Types
of Chocolate
There are many different types
of chocolate available, and the chocolate bars
we usually eat or use for cooking are mainly of three
types:
- Dark chocolate
- Milk chocolate
- White chocolate
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate contains cocoa
butter and cocoa solids (the meat of cocoa beans); it
can also contain sugar and flavourings like vanilla.
There are various types of dark chocolate, according
to the percentage of cocoa solids and the amount of
sugar they contain.
- Unsweetened chocolate, also called bitter chocolate
or chocolate liquor. It contains no sugar and 99 to
100% of cocoa solids. Unsweetened chocolate is unsuitable
for eating and it is usually used for cooking only.
- Bittersweet chocolate contains little sugar and
between 35 and 85 % cocoa solid (a good quality bittersweet
chocolate contains at least 50% cocoa solids)
- Semisweet chocolate contains a little bit more
sugar and between 40 and 62% cocoa solids.
- Sweet chocolate is sweeter and contains between
35 and 45 % cocoa solids.
Milk chocolate
In addition to cocoa butter, cocoa solids, sugar and
flavourings, milk chocolate contains
milk (at least 12% of the whole composition).
White chocolate
White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, milk,
vanilla but no cocoa solids. This is the reason why
it is white and in some countries, like in the USA,
law forbids to call it chocolate.
Other types of chocolate
 These
three main types of chocolate can be enriched with other
ingredients and flavours to give a delicious and endless
range of chocolate. An example of this is Gianduia (from
Piedmont, Italy), which is made adding hazelnut paste
to chocolate and comes in bonbons or paste to spread
on bread. Chocolate can also be flavoured with orange,
mint, liquor of filled with caramel or flavoured paste,
like for example the English After Eight, which are
made of dark chocolate filled with a kind of mint paste.
Also dried fruit and or nuts, such as almonds or hazelnuts,
can be added to chocolate bars. The possibilities are
really endless.
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