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What is in chocolate?
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Chocolate (see below for etymology) describes a number of raw and processed products that originate from the tropical cacao tree. It is a common ingredient in many… kinds of sweets, chocolate candy, ice creams, cookies, cakes, pies, and desserts. It is one of the most popular flavours in the world..
Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted, and ground beans taken from the pod of the tropical cacao tree Theobroma cacao native to Central America, which has an intensely flavoured bitter taste. The resulting products are known as "chocolate" or, in some parts of the world, cocoa..
The bean products are known under different names in different parts of the world. In the American chocolate industry:.
Cocoa is the solids of the cacao bean, * Cocoa butter is the fat component, and * Chocolate is a combination of the solids and the fat..
It is the solid and the fat combination, sweetened with sugar and other ingredients, that is made into chocolate bars and which is commonly referred to as chocolate by the public..
It can also be made into beverages (called cocoa and hot chocolate), and this was the original form used by the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the first European consumers..
Chocolate is often produced as small moulded forms in the shape of animals, people, or inanimate objects to celebrate festivals worldwide. For example, moulds of rabbits or eggs for Easter, coins or Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) for Christmas, and hearts for Valentine's Day..
Strictly speaking, chocolate is any product based 99% on cocoa solid and/or cocoa fat. Because it is used in a vast number of byproducts any change in the cost of making it has a huge impact on the industry. Adding ingredients is an aspect of the taste. On the other hand, reducing cocoa solid content, or substituting cocoa fat with a non-cocoa one, reduces the cost of making it. There has been disagreement in the EU about the definition of chocolate..
Some want to see the definition allowing for any cocoa solid content and any kind of fat in chocolate. This would allow a merely coloured and flavoured margarine to be sold as being chocolate. In some countries this happens, and a 50% to 70% cocoa solid dark-chocolate, with no additive, for domestic use, is hard to find and expensive..
Others believe in adhering more strictly to the definition above. Chocolate, depending on the type, can be made from various ingredients. It also depends on the brand. Milk, semi-sweet, un-sweetened, and dark chocolate all contain cocoa powder (in different concentrations and percentages, though). White chocolate is actually only from cocoa butter / fat. Other common ingredients in many types of chocolates are milk, cream, butter, cocoa butter, milk fat / milk solids, sugar, artificial sweetners, colors, and preservatives.
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