Chocolate is a range of foods derived from cocoa (cacao), mixed with fat (e.g., cocoa butter) and finely powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified according to the proportion of cocoa used in a particular formulation.
The use of particular name designations is sometimes subject to international governmental regulation. Some governments assign chocolate solids and ranges of chocolate differently.
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Terminology
The cocoa bean (or other alternative) products from which chocolate is made are known under different names in different parts of the world. In the American chocolate industry:
- chocolate liquor is the ground or melted state of the nib of the cacao bean, containing roughly equal parts cocoa butter and solids.
- cocoa butter is the fatty component of the bean.
- cocoa solids is the remaining nonfat part of the cocoa bean, which is ground into a powder.
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Types
Different forms and flavors 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.
- Milk chocolate is solid chocolate made with milk, in the form of milk powder, liquid milk, or condensed milk, added. In 1875, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter, in cooperation with his neighbour Henri Nestlé in Vevey, developed the first solid milk chocolate using condensed milk. The bar was named "Gala Peter", combining the Greek word for "milk" and his name. A German company Jordan & Timaeus in Dresden, Saxony had already invented milk chocolate in 1839; hitherto it had only been available as a drink. The US Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids. However, an agreement was reached in 2000 that allowed what by exception from these regulations is called "milk chocolate" in the UK, Ireland, and Malta, containing only 20% cocoa solids, to be traded as "family milk chocolate" elsewhere in the European Union.
- Cadbury chocolate is the brand leader in the United Kingdom. First produced by George Cadbury Junior in 1905, Cadbury Dairy Milk was made with a higher proportion of milk than previous chocolate bars, and it became the company's best selling product by 1914. It is the best selling milk chocolate bar in the UK, followed by Galaxy.
- "Hershey process" milk chocolate is popular in the US. The process was invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company. The process uses fresh milk from local farms. The logistics of purchasing and delivering fresh milk is difficult as, according to state regulations fresh milk cannot be held for more than 72 hours after its reception. If not immediately processed into milk chocolate, the milk must be disposed of. The actual Hershey process is a trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, and then the milk is pasteurized and stabilized. This process gives the product a particular taste, to which the US public has shown to have an affinity, to the extent that some rival manufacturers now add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.
- Dark chocolate, also known as "plain chocolate" or "black chocolate", is produced using higher percentages of cocoa, traditionally with cocoa butter instead of milk, but there are also dark milk chocolates and many degrees of hybrids. 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 99% are sold. Dark is synonymous with semisweet, and extra dark with bittersweet, although the ratio of cocoa butter to solids may vary.
- White chocolate is made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, without the cocoa solids.
- Cocoa powder is used for baking, and for drinking with added milk and sugar. There are two types of unsweetened cocoa powder: natural cocoa (like the sort produced by the Broma process), and Dutch-process cocoa. Both are made by pulverizing partially defatted chocolate liquor and removing nearly all the cocoa butter; Dutch-process cocoa is additionally processed with alkali to neutralize its natural acidity. Natural cocoa is light in colour and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavor. Natural cocoa is commonly used in recipes that also use baking soda; as baking soda is an alkali, combining it with natural cocoa creates a leavening action that allows the batter to rise during baking. 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. However, Dutch processing destroys most of the flavonoids present in cocoa. In 2005 Hershey discontinued their pure Dutch-process European Style cocoa and replaced it with Special Dark, a blend of natural and Dutch-process cocoa.
- Organic chocolate is chocolate which has been certified organic ingredients.
- Raw chocolate is chocolate that has not been processed, heated, or mixed with other ingredients. It is sold in chocolate-growing countries, and to a much lesser extent in other countries, often promoted as healthy.
- Unsweetened chocolate, also known as bitter, baking chocolate, or cooking chocolate, is pure chocolate liquor mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance. The pure, ground, roasted cocoa beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor. With the addition of sugar, however, it is used as the base for cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.
- Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which some sugar (less than a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla flavouring, and sometimes lecithin has been added. It typically has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable when baking. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as "couverture". Many brands now print on the package the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter). The higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate is.
- Semisweet chocolate is frequently used for cooking purposes. It is a dark chocolate with (by definition in Swiss usage) half as much sugar as cocoa, beyond which it is "sweet chocolate". Semisweet chocolate does not contain milk solids.
- "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, Chocodate, Chocofig fuel chocolates, and Guittard. These chocolates contain a high percentage of 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 often used for candy bar coatings. In many countries it may not legally be called "chocolate".
- Modeling chocolate is a chocolate paste made by melting chocolate and combining it with corn syrup, glucose syrup, or golden syrup. It is primarily used by cakemakers and pâtisseries to add decoration to cakes and pastries.
- Ruby chocolate is a new type of chocolate, created by Barry Callebaut. The variety was in development beginning in 2004. The new chocolate type is made from the Ruby cocoa bean, through a process that is said to unlock the flavor and color tone present in the Ruby bean. The chocolate's taste is described as "sweet yet sour".
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, and crisped rice. Pieces of chocolate, in various flavours, are sometimes added to cereals and ice cream.
By country/region
United States
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the naming and ingredients of cocoa products:
In March 2007, the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, whose members include Hershey's, Nestlé, and Archer Daniels Midland, began lobbying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to change the legal definition of chocolate to allow the substitution of "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. To work around this restriction, products with cocoa substitutes are often branded or labeled as "chocolatey" or as in the case of Hershey's Mr. Goodbar containing vegetable oils, "made with chocolate".
Canada
The legislation for cocoa and chocolate products in Canada is found in Division 4 of the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR), under the Food and Drugs Act (FDA). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the FDR and FDA (as it relates to food).
The use of cocoa butter substitutes in Canada is not permitted. Chocolate sold in Canada cannot contain vegetable fats or oils.
The only sweetening agents permitted in chocolate in Canada are listed in Division 18 of the Food and Drug Regulations. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and sugar alcohols (sorbitol, maltitol, etc.) are not permitted.
Products manufactured or imported into Canada that contain non-permitted ingredients (vegetable fats or oils, artificial sweeteners) cannot legally be called "chocolate" when sold in Canada. A non-standardized name such as "candy" must be used.
European Union
Products labelled as "Family Milk Chocolate" elsewhere in the European Union are permitted to be labelled as simply "Milk Chocolate" in Malta, the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland.
Japan
In Japan, 'chocolate products' are classified on a complex scale (q.v. ja:??????#?????????).
Chocolate materials (????????, chokor?to kiji):
- Pure chocolate material (?????????, jun-chokor?to kiji)
- Pure milk chocolate material (????????????, jun-miruku chokor?to kiji)
- Chocolate material (????????, chokor?to kiji)
- Milk chocolate material (???????????, miruku chokor?to kiji)
- Quasi chocolate material (?????????, jun-chokor?to kiji) a
- Quasi milk chocolate material (????????????, jun-miruku chokor?to kiji)
Chocolate products (????????, chokor?to seihin):
Products using milk chocolate or quasi milk chocolate as described above are handled in the same way as chocolate / quasi chocolate.
- Chocolate (??????, chokor?to)
- Chocolate sweet (????????, chokor?to kashi)
- Quasi chocolate (???????, jun-chokor?to)
- Quasi chocolate sweet (?????????, jun-chokor?to kashi)
Definition
Chocolate is a product based on cocoa solid or cocoa fat or both. 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 more cocoa substitutes.
There has been disagreement in the EU about the definition of chocolate; this dispute covers several ingredients, including the types of fat used and the quantity of cocoa. In 1999, however, the EU resolved the fat issue by allowing up to 5% of chocolate's content to be one of 5 alternatives to cocoa butter: illipe oil, palm oil, sal, shea butter, kokum gurgi, or mango kernel oil.
A recent workaround 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.
Quality
Cacao beans can be tested for their quality as a certain variety using DNA tests, especially by testing single-nucleotide polymorphisms that act as markers.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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