chocolate
Definition:
The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec xocolatl, meaning "bitter water." Believing chocolate was an aphrodisiac, the Aztec king purportedly drank 50 goblets of the bitter drink made of pounded cocoa beans and spices daily. Chocolate comes from the tropical cocoa bean, Theobroma ("food of the gods") cacao. The beans are removed from their pods and fermented, dried, roasted and cracked, separating the nibs (about 54 percent cocoa butter) from the shells. The nibs are ground to extract the cocoa butter (a natural vegetable fat), leaving a thick, dark paste called chocolate liquor. Next, the chocolate liquor is refined. If more cocoa butter is extracted from the chocolate liquor, the solid result is ground into unsweetened cocoa powder. If other ingredients are added (such as milk powder or sugar), the chocolate is refined again. The final step is conching, in which machines blend the heated chocolate liquor, removing moisture and acids. Conching lasts 12 to 72 hours (depending on the type and quality of chocolate) while cocoa butter and sometimes lecithin are added for smoothness. Unadulterated chocolate is called unsweetened, baking or bitter chocolate. U.S. standards require that unsweetened chocolate contain between 50 and 58 percent cocoa butter. The addition of sugar, lecithin and vanilla (or vanillin) creates bittersweet, semisweet or sweet chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate must contain at least 35 percent chocolate liquor; semisweet and sweet can contain from 15 to 35 percent. Adding dry milk to sweetened chocolate creates milk chocolate, which must contain at least 12 percent milk solids and 10 percent chocolate liquor. Though bittersweet, semisweet and sweet chocolate may be used interchangeably in some recipes, milk chocolate--because of the milk protein--cannot. Developed for baking, unsweetened liquid chocolate comes in 1-ounce packages and requires no melting. Because it's made with vegetable oil, it doesn't have the texture or flavor of regular unsweetened chocolate. Couverture is a glossy professional-quality coating chocolate. It usually contains at least 32 percent cocoa butter and is sold in specialty candy-making shops. White chocolate is not true chocolate--it contains no chocolate liquor and little chocolate flavor. Its usually a mix of sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids, lecithin and vanilla. If cocoa butter isn't on the label, the product is confectionery (or summer) coating, not white chocolate. Beware of products labeled artificial chocolate or chocolate-flavored. Chocolate comes in many forms, from 1-ounce squares to chips ranging from 1/2 to 1/8 inch in diameter. Chocolate should be stored, tightly wrapped, in a cool (60 degrees to 70 degrees F), dry place. If stored at warm temperatures, chocolate develops a pale gray "bloom" (surface streaks and blotches), caused when the cocoa butter rises to the surface. In damp conditions, gray sugar crystals may form on the surface. In either case, the chocolates flavor and texture are barely affected. Dark chocolate can be stored 10 years, but milk and white chocolate keep for 9 months. Because chocolate scorches easily, melt slowly over low heat. Place the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water, remove from heat when halfway melted, and stir until smooth. Or heat the chocolate at 50 percent power in a 650- to 700-watt microwave oven. Four ounces of chocolate takes about 3 minutes, but times vary depending on the oven and type of chocolate. Though chocolate can be melted with liquid (at least 1/4 cup liquid per 6 ounces chocolate), a drop of moisture in melted chocolate will cause it to seize (clump and harden). Immediately stir in vegetable oil at a ratio of 1 tablespoon oil to 6 ounces chocolate to correct this. Slowly remelt the mixture and stir until smooth. See also chocolate syrup; gianduja chocolate; Mexican chocolate; tempering.
Substitution: CHOCOLATE, SEMISWEET 1 ounce = 1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
CHOCOLATE, SEMISWEET 6 ounces chips = 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa plus 1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp granulated sugar plus 3 Tbsp butter or margarine
CHOCOLATE, UNSWEETENED 1 ounce = 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa plus 1 Tbsp butter or margarine OR 3 Tbsp carob powder plus 2 Tbsp water
--Copyright (c) 1995 by Barron's Educational Series, from The New Food Lover's Companion, Second Edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst
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