Trying Every Type Of Chocolate | The Big Guide | Epicurious

There are more than 15 different

type

s of

chocolate

. I'm going to show you how to correctly identify and use all the different

type

s of

chocolate

you can find. Cacao beans are pretty much the rawest version of chocolate you can buy. The cocoa beans are extracted from the pod that grows on the tree, fermented and dried and that is exactly what you see here. The cacao tree is believed to have originated in the upper Amazon region and then the growth of the tree spread to Central and South America. To make chocolate, these beans would first have to be roasted and then ground processed to turn them into chocolate, but that is a lot of work, there is a thin layer of skin, it's almost like the skin of an almond, it's definitely very dry but it's easy to break. you definitely get notes of acidity, bitterness but a lot of depth of flavor, it's almost that Umami feeling that takes over your mouth.

I think the skin has more bitterness than the inside. I actually love chocolate this way because you really get the essence. What cocoa is without adding things to it, you probably wouldn't eat cocoa beans on their own, but they are great for infusing into different liquids to get that flavor, you can make chocolate vodka or steep them in teas and really get that true essence. of cocoa beans Cocoa beans, also called cocoa nibs, are dried pieces of cocoa beans that can come roasted or unroasted, usually the roasted ones have a little more flavor and less bitterness.

Cacao nibs are great to add to baked goods placed on top. yogurt or ice cream and also in smoothies one of my favorite uses for cocoa beans is granola. I love adding cacao nibs to granola because they don't add any extra sweetness but add tons of flavor and texture. The chocolate making process essentially goes something like These cocoa beans are broken down into seeds, the seeds are finely ground into a paste, the paste is melted into what is called chocolate liquor and then the liquor is distributed to make the different types of chocolate. Sugar-free chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate is also commonly known as baking chocolate. has no added sugar and is frequently used in baking unsweetened chocolate is the ground cocoa mass or paste that is then melted in chocolate liquor and placed into bars has approximately equal parts cocoa butter and cocoa solids can be very bitter It has absolutely no added sugar and that is why it is more commonly used in baking rather than as a foreign snack It is a little bitter but you still get some of the acidity of chocolate Lots of tannins This is a very pure form of chocolate so this is what you want to use when you're making a devil's food cake or a Chocolate Stout cake, oh it's intense, another great use for unsweetened chocolate is your classic chocolate brownies, the sugar almost acts like salt in a recipe where brings out the nuance of flavor so you get a little bit of flavor.

More of those citrus notes you get a little more of that delicious chocolate flavor, but not overpowered by the bitterness of raw chocolate. Milk chocolate. Milk chocolate contains at least 12 percent milk and at least 10 percent cocoa mass. Added milk takes away the flavor, bitterness and tannic qualities of the chocolate. Milk chocolate is very popular as a snack and you will commonly see it sold in the candy aisle under brands such as Hershey, Nestlé and Cadbury. The texture is much softer, it doesn't have the same kind of bite and crunch as when you bite into a piece of dark chocolate, so you lose some of that texture due to the milk, but it also makes it sweeter.

You get chocolate flavor, but you don't get some of those characteristic bitter notes that Milk chocolate is made from semisweet, bittersweet, or unsweetened chocolate, and it's great to use in things like chocolate pudding and chocolate mousse because the milk and the The additional dairy fat it contains gives it a creamier texture when melted. Semisweet chocolate. Semisweet chocolate. It starts with unsweetened chocolate to which sugar is then added and is used in sweet baking applications. You may have seen bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate side by side, but in reality they are more or less the same and the determination is left up to the manufacturer as to what to call it semisweet chocolate must be a minimum of 35 percent mass. of cocoa, however, the range generally falls between 65 and 70 percent.

Hmm, it's not too sweet, but it has enough sugar to offset the bitterness. great for baking, especially things like granola bars or even pancakes because it's not as sweet combined with a sweet dough, but it's also great in chocolate chip cookies because they're not too sweet, so they really balance out the cookie dough I mean, come on. What's not to love German chocolate? German chocolate is not actually from Germany, it was invented in 1852 by a man named Samuel German who worked for the baker's chocolate company. He made it by incorporating more sugar than usual into the semisweet chocolate, while German chocolate is a variety of chocolate that is a registered trademark and is only sold under the baker's brand.

He wouldn't change it to regular semisweet because it would give you a sweeter end product, although this is a product from the baker's chocolate company, it has specific uses. like chocolate frosting and of course German chocolate cake. Here we have German chocolate cupcakes topped with pecan and coconut frosting. You can definitely taste the sweetness of the chocolate. It's not overly sweet, but that's balanced by the recipe calling for less sugar than you'd add to a chocolate cake that uses unsweetened chocolate, you get a lot of the deep notes and toasty flavor of the chocolate, and it's very well balanced with the coconut-walnut glaze, which is the traditional glaze for German chocolate cakes.

Bitter chocolate. Sometimes there is a wide variety of dark chocolate. You'll see dark chocolate compared to milk chocolate, but the main difference is that dark chocolate has no added milk. By not having that added milk, dark chocolate has a firmer, snappier texture and also has some of those more bitter tannic chocolate notes. Percentages may vary. but dark chocolate must have a minimum of 35 cocoa mass. Dark chocolate is made with different amounts of sugar and different percentages of cocoa mass. These different amounts of cocoa mass and sugar change the flavor and texture of each type of dark chocolate as you can.

Look, I have an assortment of four different types of dark chocolate and percentages in front of me and each one has a different amount of sugar and cocoa mass at the lower end of the percentage. I'm getting more sweetness and less bitter notes. less of that strong chocolate flavor, it's rounder and easier to eat, it melts pretty quickly on the palate, and at the higher end of the percentage spectrum I get more bitterness and spiciness almost as the percentages go up, one of the things most important things you know. What you will notice is that the texture of the chocolate becomes firmer and also more brittle, so it will break more forcefully.

It also takes longer to melt on the tongue due to that higher percentage of cocoa mass, the flavor becomes much more intense and the sweetness. it decreases dramatically but you get this really strong chocolate flavor, it's almost like hints of espresso, the higher percentage is definitely something you want to linger and savor instead of just eating and going about your day as the chocolate reaches a higher percentage . You will also often notice this white bloom on the outside, that doesn't mean your chocolate has gone bad, so don't panic and don't throw it away. That white powdery substance on the outside is called fat bloom, which is when your chocolate reacts to a temperature fluctuation, whether it's too cold or too warm and then returns to room temperature, the cocoa butter solids will actually rise to the surface and will create this type of white haze outside.

Mexican table chocolate Mexican table chocolate is a type of chocolate used for cooking that is made by grinding cocoa beans with coarse sugar and a little cinnamon. The little bit of cinnamon added to this type of chocolate gives it that distinctive Warm Spice note that you taste when eating Mexican hot chocolate and moles, while it looks like a chocolate that would be for snacking has a much deeper and more robust flavor, which is why It is mainly used for cooking in some regions. The skin of the cocoa bean is left intact when ground to give it a little more of that bitter flavor. the chocolate flavor is very deep, dark, robust, it tastes like this one definitely had the skin of the bean left to get those bitter notes, it has a little more tannic flavor, a little bit of acidity and a really fresh texture due to the ground spices.

You can also feel the texture of the coarse sugar and you can see some of the crystals inside, so if you eat it alone you will get some of that crunchy sugar texture. This is chicken with mole. The mole is traditional. sauce that varies widely by region and household, but some versions use Mexican table chocolate such as black mole. Mexican table chocolate gives it this distinctive warm flavor and also the rich, deep color that comes with such depth of flavor in this sauce. Balanced very well with some hot chilies and a little ground sesame to tone down the sweetness, but you still get a lot of that Umami and the deep flavor of the chocolate that contains modeling chocolate modeling chocolate is used by bakers and confectioners to make chocolate decorations is a mixture of melted chocolate and corn syrup and you get this flexible dough that feels like the Play-Doh modeling chocolate reacts with the heat of your hands and becomes more flexible and easier to work with as it warms and you can see that it almost looks like a pie crust or another type of dough that you can work with very easily.

It's so fun it's almost like eating a Tootsie pop or a Tootsie Roll. It is exactly what it is. It has a chewy texture that dissolves and is a little weird, so it disappears a little faster than a Tootsie Roll, but you still get that same sticky-to-your-teeth candy feeling, but it's great for making beautiful decorations like chocolate roses, it's not as pretty as you see the modeling here. Chocolate can be rolled out very thin, cut and shaped into anything you want, and is actually easier to work with than sugar fondant, which is why many bakers and cake decorators prefer it for making intricate designs.

Corn syrup adds a lot of sugar, but there's also flexibility to this, so that's the key here is that you're going to look for something that you can work with and shape into whatever you want to turn into your chocolate coating. Chocolate is the preferred type of chocolate used to temper the coating. Chocolate is made by grinding. The chocolate becomes a finer paste and has a higher percentage of cocoa butter. That higher percentage of cocoa butter gives it a beautiful glossy finish when it cools. The flavor is really amazing because of that extra cocoa butter which gives it a really nice mouthfeel. and the texture is creamy, it is smooth, it melts a little easier than dark or bittersweet chocolate, but it is not too sweet, this type of chocolate is excellent for melting because of its fine texture and high fat content, it makes it excellent for topping anything, such as truffle chocolates. eclairs in a beautiful chocolate shell, it's also great for things like chocolate dipped strawberries.

You can see here that even when melted it has a beautiful shine and that shine comes from all the extra cocoa butter fat in it. that even after it cools, the chocolate has a beautiful shine and you can feel that nice, perfect texture. The texture of the chocolate is firm but not too hard, it breaks easily but holds its shape and you still get all that richness and robustness. Chocolate Flavor Tempering chocolate is the process of heating chocolate to a certain temperature and cooling it slightly. This changes the structure of the chocolate itself, so that when it cools and dries, it hardens to a beautiful Snappy texture when you temper a curvy chocolate, especially you.

We're still going to get that shine and flavor because of the high fat content, that's what you want, let's see if we can get an audible sound in the chocolate, you get that crunchy white chocolate. There is a lot of debate surrounding white chocolate and the consensus is that it is not actually chocolate, whichever side of the debate you are on, it is technically a candy made with cocoa butter and sugar, meaning it has cocoa butter. cocoa that has been removed from other types of real chocolate, but none of the cocoa solids. which gives other types of chocolate their distinctive color and flavor, is essentially cocoa butter flavored with milk solids and other things, is rumored to have been developed as a way to use up excess milk powder left over after the First War World Cup and was no longer available.

In high demand, there are some types of high-quality white chocolate that generally have a more yellow color and that is because the butterCocoa has a naturally yellow hue. Lower quality versions may have more milk solids, giving them a broader color and sweeter flavor. It's smooth because you don't get any of that firmness from the cocoa solids It's sweet It's milky It's creamy You don't get any of the bitterness, tartness, sourness or robust flavor that you expect from real chocolate It's essentially like eating a solid piece of sweetened condensed milk, there are real uses for white chocolate, some of them include white chocolate pudding, certain desserts and candies, and roasting it is still white chocolate, but roasting it caramelizes the milk solids and gives it almost caramel-like flavor notes, a little more depth.

Umami and really help balance the cloying sweetness of Ruby chocolate. Ruby chocolate is made from Ruby cocoa beans found in Ecuador, Brazil, and the Ivory Coast, while the actual production process is kept secret. It is speculated that Ruby chocolate is produced unfermented or very lightly fermented. Cocoa beans are defatted and treated with an acid that can help bring out the natural color. Many traditional chocolatiers think that this is just a marketing strategy, not necessarily a real foreign chocolate, the taste of this is a little sweeter. I'm not sure if I think it's a real chocolate, it reminds me more of white chocolate in texture, it feels creamier and richer on the palate, it doesn't have any of that bitterness, but you get a strange citrus flavor reminiscent of raw chocolate, but almost in a cloying way, it also has notes of raspberry or some type of red fruit, but overall it is very milky.

While this is called chocolate, it doesn't have those same flavor notes that you get from all other types of chocolate. the robustness the bitterness the depth of flavor the tannins but it still tastes good natural cocoa powder cocoa powder is the true essence of chocolate flavor you see it in the supermarket and can be used in tons of applications natural cocoa powder comes from roasted cocoa beans that have been processed, the beans are broken into seeds and then ground into a paste that is essentially an emulsion of cocoa solids suspended in cocoa butter, when the cocoa butter is extracted from that emulsion, the cocoa solids that are then ground. into a fine powder to make cocoa powder, cocoa powder can be used in brownie frostings and savory applications such as a dry rub for odd meats.

The flavor of cocoa powder is very intense and because the texture is so fine, the powder really coats your entire mouth. citrus notes and you really get the chocolate character, it is much better used in a baking application like chocolate cake, oh look we have two applications of chocolate frosting and chocolate cake, oh yes, that's what life is all about, cocoa powder doesn't have any sugar on it, when you add it to an application that has some sweetness, you can taste a lot of the different flavor notes that it contains, you get more citrus, a little bit of acid, some of the tannins, you get a lot more nuance of the chocolate flavor in the buttercream and cake because the cocoa powder is so fine and dry it's great for frostings because when whipped it makes the structure much firmer Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder The Dutch processed cocoa powder is cocoa powder that has been alkalized using a process.

Dutch processed cocoa powder was invented in 1828 by a Dutch chemist and chocolatier who added alkaline salts to his cocoa powder. He made it so that the cocoa powder was less bitter and also more soluble in water. It can change the color and flavor of your final product. product, so it's best to check your recipe to make sure what type of cocoa powder it calls for. Oh, it almost tastes more like a chocolate bar than natural cocoa powder. It's less acidic, has less citrus notes but has more of that deep chocolate flavor. appears on the back, it's actually kind of nice.

An excellent and lesser-known use of Dutch processed cocoa powder is red velvet cake. Traditional red velvet cake did not use red food coloring, the brick red color was a result of the increased alkali in the Dutch processed cocoa powder that is mixed with the dough, but today most bakers add red food coloring to give it a brighter red color, as seen here. Red food coloring doesn't affect the flavor of a cake, but you still get that depth. alkalized cocoa powder flavor, if you didn't know there was cocoa powder in red velvet you may not be able to tell it apart, but once you know, you can get those soft chocolate notes behind the other cocoa powder flavors black.

Black cocoa powder is cocoa powder that has been through the Dutch process several times, resulting in a higher alkaline level and darker color. It also has a milder flavor than even Dutch processed black cocoa powder. It's great because you can get a much darker color without having to add any food coloring or excessive amounts of foreign cocoa powder, the intense processing drastically changes the flavor from natural to Dutch processed to black. It still has chocolate notes, but it's very different, you don't get the acidity that you don't get. Much of citrus doesn't actually taste like cocoa powder in the same way, but it has a very specific flavor that you're probably familiar with.

Oreo Cookies Oreo cookies are made with black cocoa powder, which gives them their distinctive color that you can see. On the outside of the cookie, black cocoa powder is also used in many ice cream sandwiches to give the outside cookie that dark color. This is definitely going to get in my teeth. Sweet cocoa powder. Sweet cocoa powder is simply natural cocoa powder made with sugar and sometimes the addition of vanilla, it can be easily used in recipes like hot chocolate and frosting because it already has a sweetener added, it is quite tasty but quite sweet, another One thing it's great for is sprinkling desserts like topping this cheesecake. better than just adding natural cocoa powder because that could add a little bit of bitterness that we don't want, but you don't want to just swap it out in your recipe for natural cocoa powder because it's very sweet, so always make sure to adjust your recipe or use it sparingly. so that's all the chocolate we can get in one place thanks for tuning in.

I hope you learned a lot and can try some of these amazing preparations we made today, feel free to go. Leave a comment and tell us what you want to see next time in the big

guide

. I'm Adrienne Cheatham and I hope to see you soon.