Kinds Of Chocolate

Learn about kinds of chocolate. Chocolate is an aphrodisiac, a stress buster, a depression favourite and just simply a very delicious thing to eat- chocolate has a lot of meanings for a lot of people. It is one of the few things in our life that deserve an extensive experimentation. But before doing that, read this short summary of all kinds of chocolate.

Because chocolate is basically a product of cocoa beans, its most common and basic form is that of cocoa powder. It has a distinct flavour of chocolate and is generally used extensively in chocolate cake recipes. The important point to note about cocoa powder is that it works well with baking soda which neutralises its slight acidic essence.

Those who bake often, would make use of bitter chocolate. This is a derivative of chocolate liquor and as the name suggests it is bitter in taste. Most chocolates are a developed version of bitter chocolate and therefore, bitter chocolate is not eaten itself. It is used in recipes where it can be sweetened with additional ingredients. It lends a rich and dark texture to the dish.

Dark chocolate can be one fourth to three fourths composed of cocoa powder. This in turn is directly proportional to how bitter the chocolate would be. It does not contain any milk content. It is a combination of cocoa butter, emulsifier, sugar and chocolate liquor. It has two types- bitter-sweet and semi-sweet.

Another common chocolate of all kinds of chocolate is milk chocolate. It contains all the ingredients of normal chocolate but there is an addition of milk too. Most countries have a standard chocolate liquor and milk content that must be present in a bar of chocolate for it to be milk chocolate. Obviously, it is lighter in colour and has a more tempered chocolate taste and is sweeter too.

White chocolate, like milk chocolate is another one of the many kinds of chocolate. White chocolate does not contain any cocoa product except its butter. Therefore it lacks the typical chocolate flavour and ends up tasting like other flavors, commonly, vanilla.

Now we come to the less heard kinds of chocolate. One of them is Couverture chocolate. This kind of chocolate is used by professionals commonly. It is a favourite for baking recipes. It has a cocoa butter and chocolate liquor content. It is usually used in making candies because its texture is very smooth and it melts easily. It is very expensive and comes in three varieties. It is either white or dark or milk.

Another of the uncommon kinds of chocolate is the Gianduja chocolate. It is a European chocolate. It derives its name from its composition-that of nut paste and chocolate. The most often used nut is hazel nut but other varieties like that of almond are also available. One can buy milk Gianduja chocolate or dark Gianduja chocolate.

It is appropriate to end an article on kinds of chocolate with candy-coating chocolate. This kind of chocolate tastes like chocolate but is made out of vegetable oils. They melt and/or mould brilliantly but do not have an authentic chocolate taste.