Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Appreciating the Different Types of Chocolate

There's probably no one in this world who has never loved chocolate at any point in their lives. Children are particularly fond of it because it rich, sweet taste, while adults may take a fancy to its romantic appeal. This type of sweets has been a particular favorite of guys wooing gals, while for others, it even serves as an aphrodisiac. Regardless of the reasons, here's a rundown of the different types of chocolate that we can all enjoy:

Dark Chocolate and Sweet Dark Chocolate

The Dark one, also known as plan or black chocolate, contains no milk solids and only cocoa (70-80%) with the addition of fat, sugar and a lecitihin emulsifier. A sweeter version of it is sweet dark chocolate which usually has 20-40% cocoa content. Of all types of chocolate, these two have the most health benefits, including improving heart functions, fighting cancer through antioxidants, and more.

Unsweetened / Bittersweet / Semi-sweet Chocolate

Unsweetened and bittersweet are often used interchangeably, but one difference between them is that unsweetened chocolate is made primarily of ground cocoa beans for baking purposes and cannot be eaten on its own. Bittersweet, on the other hand, contains chocolate liquor, sugar, fat, vanilla and lecithin. In general, both are called couverture chocolates which have, at least 32 % cocoa content. Semi-sweet, on the other hand, has 30-40-% cocoa solids and emulsifiers and lies halfway between sweet dark chocolate and bittersweet chocolate.

Milk / White Chocolate

Milk or white chocolate is made from chocolate with dry milk solids and cocoa butter, light in color, tastes more like milk instead of chocolate and can be very sweet. Of the different types of chocolate, this is the one that may come as both a drink or as a solid candy without any pronounced good taste. Milk chocolate is actually more recommended for kids than the darker types because it is made primarily of milk, which has high calcium content that kids need for bone development.

Gianduja Chocolate

Gianduja chocolate is sweet and made primarily from nut paste (usually hazelnut or almonds), cocoa solids and sugar. It can come in dark or milk chocolate varieties, as a flavoring or as an alternative to milk or dark ones. Modern confectioners may also use the term Gianduja for any sweets that comes as a combination of nuts, chocolate and sugar. Gianduja chocolate got its name from a Giandija carnival and marionette character who represents an archetypal from an Italian region where many hazelnut confectioneries could be found.

Compound Chocolate

Compound chocolate has cocoa and vegetable fat as main ingredients, instead of cocoa butter. Of all the different types of chocolate, this one may not even be technically sold as chocolate, but it is a very common coating for different types of sweets. Chocolate is undoubtedly one of the world's most beloved foods, and whatever the reasons we have for loving it, we know there's a rich variety out there for us to enjoy.

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