Clear Answers for Common Questions

Chocolate is a confection made from cacao beans, the seeds of the cacao plant. There are a large number of products made from it on the market, from powdered cocoa for making drinks to white chocolate, and most markets carry a cross-section of confections for their customers. In addition ...

Chocolate chips are small, round, processed dollops of chocolate that are uniform in size and used for baking. The most well-known use for them is in chocolate chip cookies, but they may also be baked in muffins or cakes and can also be sprinkled on top of a warm ...

Milk chocolate is a form of chocolate that is blended with milk for a more mild, creamy flavor than dark chocolate, which is composed primarily of cocoa liquor. Many candy companies use it for their products, which are designed to be eaten out of hand, and this type of chocolate ...

White chocolate is technically not chocolate at all, since it does not contain chocolate liquor or cocoa solids, the two primary ingredients in chocolate. It does, however, contain cocoa butter, which is a product of the cacao plant, and it has a delicate flavor in which hints of chocolate certainly ...

Tempered chocolate is chocolate which has been heated and specially cooled so that it forms a precise crystal structure. Most chocolate available for sale is tempered, and it can be recognized by a glossy appearance and pleasing “snap” when broken or bitten into. As a general rule, a home cook ...

Unsweetened or bitter chocolate is chocolate without any type of sweetener added. It is often used in baking and other projects in which the cook wants to personally adjust the level of sweetness. This type of chocolate is also the base for all over chocolate products, since it is chocolate ...

A chocolatier is someone who makes chocolate confectionery such as truffles. The term “chocolatier” is also used to describe a shop or business which specializes in the sale of chocolates and candy, and as an umbrella term for prestigious firms which manufacture high-quality chocolate. Most of the world's ...

Chocolate coins are coin-shaped candies made from chocolate. Milk, dark, and white chocolate are used to make coins, and they are typically foil wrapped in silver or gold. The surface of the coin is stamped with a pattern, and the foil may be decorated as well. Some people like ...

Oaxaca is the center of chocolate production in Mexico, so it should come a no surprise to learn that Oaxaca chocolate is famous, not just in Mexico, but abroad. The history of Oaxaca chocolate goes back for centuries, and the residents of this region consume significantly more chocolate than other ...

Couverture chocolate is a special form of chocolate used by chocolate manufacturers and professional bakers. This chocolate is richer and creamier than basic bar or eating chocolate, with a very high cocoa butter content which makes it ideal for things like molding, coating, and dipping. Less than 100 firms around ...

Chocolate mint is a Mentha piperia cultivar that has a hint of a chocolatey taste, leading many people to compare it to peppermint patties. Like many mints, this plant is very easy to grow, and it will spread readily in the garden if it is given a free hand. Many ...

Mexican chocolate is a type of chocolate which is prepared with an assortment of spices for a very distinctive and rich flavor. It is available in many markets, especially those which stock basic Mexican foods, and it can be found in the form of bars and discs of solid chocolate ...

When it comes to chocolates, there are the everyday candy bars we consume every day, the more exotic Godiva or Ghirardelli-style chocolates found in coffee houses and specialty stores, and then there is Belgian chocolate. This chocolate is considered to be the gourmet standard by which all other chocolate ...

The term “mockolate” is used derisively to describe candy products made with cocoa solids, but no cocoa butter. Legally, such products cannot be labeled as “chocolate,” but instead must be called “chocolate candy,” “chocolate coating,” or some variation thereof, so that consumers understand that cocoa butter is not present. Mockolate ...

Loved by the world, and especially by women in bad moods, the sweet, delicious substance known as chocolate has become popular only in the past 175 years or so. The Aztec Indians drank a hot concoction made from cocoa beans, but it did not resemble the beverage as we know ...

Bittersweet chocolate is a sweetened form of dark chocolate that does not contain milk in either liquid or dry form. It is essentially a mixture of chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, and sometimes vanilla. Often, lecithin is added as an emulsifying agent. Chocolate liquor, despite what its name seems to ...

Chocolate is a general term used to describe a number of foods made from the cacao bean. It is particularly used to describe a sweet confection made from cacao with sugar added. There are many different ways to prepare it, some dating back thousands of years. It is believed that ...

It’s not unusual to hear people talking about wine regions, tastes of wine from particular wineries, and wine made from different types of grapes. Even coffee is now often assessed by region and companies that offer coffee exclusively from Hawaii in the form of Kona coffee charge a high ...

Bavarian mints are difficult to describe without affording an opportunity to taste first. Simply put, Bavarian mints are pieces of chocolate with a mint taste. Not to be confused with ordinary chocolate mints, Bavarian mints are creamy in taste and texture, not hard, and ideally contain a perfect balance of ...

Cocoa powder is a powder which is obtained from cocoa solids, one of the two components of chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is a substance which is obtained during the manufacturing process which turns cacao beans into chocolate products. This powder can be added to baked goods for a chocolatey flavor ...

Mexican hot chocolate is the generic name for a spicy chocolate drink made with chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, chilies, anise, and other spices, depending on the region of Mexico it is made in. In other parts of the world, it is often made with Mexican chocolate, a bitter and granular solid ...

Perhaps your ice cream is a looking a little plain with nothing to top it, or you’d like an egg cream? Either one is glorified by adding chocolate syrup, a mixture of cocoa, sugar, usually high fructose corn syrup, and a variety of other ingredients depending upon the brand ...

Chocolate liquor is a combination of cocoa solids and cocoa butter that is obtained when cacao beans are processed to make chocolate products. Once chocolate makers have produced the liquor, there are a number of ways in which the substance can be handled to make various chocolate products, ranging from ...

Ganache is a rich mixture of chocolate and cream that can be used as a frosting or filling. Depending on the intended use, different ratios of chocolate to cream are used, to create anything from a light glaze to a dense standalone truffle. Although this mixture is remarkably rich and ...

Savory dishes made with chocolate can be found in the cuisines of Europe and Latin America, but are more rare in North American cuisine. A growing interest in working with chocolate as an ingredient has led to an increase in savory dishes made with chocolate at restaurants and in home ...

Ruth Wakefield is often credited with the invention of chocolate chip cookies. With her husband, she ran the Tollhouse Inn in Massachusetts. The common story goes that Wakefield, who often made food for her guests, decided to make a chocolate butter cookie but didn’t have enough chocolate bars to ...

For some bakers, chewy chocolate chip cookies represent a holy grail of baking. A number of factors come into play when baked goods are cooked to determine their final texture; if you want to make your chocolate chip cookies chewy, it helps to understand these factors and to learn how ...

Chocolate truffles are often closely associated with decadence and richness, because they have a characteristic dense, intense chocolate flavor which many people find quite appealing. Given the high cost of chocolate truffles found for sale, one might be forgiven for thinking that they are difficult to make. In fact, chocolate ...

Torte is a rich dessert cake made with little or no flour. The ingredients tend to be very simple, using copious amounts of eggs for leavening and body, along with unsalted butter and sugar, and sometimes ground nuts for a flour substitute. Chocolate torte is probably the most famous of ...

Devil's food cake is a rich, moist, very intense dark chocolate cake, made in a variety of different ways, depending on the region. As a general rule, the cake is presented as a layer cake, with a rich, fudgy frosting, and the individual layers are springy and flavorful. The ...

Sometimes dreams really do come true — chocolate may be good for us. Unfortunately, when it comes to health, not all chocolate is created equally. In fact, it is not really the chocolate that has heath benefits for humans, but the cocoa from which chocolate is made. Pure cocoa, the ...

The health benefits of chocolate are often touted in the news, typically with a jaunty headline. While chocolate certainly does contain some beneficial compounds, the fact is that a very large volume of high quality dark chocolate would need to be eaten for these benefits to take effect. More chocolate ...

There is caffeine in chocolate. For those who must avoid caffeine completely, this may be bad news. However, for those who can have caffeine, the amount in chocolate is not likely to be problematic unless one consumes vast quantities of chocolate on a regular basis. It is also important to ...

When it comes to using carob as a substitute for chocolate, there are at least three camps: yes, no and "why bother?" Yes, it is possible to use it to create food products vaguely resembling real chocolate. No, carob and chocolate cannot be used interchangeably in recipes without modifications. Finally ...

Many recipes call for the chef to melt chocolate, and it is also necessary for many different desserts and for some confections. Melted chocolate, when cooled, also makes a great addition to baked recipes and can be used effectively in chocolate decorations. The best way to melt the chocolate is ...

A chocolate mold machine is used to make chocolate forms to hold fillings used for making candy in chocolate production operations. A benchtop chocolate mold machine can range from those that hold over 2 pounds (1 kilogram) of chocolate to those that hold over 33 lbs. (15KG) of chocolate. A ...

Conching is an important step in the process used to turn cacao beans into chocolate. Without this step, the resulting chocolate will be gritty, lacking the smooth, even texture that people associate with it. After conching, the chocolate can be tempered and then poured into molds to make bars, truffles ...

A chocolate fountain may sound like something straight out of Willy Wonka, but those who have attended wedding receptions or other catered affairs may have already encountered one. A traditional chocolate fountain combines the chocolate-warming properties of a fondue pot and the cascading effect of a champagne fountain. Constructed ...

A chocolate tempering machine is a countertop electronic mixing and heating pan or appliance that is designed to take all the guesswork and manual labor out of tempering chocolate. It heats the chocolate to the correct temperature while constantly mixing it, allowing special crystalline shapes to form within the molecular ...