Chocolate is a softly textured paste produced when chocolate mass or liquor is mixed with sugar and cocoa butter, heated, agitated and cooled. Good quality chocolate is shiny, breaks cleanly and is free of white spots and small bubbles. The dull, greyish, whitish, or crystallized is not fresh and should be avoided.
Cocoa and chocolate are popular flavourings in a wide variety of foods (cakes, tarts, puddings, biscuits, sauces, icings, ice creams, mousses, flans, bread, candy, syrups, milk, beverages, and liqueurs). It is the essential ingredient in Black Forest cake and Sacher torte. Some countries, Spain and Mexico in particular, use it in savoury dishes such as the sauces that accompany mole poblano, a turkey stew that also features peppers and sesame.
When cooking with chocolate, it is generally best to use the least sweet variety that you can find (the less sugar that is added, the stronger and chocolatier will be the flavour, and you can always add more sugar). To ensure the best flavour, look for chocolate with at least 5o per cent cocoa solid content, 60-70 per cent is even better, whether it is for cooking or eating.
When melting chocolate for use in a recipe always follow two simple but firm rules, the temperature should never exceed 120°F, or its flavour will be altered, and not a single drop of water must ever come into contact with, as this will cause lumps to form. Break into pieces and heat gently, stirring constantly, in an uncovered double boiler.
Cocoa
The product extracted from the beans of the cacao tree, cacao is the basic ingredient in chocolate, Cocoa powder is obtained by pressing the chocolate liquor to extract cocoa batter, a yellow fat. This powder is difficult to dissolve in liquids, it is best to combine it with a cold liquid and then add sugar. Cacao is all excellent source of copper, potassium, vitamin B12, iron and it is very rich in fibre. Cacao and chocolate contain the stimulants the bromine and caffeine.
Carob
Fruit of the carob tree used as a cacao substitute and as an additive. Carob powder has a much lower protein and fat content than cacao. It contains less phosphorus, potassium, and iron, but is twice as rich in calcium and is a rich source of fibre. It does not contain stimulants and does not cause allergies. When it is used in place of cacao, its flavour can be enhanced with cinnamon without the addition of sugar.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is the term used for both bittersweet and semisweet chocolate; it contains between 35% and 70% chocolate liquor, sugar, and sometimes emulsifiers. Dark chocolate can be eaten on its own or used in baking.
Unsweetened Chocolate
The chocolate mass once it has solidified without the addition of sugar or milk solids. It is used makers and confectioners for baking. Unsweetened chocolate is too bitter to be edible on its own.
White Chocolate
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter with the addition of evaporated or powdered milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. It has a sweeter flavour and creamier consistency than milk chocolate and is not as widely used in confectionery.
Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate consists of varying amounts of milk powder, sugar, and flavourings such as vanilla blended with cocoa butter to yield a sweet flavour and rich texture. It is not suitable for use in cooking because the milk solids tend to burn.
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