brands now print on the package the percentage of cocoa (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter) contained. The rule is that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate will be.
• Couverture is a term used for chocolates rich in cocoa butter. Popular brands of couverture used by professional pastry chefs and often sold in gourmet and specialty food stores include: Valrhona, Felchlin, Lindt & Sprüngli, Scharffen Berger, Cacao Barry, Callebaut, and Guittard. These chocolates contain a high percentage of cocoa (sometimes 70% or more) and have a total fat content of 30-40%.

• White chocolate is a confection based on sugar and fat (either cocoa butter or vegetable oils) without the cocoa solids.
• Cocoa powder There are two types of unsweetened baking cocoa available: natural cocoa (like the sort produced by Hershey's and Nestlé using the Broma process), and Dutch-process cocoa (such as the Hershey's European Style Cocoa and the Droste brand). Both are made by pulverising partially defatted chocolate liquor and removing nearly all the cocoa butter. Natural cocoa is light in colour and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavour. Natural cocoa is commonly used in recipes which call for baking soda. Because baking soda is an alkali, combining it with natural cocoa creates a leavening action that allows the batter to rise during baking. Dutch-process cocoa is processed with alkali to neutralise its natural acidity. Dutch cocoa is slightly milder in taste, with a deeper and warmer colour than natural cocoa. Dutch-process cocoa is frequently used for chocolate drinks such as hot chocolate due to its ease in blending with liquids. Unfortunately, Dutch processing destroys most of the flavonols present in cocoa.
• Compound chocolate is the technical term for a confection combining cocoa with vegetable fat, usually tropical fats and/or hydrogenated fats, as a replacement for cocoa butter. It is primarily used for candy bar coatings, but because it does not contain cocoa butter, in the US it is not allowed to be called "chocolate." Unfortunately in America, to the untrained observer the adjective used for this substance appears to merely be the adjectival form of chocolate: "chocolatey". The candy bars sold in America often no longer have true chocolate as a major component. This is especially true for much candy passed as "white chocolate" , which need not contain anything from the cacao bush at all. This can translate to poor taste, texture and possibly health concerns, particularly when partially hydrogenated oils are used to replace cacao butter.

Flavours such as mint, vanilla , coffee , orange, or strawberry are sometimes added to chocolate in a creamy form or in very small pieces . Chocolate bars frequently contain added ingredients such as peanuts, nuts, fruit, caramel, or even crisped rice. Pieces of chocolate, in various flavours, can be found mixed with cereals in order to increase their taste.

United States

In the U.S., the FDA regulates the naming and ingredients of cacao products:

product	chocolate liquor	milk solids	sugar
milk chocolate	≥ 10%	≥ 12%
sweet chocolate	≥ 15	< 12%
semisweet or bittersweet (dark) chocolate	≥ 35	< 12%
white chocolate	≥ 20%	≥ 14%	≤ 55%

In March 2007, the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, whose members include Hershey's, Nestlé, and Archer Daniels Midland, began lobbying the FDA to change the legal definition of chocolate to let them substitute "safe and suitable vegetable fats and oils" (including partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) for cocoa butter in addition to using "any sweetening agent" (including artificial sweeteners) and milk substitutes. Currently, the FDA does not allow a product to be referred to as "chocolate" if the product contains any of these ingredients. (2007P-0085, Copy of 2007P-0085 Appendix C -- search for cacao)

Japan

In Japan, 'chocolate materials' and 'chocolate products' are classified on a complex scale (q.v. ja:チョコレート#チョコレートの規格).

• Chocolate Materials (チョコレート生地, chokorēto kiji):
• Pure chocolate material (純チョコレート生地, jun-chokorēto kiji)

Cocoa content ≥35%, cocoa butter ≥18%, sucrose ≤55%, lecithin ≤0.5%, no additives other than lecithin and vanilla flavouring, no fats other than cocoa butter and milk fats, water ≤3%

• Pure milk chocolate material (純ミルクチョコレート生地, jun-miruku chokorēto kiji)

Cocoa content ≥21%, cocoa butter ≥18%, milk solids ≥14%, milk fats ≥3.5%, sucrose ≤55%, lecithin ≤0.5%, no additives other than lecithin and vanilla flavouring, no fats other than cocoa butter and milk fats, water ≤3%

• Chocolate material (チョコレート生地, chokorēto kiji)

Cocoa content ≥35%, cocoa butter ≥18%, water ≤3%. It is also permitted to substitute milk solids for cocoa content as follows: cocoa content ≥21%, cocoa butter ≥18%, combined milk solids & cocoa content ≥35%, milk fats ≥3%, water ≤3%.

• Milk chocolate material (ミルクチョコレート生地, miruku chokorēto kiji)

Cocoa content ≥21%, cocoa butter ≥18%, milk solids ≥14%, milk fats ≥3%, water ≤3%

• Quasi chocolate material (準チョコレート生地, jun-chokorēto kiji) ^a

Cocoa content ≥15%, cocoa butter ≥3%, fats ≥18%, water ≤3%

• Quasi milk chocolate material (準ミルクチョコレート生地, jun-miruku chokorēto kiji)

Cocoa content ≥7%, cocoa butter ≥3%, fats ≥18%, milk solids ≥12.5%, milk fats ≥2%, water ≤3%

• Chocolate Products (チョコレート製品, chokorēto seihin):

Products using milk chocolate or quasi milk chocolate as described above are handled in the same way as chocolate / quasi chocolate.

• Chocolate (チョコレート, chokorēto)

Processed chocolate products made from chocolate material itself or containing at least 60% chocolate material. Processed chocolate products must contain at least 40% chocolate material by weight. Amongst processed chocolate products, those containing at least 10% by weight of cream and no more than 10% of water can be called raw chocolate (生チョコレート, nama chokorēto)

• Chocolate sweet (チョコレート菓子, chokorēto kashi)

Processed chocolate products containing less than 60% chocolate material

• Quasi chocolate (準チョコレート, jun-chokorēto)

The Quasi symbol should officially be circled. Processed quasi chocolate products made from quasi chocolate material itself or containing at least 60% quasi chocolate material.

• Quasi chocolate sweet (準チョコレート菓子, jun-chokorēto kashi)

Processed quasi chocolate products containing less than 60% quasi chocolate material

Definition

Chocolate is a product based on cocoa solid and/or cocoa fat. The amount and types of cocoa solids and fat that the term implies is a matter of controversy. Manufacturers have an incentive to use the term for variations that are cheaper to produce, containing less cocoa and cocoa substitutes, although these variations might not taste as good.

There has been disagreement in the EU about the definition of chocolate; this dispute covers several ingredients, including the types of fat used, quantity of cocoa, and so on. But in 1999, the EU at least resolved the fat issue by allowing up to 5% of chocolate's content to be one of 5 alternatives to cocoa butter; illipe, palm oil, sal, shea, kokum gurgi, or mango kernel .

A recent workaround by the US confection industry has been to reduce the amount of cocoa butter in candy bars without using vegetable fats by adding polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), which is an artificial castor oil-derived emulsifier that simulates the mouthfeel of fat. Up to 0.3% PGPR may be added to chocolate for this purpose.

Dark chocolate health benefits

The consumption of high-cacao-content chocolate has been correllated with positive health benefits from flavonol antioxidants derived from the ground and fermented cocoa seeds of Theobroma cacao.

Notes

• ^a - The English translation "quasi" in this case is not an official one - no official English version exists. The Japanese prefix Quasi (準, jun) could be easily confused with Pure (純, jun) as the pronunciation is the same although they are written with different Kanji.