WHAT ARE THE MAIN TYPES OF CHOCOLATES?

March 6th, 2017

Chocolates are among the most delicious and versatile types of food in the world. They have a unique flavor that lends to use in myriad preparations from cakes to puddings to milkshakes and ice cream.

There are also a great variety of chocolates as per their content, texture and shape. One can send chocolates to loved ones based on the occasion and their taste. Following are the major types of chocolates:

  • RAW CACOA: This consists of the cacao bean without the shell without anything else. One can buy roasted or raw cacao.  It may be used as whole bean or in powdered form. Though sometimes bitter, it is very healthy food.
  • CHOCOLATE LIQUOR: This makes the base of most chocolates and is created by grinding cacao beans into a liquid or a smooth paste. It does not contain any alcohol but has fat content (53%).
  • UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE: It is chocolate liquor that has been cooled and hardened. It is popular with baking recipes.
  • BITTER SWEET CHOCOLATE: It is also called as Dark chocolate. It contains chocolate liquor up to 35%.
  • SWEET CHOCOLATE:  It contains 15% chocolate liquor with sugar and cocoa butter in different amounts. Sometimes, it is mistaken for ‘bitter sweet’.
  • MILK CHOCOLATE: It has at least 10% chocolate liquor as well as sugar and cocoa butter in various amounts and most important, milk content of at least 12 %. Milk may be in form of cream, milk powder, plain milk etc.
  • WHITE CHOCOLATE: It is not technically chocolate in the real sense since it lacks chocolate liquor. But it needs to consist of a minimum cocoa butter of 20% and milk of 14%, in addition to sugar.
  • COCOA POWDER: It is made by putting pressure on chocolate liquor with a hydraulic press to remove fat (Cocoa butter). The remaining substance is made to harden and then, crushed to powder form. Around 10 to 20% fat will still remain. Because of low fat content, it is used in healthy recipes. Cocoa powder is used in most chocolate recipes particularly in baking cakes.
  • GROUND CHOCOLATE: It must not be mistaken for cocoa powder. It is the powdered form of most edible chocolate. It is used mostly in drinks and must not be substituted for cocoa powder in baking recipes.
  • BAKING CHOCOLATE: Many types of chocolate may be labeled as baking chocolate. These include unsweetened chocolate/ bitter sweet chocolate/ chocolate chip etc.
  • CHOCOLATE COATING: This is vegetable fat based coatings that contain cocoa powder, sugar, chocolate liquor and fat. It is not real chocolate. The best part about it is that it will not bloom when exposed to heat.
  • COUVERTURE: It is a great type of chocolate- made of dark chocolate with cocoa butter added to help it melt better. High cocoa butter content makes it easy to melt.
  • GIANDUJA: This is chocolate made of toasted and ground hazelnuts. It has a warm, chocolaty texture in addition to delicious taste of hazel nuts. Example is the popular product- Nutella.

These are the major types of chocolates in the world. No matter where you stay, you can send chocolates by post to loved ones through online gift stores.