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Types of chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans mixed with fat (e.g. cocoa butter) and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
Dark chocolate, also called plain chocolate, is produced using only cocoa butter, with no milk fat included. It is made from chocolate liquor to which some sugar, more cocoa butter and vanilla are added. Dark chocolate can be eaten as is, or used in cooking, for which thicker baking bars, usually with high cocoa percentages ranging from 70% to 100%, are sold. A higher amount of cocoa solids indicates more bitterness. Many brands display the cocoa percentage on their packaging.
"Bittersweet chocolate" is a version of dark chocolate intended for baking with a low amount of sugar, with the sugar typically consisting of about 33% of the final mass. "Semi-sweet chocolate" includes more sugar, resulting in a somewhat sweeter confection, but the two are largely interchangeable in baking.
European Union rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not have a standard of identity for dark chocolate, but requires a minimum concentration of chocolate liquor of 15% for sweet chocolate and 35% for semisweet or bittersweet chocolate.
As of 2017[update], there is no high-quality evidence that dark chocolate affects blood pressure significantly. However, a 2017 review found some moderate‐quality evidence that flavanol‐rich cocoa products may have a small (≈2 mmHg) short term lowering of blood pressure in mainly healthy adults.
Milk chocolate is solid chocolate made with milk. Differences in flavor between different brands and regions are largely due to differences in how the manufacturers handle the milk during production, such as by choosing powdered milk, condensed milk, chocolate crumb, or partially lipolyzed milk.
In 1875 a Swiss confectioner, Daniel Peter, developed a solid milk chocolate using condensed milk, which had been invented by Henri Nestlé, Peter's neighbor in Vevey.
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. It is ivory in color and lacks the dark appearance of other types of chocolate as it does not contain the non-fat components of cocoa (cocoa solids). Due to this omission, as well as its sweetness and the occasional use of additives, some consumers challenge whether white chocolate should be considered chocolate.
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Types of chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans mixed with fat (e.g. cocoa butter) and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
Dark chocolate, also called plain chocolate, is produced using only cocoa butter, with no milk fat included. It is made from chocolate liquor to which some sugar, more cocoa butter and vanilla are added. Dark chocolate can be eaten as is, or used in cooking, for which thicker baking bars, usually with high cocoa percentages ranging from 70% to 100%, are sold. A higher amount of cocoa solids indicates more bitterness. Many brands display the cocoa percentage on their packaging.
"Bittersweet chocolate" is a version of dark chocolate intended for baking with a low amount of sugar, with the sugar typically consisting of about 33% of the final mass. "Semi-sweet chocolate" includes more sugar, resulting in a somewhat sweeter confection, but the two are largely interchangeable in baking.
European Union rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not have a standard of identity for dark chocolate, but requires a minimum concentration of chocolate liquor of 15% for sweet chocolate and 35% for semisweet or bittersweet chocolate.
As of 2017[update], there is no high-quality evidence that dark chocolate affects blood pressure significantly. However, a 2017 review found some moderate‐quality evidence that flavanol‐rich cocoa products may have a small (≈2 mmHg) short term lowering of blood pressure in mainly healthy adults.
Milk chocolate is solid chocolate made with milk. Differences in flavor between different brands and regions are largely due to differences in how the manufacturers handle the milk during production, such as by choosing powdered milk, condensed milk, chocolate crumb, or partially lipolyzed milk.
In 1875 a Swiss confectioner, Daniel Peter, developed a solid milk chocolate using condensed milk, which had been invented by Henri Nestlé, Peter's neighbor in Vevey.
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. It is ivory in color and lacks the dark appearance of other types of chocolate as it does not contain the non-fat components of cocoa (cocoa solids). Due to this omission, as well as its sweetness and the occasional use of additives, some consumers challenge whether white chocolate should be considered chocolate.