All about chocolate

To whet your appetite, have a look at our chocolate recipes!

What is chocolate?
Chocolate contains cacao butter, cacao and sugar. That's all! Types of chocolate vary according to the quantities used, the quality of the cacao beans and cacao butter.






 

Different types of chocolate:

Dark or plain chocolate	Contains cacao, cacao butter and sugar and comes plain or with added nuts, raisins, coffee beans etc. It has a fairly high content of cacao solids (58%, 60%, 72%, 80%) which accounts for its bitter taste. Chocolate intended to be eaten on its own (tasting chocolate) can be intensified or flavoured with fruit. Its intensity also depends on the type of cacao beans used.
Milk chocolate	Contains 25-30% cacao, cacao butter, sugar and milk. It's sweeter than dark chocolate which makes sweet tooths more receptive to it, but it is higher in both sugar and fat than dark chocolate. It's difficult to mould because it crystallises very quickly, so take care when melting!
White chocolate	Not strictly speaking chocolate at all, white chocolate only contains cacao butter, sugar, milk and sometimes vanilla flavouring. Its high sugar and milk content makes it difficult to mould, and it crystallises very quickly. It's imperative to buy good quality white chocolate for use in cooking.
Cooking chocolate	This type of chocolate melts easily because it's high in cacao butter and contains 48-70% cacao solids as a rule. It's also called baking or dessert chocolate.
Confectioner's chocolate	Used by chefs, this type of chocolate is made using the finest cacao beans. What distinguishes it from other types of chocolate is its high cacao butter content: the more it contains, the easier it melts and hardens again. You can even get confectioner's chocolate that goes shiny or matte when it sets.
Reduced-sugar chocolate	Be wary of reduced-sugar labels that often hide high levels of cacao butter (ie the chocolate is lower in sugar but higher in fat!). These are almost better to use in cooking than to nibble on.

 
Uses and tips

Storing chocolate
Chocolate doesn't cope with damp or temperature changes well. It melts quickly in heat, and in cold it loses its shine and its taste changes. It should be kept in a fairly cool, dry place well away from light and odours (the fat in chocolate absorbs bad smells!).

Melting chocolate
Either melt chocolate in a bain-marie or in a bowl in a pan of hot water, so that you don't burn it. Never add water: it changes the texture of the chocolate. Ideally, melt it in a microwave, stopping every 15 seconds to mix the chocolate so you get an even mixture. Take care though: once you've burned chocolate, it can't be used!

Choosing chocolate
The EU authorises chocolate makers to add vegetable fat other than cacao butter to chocolate if it constitutes no more than 5% of the total weight. Cacao butter is the most costly ingredient in chocolate making; very good chocolate is pretty much pure cacao butter. Beware of low-quality chocolate which is often very high in sugar.

Chocolate-based preparations

Chocolate icing or topping	Hard icing is 100% chocolate. If you want it to be shiny, you need to control the temperature of melting with a thermometer. Soft icing is made with chocolate and butter or cream.
Ganache icing	Heat enough single cream for your icing until it just boils and pour over grated dark or milk chocolate (or both, if you like). Wait 30 seconds and mix gently. Use to fill cakes (leave to set before covering!), on cakes, tarts and puddings (over a pre-cooked biscuit base, for example) or as a base to make truffles and other chocolate sweets (once hardened in the fridge).
Chocolate shavings	There are two ways of making shavings: either 'shave' a bar of chocolate using a knife, or melt the chocolate, spread a fine layer onto greaseproof paper and scrape shavings off using a spatula.
Chocolate  mousse	There are over 100 recipes for mousse! Here are a few ponters: butter makes mousse set quicker in the fridge, cream gives it a lighter, more airy texture, and egg yolks make it heavier. You don't need to add sugar usually, but depending on the sweetness of your tooth and the type of chocolate you use, you may want to.
Hot chocolate	Real hot chocolate is creamier than powdered chocolate. Give this recipe a try: melt 20g cooking chocolate per person, add 200-250ml hot whole milk or half milk and half cream, sweeten with sugar to taste and serve warm (with cream and bitter cacao powder on top to make luxury Viennese hot chocolate!).

What goes well with chocolate

Alcohol and chocolate	Champagne does not go well with chocolate. Go for a light red or sweet white, or after-dinner liquers like cognac, armagnac or Grand Marnier.
Spices and chocolate	Spices and chocolate make a surprisingly good combination, and anything goes: pepper, cardamon, cinammon, aniseed, chilli, vanilla, ginger and the rest.
Fruit and chocolate	Citrus fruit (lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit), red berries (raspberry, cherry etc), tropical fruit (pineapple, banana, mango) and pear all go well, as do chestnuts. The choice is yours.
Dried fruit and chocolate	Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachio and pecan nuts go well with chocolate. Use them whole for crunch and powdered to add light flavour.
Savoury food and chocolate	Turkey with mole sauce containing cacao is a classic Mexican dish. Chocolate can also be used in wine-based sauces. Cacao powder can be used to sprinkle over pasta, poultry or duck breast.

Fancy something chocolatey? Dive into our chocolate recipes and get cooking!