The Sweet World of Chocolates

Whenever we talk about chocolates, a delightful picture of typically sweet and usually brown in color food comes to our mind immediately. This mouth-watering chocolate is prepared by the cocoa beans which are roasted and ground to form the cocoa mass. This is then mixed with other ingredients to form a delicious compound. The earliest known use of chocolates dates back to the time of the 1900 BC era and was known to some of the earliest civilizations like Maya and Aztecs. It arrives in multiple designs and flavors which have increased its use in a variety of food items. Desserts such as cakes, pudding, mousse, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and other such dishes contain chocolate in some form or other.

The cocoa beans being the main ingredient of the chocolate is first fermented, dried, roasted and grounded to form a powder-like substance. This resulting product consists of cocoa butter, a smooth, solid fat used in both food and cosmetics, chocolate liquor or ground roasted cocoa beans. The different types of chocolates can be obtained by refining the process by utilizing the various amounts of cocoa butter, sugar, chocolate liquor, and other such ingredients. Take a look at the various categories below:

Unsweetened Chocolate: Baking chocolate, also referred to as bitter chocolate, cooking chocolate and unsweetened chocolate, is a type of dark chocolate that is prepared for use as an ingredient in baking.

Dark Chocolate: The cocoa in dark chocolate contains antioxidants called flavonoids, which may provide several health benefits. Chocolate comes from cacao, which is a plant with high levels of minerals and antioxidants. 

Bittersweet Chocolate- It contains at least 35 percent pure chocolate with some small amount of sugar added. Also known as dark chocolate, when it is a European brand. It is usually darker and less sweet than semisweet.

Milk Chocolate- The ingredients of milk chocolates are cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, condensed milk (for European varieties) or dry milk solids. There are various regulations and guidelines regarding milk chocolates in various countries. 

Couverture Chocolate- Couverture chocolate is very high-quality chocolate that contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter (32–39%) than baking or eating chocolate.