Types of Chocolate | Truffles | No Sugar Added Chocolates | Is It Good for You?
Cocoa trees were originally found in the lowlands of southern Mexico. To this day they are still grown there, and in a belt around the world delineated by 20 degrees north and south of the equator. They are grown in West Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Indonesia, and Malaysia. For their growth and development, an average temperature of 77 degrees F., high rainfall and high relative humidity are required. Island and/or mountainous regions near the coast are ideal areas for cultivation.
There are three types of cocoa trees, which produce different quality of cocoa beans. While temperature, rainfall and humidity are common necessities for growth of the tree, soil content also affects the beans and their flavor.
Cocoa beans, as they are known in the US, don’t develop their distinctive chocolate color, flavor and aroma until they have been fermented, dried and carefully roasted to precise temperatures. Roasting loosens the shell of the cocoa bean, exposing the “nib”, or meat of the bean. After the roasted nibs are separated from the shells, the heated nibs are ground into a thick paste, which is called cocoa mass, or more commonly, chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor, after further refining, becomes what we know as unsweetened chocolate.
The chocolate liquor is rolled between huge rollers to further reduce the particle size of the chocolate. The mixing together of various beans, toasting temperatures, the time that is given to “conching”, a mellowing process by which he heated paste is slowly kneaded to allow volatile acids and excess moisture to evaporate which can take 12-72 hours as additional butter and small amounts of lecithin are mixed with the chocolate paste. It is this process of refining and conching that transforms chocolate into the smooth, rich, satisfying substance unequalled by any other. It is also a closely guarded secret of each chocolate manufacturer. This also helps explain why no two chocolates will ever taste the same.
Return to top of page
All chocolate is different. The US Standards of Identity defines what amount of chocolate liquor must be used to indicate how chocolate is labeled. Usually, chocolate will fall into one of the following categories:
Unsweetened Chocolate: Pure chocolate liquor, ground, roasted cocoa beans with no added ingredients. It must, according to the US Standards of Identity, contain a minimum of 50% and maximum of 58% cocoa butter, which vary from brand to brand. It is used in baking, and can be found in most grocery stores. Cake recipes always give careful instructions in using unsweetened chocolate, and not to confuse it with bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate.
Bittersweet and Semisweet Dark: These chocolates must contain at least 35% chocolate liquor. Within this extremely broad definition, manufactures can produce chocolates that vary greatly, depending on the amounts of sugar, additional cocoa butter, milk solids, butterfat, lecithin, flavorings and additional amount of cocoa liquor that is added. Generally speaking, the higher the chocolate % the more intense the chocolate flavor. I have tried a 90% chocolate bar, which many people are training themselves to eat because of the health benefits. I found it too intense for my liking.
Milk Chocolate: This was America’s favorite eating chocolate. To be called milk chocolate, the chocolate must contain no less that 3.66% milk fat, no less than 12% milk solids, and at least 10% chocolate liquor. Manufacturers use varying amount of milk solids and additional sugar and flavorings such as vanilla that are added to the chocolate. There is generally less chocolate added to the mixture, which accounts for the lighter color. Because of the additional ingredients, it doesn’t share the health benefits attributed to dark chocolate.
White Chocolate is really a misnomer according the US Standards of Identity– because it doesn’t contain chocolate liquor at all. It is a combination of varying amount of sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids, butterfat lecithin and flavorings. The cocoa taste of white chocolate comes from the cocoa butter that has been added, and a minimum of 20% cocoa butter is required to be able to label a product as “white chocolate”. Make sure that the label says the product you are buying contains cocoa butter, because sometimes, vegetable fats are used rather than cocoa butter.
Couverture is not another type of chocolate, but does encourage its own separate definition. It is a term used to describe professional quality coating chocolate which contains a high percentage of cocoa butter. Couverture means “coating" or “covering.” The extra cocoa butter enables the chocolate to form a thin coating or shell that is ideal for hand dipping, machine enrobing and molding chocolate. This is a property that is very important in the confection and candy industry.
Some people use paraffin (yes, wax) to help in this process. I was surprised at the comments of people when I first started making chocolate. They kept saying that they didn’t taste waxy. Finally one day, I had the opportunity to ask another chocolatier about this, and he was the one who told me that people add paraffin to give chocolate a sheen, make it flow better, go further, and give added strength to molded chocolate. I decided that I would work to find another way to achieve the same results. I want chocolate to taste like chocolate, not crayons.
So check to labels to see what you are buying. A converture chocolate is the best for candy making and needs 60% cocoa solids or higher to be called “dark” or “bittersweet”; 56% to be called “semisweet”, and about 36% to be labeled milk chocolate.
Unsweetened cocoa powder is made from chocolate liquor that has had nearly all the cocoa butter removed by hydraulic pressure. The size of the cocoa particles is determined by the grinding of the cake that remains after the pressure process. There are two different types of unsweetened cocoa. Non-alkalized: natural processed cocoa powder is naturally acidic, similar to chocolate, and has the fruity flavor of cocoa beans. Alkalized: Dutch processed cocoa is treated with an alkali, such as potassium carbonate which neutralizes the natural acidity of the cocoa nibs, making the cocoa taste less harsh.
Return to top of page
Truffles are the richest of all chocolate confections. They are made with premium chocolate, fresh dairy cream and butter – a combination that is called a “ganache.” Flavoring can be added to this mixture or other ingredients such as ground nuts, dried fruit, spices, teas, coconut, and alcohol. By varying the proportions of the chocolate to the cream, the ganache can be fluid enough to pour over a cake, soft to pipe into a preformed mold for truffles centers, or firm so that it can be rolled into irregularly shaped balls.
The origin of truffles, depending on the book, can be traced to France or Switzerland. At the end of the day, scraps left over from cutting chocolates into uniform shapes would be gathered together. Rather that tossing them out, they would, depending on their consistency, be beaten in a mixer and piped, or hand rolled into small balls and chilled. Some were lumpy, irregular shaped balls, which were rolled in a thick coating of unsweetened cocoa. Because they look like the earth-covered fungus called “truffles”, they too were given the same name.
Today, truffles continue to be “encrusted” by rolling them in cocoa, ground-up nuts, coconut or other ingredients used in the ganache. The other method of finishing a truffle is called “enrobing”. The small firm centers can be hand-dipped into a bath of tempered chocolate, or by pouring the tempered chocolate and allowing it to cool, it can create a shell. Later the ganache is piped into the mold and covered with a thin layer of tempered chocolate to enclose the filling.
Who gets the credit for the creation? I don’t know. I’m just happy they did it!
Return to top of page
With the increase in diabetes in our country, both in the young and old, increased interest in diet has become a focus of concern for many. When I started making chocolates a little over a year ago, my wife continued to suggest that I consider offering a sugar-free line of chocolates. The problem always remains, where do you get a good-quality, good-tasting chocolate that people who must avoid sugar would be willing to purchase? I have had too many people complain about the sugar-free chocolate they have purchased without tasting it, only to be disappointed when they get it home and try it. They don’t like it.
When I state at farmer’s markets that I have no sugar added chocolate, I sometimes am told those sad stories. I have samples of the dark chocolate available for people to taste, and they usually (99% of the time) like what they sample.
The chocolate is the same quality Belgian chocolate that I use for my chocolates, but has been sweetened with Maltitol, a reduced calorie bulk sweetener, which has a sugar-like taste and sweetness. It is made by the hydrogenation of maltose, which is obtained from starch. It does not promote tooth decay, and is slowly absorbed by the body, which significantly reduces the rise in blood glucose and insulin response associated with the ingestion of glucose. The only drawback for some people is that it may produce a laxative effect when consumed in very high levels.
I have no sugar added dark, milk, and white chocolates available in solid seashells, which is one of my best sellers at farmer’s markets. I also produce truffles using the same sugar-free chocolates in the recipes that I use in making most of the regular truffles. In place of the small amount of corn syrup called for in those recipes, I substitute some stevia for the sweetness that might otherwise be missing.
Return to top of page
Chocoholics around the world can begin to celebrate because increased clinical studies indicate that eating dark chocolate has positive cardiovascular benefits.
Research in the past five years indicate that the flavonoids found in chocolate can provide the body with the same benefits as red wine. My cardiologist indicated to me that eating 1 ounce of the type of chocolate that I am using in my truffles provides the same benefits as drinking a glass of red wine, without the alcohol.
While the benefits are there, it is not a license to go out and binge on truffles. As in all things, moderation is always indicated. And unfortunately, it is only the dark chocolate that has the positive benefits. The higher the cocoa concentrate, the greater the benefits. That is another reason I have started working with a 70% cocoa content in some of my chocolates.
It definitely is an acquired taste, but some people are able to eat chocolate with an 80-85% cocoa content.
Return to top of page