Preparation:
Alkalai: Alkalis counterbalance and neutralize acids found in food products.
In cooking, the most common alkali used is bicarbonate of soda.
Baking Chocolate: Also known as Bitter or Unsweetened chocolate contain only
Chocolate liquor and cocoa butter. Not sweeteners, flavour enhancers or
lecithin.
This type of chocolate must contain between 50-58% cocoa butter.
Bitter Sweet Chcocolate: Bitter or Pure chocolate with sugar
added to it produces Bittersweet chocolate. It must contain at least 35
percent chocolate liquor.
Bloom: A greyish/white appearance that appears on chocolate products that
have not been
stored properly. The appearance of "bloom" does not affect the taste or
texture of the
chocolate and disappears if the chocolate is melted.
There are two types of bloom that occur in chocolate.
Sugar Bloom: Caused when moisture is present and condensation forms on the
surface of semi-sweet or milk chocolate.
In this case it is the sugar dissolving and then rising to the surface
of the chocolate that causes the dicoloration
Cocoa Butter
Bloom: Caused when chocolate has been stored at too high a temperature
(above 78F). At these temperatures the chocolate begins to melt
resulting in the cocoa butter rising to the surfact
Cacao Beans: The source of cocoa and chocolate, cacao beans are the fruit
of the cacao
tree, which grows only 20 dgrees north or south of the equator and mainly in
West Africa and Latin American
Cacao Nibs: The inside of the Cacao bean, the nibs contain cocoa butter.
Chocolate: Chocolate comes from the tropical cocoa bean, Theobroma cacao.
The cocoa beans are removed from their pods, fermented, dried and roasted,
The beans are then cracked which separates the nibs from the shells.
The nibs are ground to extract some of the cocoa butter, which leaves a
thick, dark brown paste called chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor then receives an initial refining.
Depending on the desired results various steps may take place after this
initial refining.
If additional cocoa butter is extracted from the chocolate liquor, the
resulting solid is then ground to produce unsweetened cocoa powder.
Additional ingredients may be added to the chocolate liquor which then
results in the various types of chocolate.
The final step in producing chocolate involves the process of conching
and in some cases the addition of extra cocoa butter and lecithin.
Chocolate Coating: This is infact not real chocolate as it does not contain
cocoa butter.
It is ideal for coating truffles, drizzling over pastries, and coating
candies as it holds its shape and remains glossy. Chocolate flavoured coating does not require tempering.
Chocolate Flavored: The tern used for food products flavoured with coacoa
and or chocolate liquor but that do not contain enough of these ingredients to be
called chocolate.
Chocolate Liquor or solids: Base material for all chocolate products. The
nibs of the cocoa bean which contain more than 50% cocoa butter are gournd by a process which generates enough heat to liquify the cocoa butter and form chocolate liquor.
Chocolate liquor has no alcoholic content.
Cocoa Butter: The natural, cream-colored vegetable fat extracted from cocoa
beans during the process of making chocolate and cocoa powder. It's used to add smoothness and flavor in chocolate. It is also used in cosmetic and beauty
products.
Cocoa Powder: Is the powder that results once the nibs of the cocoa beans
have been ground, 75% of the cocoa butter removed, and the remaining product
from the nibs have been dried and ground into a powder. This is unsweetened,
pure cocoa powder.
Conching: Is the final step in processing cocoa beans into the product we
know as chocolate.
Huge machines with rotating blades slowly blend the heated chocolate liquor,
ridding it of residual moisture and volatile acids. Conching takes anywhere from 12 to 72 hours. The higher the quality of chocolate desired, the longer the
process takes. During the conching small amounts of additional cocoa
butter and sometimes lecithin may be added to improve on the resulting
chocolates texture.
Confectionary Coating: Used as a dip for candies, a confectionery or
summer coating is a blend of sugar, milk powder, hardened vegetable fat and various flavorings.
It comes in a variety of pastel colors. Some have lowfat cocoa powder
added, but they do not contain cocoa butter. This is also called chocolate
flavoured coating or chocolate pastels.
Coverture: Couverture is a professional-quality coating chocolate that is
extremely glossy.
It usually contains a minimum of 32 percent cocoa butter, which enables it
to form a much thinner shell than ordinary conferctioners coating which contains no cocoa butter.
Dutch Cocoa Powder: Is richer, and darker than the pure unsweetened cocoa
powder.
It has been treated with an alkalai which helps to neuralize the acidity in
the cocoa.
Lecithin: A fatty substance obtained from egg yolks and legumes.
It is added to food products, including chocolate to preserve, emulsify and
moisturize.
Liquid Chocolate: A mixture of unsweetned cocoa and vegetable oil.
Milk Chocolate: Adding dry milk to sweetened chocolate creates milk
chocolate.
Milk chocolate must contain at least 12 percent milk solids and 10 percent
chocolate liquor.
Seize: Seizing occurs when a minute amount of liquid or steam comes in
contact with melted chocolate, in which case the chocolate clumps and hardens.
To correct seized chocolate, add a small amount (no more than 1 tablespoon
per 6 ounces of chocolate) of clarified butter, cocoa butter or vegetable oil into the chocolate, stirring until once again smooth.
Semi Sweet Chocolate: A combination of chocolate liquir, added cocoa butter
and sugar. It must contain at least 35% chocolate liquor.
Sweet (Dark) Chocolate: A combination of chocolate liqour, added cocoa
butter and sugar.
It must contain at least 15% chocolate liquor and has a higher proportion of
of sugar than
semi sweet chocolate.
Tempering: Provides a firm glossy exterior, as found in commercially made
chocolate
products. In order to achieve this result specific steps must be taken if
using chocolate or couverture
containing cocoa butter and not coating or confectioners chocolate.
See instructions in your Chocolate Guide book for tempering.
White chocolate: This product is not actually chocolate as it contains no
chocolate
liquor. As a result it had very little chocolate flavour and is best used
as coatings or
decorations. It is usually a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids,
lecithin and vanilla.
White chocolate is also know as a compound chocolat |
