Chocolate

A quick reference to the many kinds of chocolate...mmmmhhh!

Who doesn't love a piece of sweet, delicious, mouth-watering chocolate? Pure chocolate is made from the fermented, dried and roasted cacao bean and is known as "liquor" - equal parts cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

• Dark chocolate
  With 50-90% chocolate liquor and no milk solids, dark chocolate is deliciously rich - the higher the percentage of cocoa, the more bitter it will be. The right balance between cocoa solids an cocoa butter gives it flavour and that melt-in-the-mouth consistency.
  
  
• Milk chocolate
  A combination of chocolate liquor, sugar and milk solids, milk chocolate is sweeter, paler and less intense than dark chocolate. It can be substituted for dark chocolate in many recipes but is heat-sensitive, so it can't be used as a substitute in baking.
  

• White chocolate
  This isn't strictly chocolate, as it doesn't contain cocoa liquor. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter (the prized vegetable fat in cocoa beans), milk powder, sugar and vanilla, so it's creamy. It is great for making cheesecakes and mousses.
  

• Cocoa powder
  This is pulverised unsweetened cocoa liquor and is an economical substitute for chocolate when baking. If you're using it to make drinks, such as hot chocolate, choose Dutch-process cocoa, which is darker in colour and tastes less bitter.
  

• Couverture
  Available from specialty stores, couverture (meaning "covering" in French) has a high percentage of cocoa butter and may be either plain, milk or white. The higher the cocoa butter content, the more the chocolate melts in the mouth. It also gives a beautifully glossy finish, which is perfect for handmade chocolates and glazing cakes.
  

• Cooking chocolate
  In cooking chocolate, part of the cocoa butter is replaced with less expensive vegetable oils, which reduces the cost and makes it more heat resistant and easier to use when melting and baking. The downfall is that cooking chocolate lacks the creamy mouthfeel and intensity that makes pure chocolate so special.

• Chocolate chips and melts
  Choc chips and melts have added vegetable fat for easier handling and setting at room temperature. They are great for kids' chocolate-chip baking as they are made to hold their shape during normal oven heat even though the fat is fully melted.