Types of chocolate

Types of chocolate
Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cocoa pods 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.
The use of particular name designations is subject to governmental regulation in some countries.
List of types
Eating chocolate
Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate, also known as "plain chocolate", is produced using a higher percentage of cocoa with all fat content coming from 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 100%, are sold. Many brands display the cocoa percentage on their packaging.
Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cocoa mixture. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls this "sweet chocolate", and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. A higher amount of cocoa solids indicates more bitterness. Semisweet chocolate is dark chocolate with low sugar content. Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter and vanilla are added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking. It is also known to last for two years if stored properly. , there is no high-quality evidence that dark chocolate affects blood pressure significantly or provides other health benefits.
Milk chocolate
Milk chocolate is solid chocolate made with milk added in the form of powdered milk, liquid milk, or condensed milk. The first known variation was developed by Jordan & Timaeus in 1839 with donkey 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 neighbour in Vevey.
Cadbury is the leading brand of milk chocolate in the United Kingdom. The Hershey Company is the largest producer in the US. 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, stabilizing it for use. This process gives the product a particular taste, to which the US public has developed an affinity, to the extent that some rival manufacturers now add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.
White chocolate
White chocolate, although similar in texture to that of milk and dark chocolate, does not contain any cocoa solids that impart a dark color. It is made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, which has been extracted from the cocoa liquor. It is pale ivory coloured, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk and dark chocolates.
White chocolate is the type of chocolate containing the highest percentage of milk solids, typically around or over 30 percent, while milk chocolate has only around 25 percent.
In 2002, the US Food and Drug Administration established a standard for white chocolate as the "common or usual name of products made from cocoa fat (i.e., cocoa butter), milk solids, nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners, and other safe and suitable ingredients, but containing no nonfat cocoa solids".
Blonde chocolate
Blonde chocolate is made by slowly heating white chocolate, which gives it a golden color and triggers Maillard reactions in it. These reactions create a range of flavor compounds, contributing to its caramel-like flavor. It was discovered accidentally in 2006 by a chef at Valrhona, who in 2012 were the first company to make it commercially.
Ruby chocolate
Ruby chocolate is a type of chocolate created by Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company. The variety was in development from 2004, and was released to the public in 2017. The chocolate type is made from the Ruby cocoa bean, resulting in a distinct red colour and a different flavor, described as "sweet yet sour".
Raw chocolate
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 lesser extent in other countries. It is often promoted as being healthy. Raw chocolate includes many essential antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. This includes protein, iron, and fiber.
Gianduja chocolate
Gianduja chocolate is made by blending hazelnut butter with chocolate paste. Similarly to standard chocolate, it is made in both plain and milk versions. It may also contain other nuts, such as almond. As a bar, gianduja resembles regular chocolate, excepting the fact that it is significantly softer due to the presence of hazelnut oil.
Vegan chocolate
Vegan chocolate is a chocolate resembling milk chocolate but using plant milk instead of milk.
Organic chocolate
Organic chocolate is chocolate which has been certified organic, generally meaning that there are no chemical fertilizers or pesticides used in growing the cocoa beans producing the chocolate. As of 2016, it was a growing sector in the global chocolate industry. Organic chocolate is a socially desirable product for some consumers. Many producers of organic chocolate source their ingredients from certified fair trade cocoa farms and cooperatives.
Confectionery chocolate
Baking chocolate
Baking chocolate, or cooking chocolate, is chocolate intended to be used for baking and in sweet foods that may or may not be sweetened. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, are produced and marketed as baking chocolate. However, lower quality baking chocolate may not be as flavorful compared to higher-quality chocolate, and may have a different mouthfeel.
Poorly tempered or untempered chocolate may have whitish spots on the dark chocolate part, called chocolate bloom; it is an indication that sugar or fat has separated due to poor storage. It is not toxic and can be safely consumed.
In the USA, baking chocolate containing no added sugar may be labeled "unsweetened chocolate".
Couverture chocolate
Couverture chocolate is a class of high-quality chocolate containing a higher percentage of cocoa butter than other chocolate which is precisely tempered. Couverture chocolate is used by professionals for dipping, coating, molding and garnishing ('couverture' means 'covering' in French). Popular brands of couverture chocolate used by pastry chefs include: Valrhona, Lindt & Sprüngli, Scharffen Berger, Callebaut, and Guittard.
Compound chocolate
Compound chocolate is the name for a confection combining cocoa with other vegetable fats, usually tropical fats or hydrogenated fats, as a replacement for cocoa butter. It is often used for candy bar coatings. In many countries it can not legally be called "chocolate".
Modeling 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.
Legal requirements by country/region
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 and United Kingdom
There has been disagreement in the EU about the definition of chocolate; this dispute covers several issues, including the types of fat and the quantity of cocoa used. In 1999, however, the EU resolved the fat issue by allowing up to 5% of chocolate's content to be one of six alternatives to cocoa butter: illipe oil, palm oil, sal, shea butter, kokum gurgi, or mango kernel oil.
Products labelled as "family milk chocolate" elsewhere in the European Union are permitted to be labelled as simply "milk chocolate" in Malta, the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Japan
In Japan, 'chocolate products' are classified on a complex scale.
:
Cocoa content ≥35%, cocoa butter ≥18%, sucrose ≤55%, lecithin ≤0.5%, no additives other than lecithin and vanilla flavoring, no fats other than cocoa butter and milk fats, water ≤3%
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 flavoring, no fats other than cocoa butter and milk fats, water ≤3%
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%.
Cocoa content ≥21%, cocoa butter ≥18%, milk solids ≥14%, milk fats ≥3%, water ≤3%
Cocoa content ≥15%, cocoa butter ≥3%, fats ≥18%, water ≤3%
Cocoa content ≥7%, cocoa butter ≥3%, fats ≥18%, milk solids ≥12.5%, milk fats ≥2%, water ≤3%
:
Products using milk chocolate or quasi milk chocolate as described above are handled in the same way as chocolate / quasi chocolate.
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
Processed chocolate products containing less than 60% chocolate material
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.
Processed quasi chocolate products containing less than 60% quasi chocolate material
United States
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the naming and ingredients of cocoa products:
Semisweet and bittersweet are terms traditionally used in the United States to indicate the amount of added sugar in dark chocolate. Typically, bittersweet chocolate has less sugar than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable when baking. Both must contain a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.
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.
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 "made with chocolate".
See also
Chocolate bar
Bean-to-bar
List of desserts
Candy making
Dutch process cocoa
Belgian chocolate
Swiss chocolate
Notes
References
Types of chocolate