10
CHOCOVISION
3Z
FAQ’s
1.
What is “pure” chocolate?
What is “compound” chocolate?
“
Pure
,” unsweetened chocolate is produced from the
seed of the tropical cacao tree,and contains primarily
cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions.
Most consumed chocolate is sweetened with sugar.
Milk chocolate contains sugar and some form of either
condensed or powdered milk. “White chocolate”
contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk but no cocoa
solids (thus is not truly chocolate).
Compound chocolate
is a chocolate replacement made
from a combination of cocoa, vegetable fats, coconut or
palm kernel oils and sweeteners. Compound chocolate
is designed to simulate enrobed chocolate on a product.
2.
Why do I have to temper my chocolate?
Cocoa butter is the fat in cacao that gives chocolate its
stable properties. To be considered “real” chocolate, a
chocolate bar or chunk can contain only cocoa butter,
not any other fat. Cocoa butter is the reason that choco-
late must be tempered.
Cocoa butter is comprised of three to four fatty acids,
each of which solidifies at a different temperature. When
chocolate is melted, the crystals of fatty acids separate.
The objective of tempering is to entice those separated
fat crystals of cocoa butter back into a stable form.
Proper tempering gives chocolate a smooth and glossy
finish, has a crisp snap, and won’t melt as easily as
untempered chocolate to the touch.
3.
What is seed chocolate?
The “seed” is tempered chocolate (chunks or wafers)
that should be set aside and placed behind the baffle
at the beginning of the temper cycle (your machine
will beep three times to indicate that your chocolate
has hit its melt-point and is ready for tempering/seed-
ing). These pieces of seed chocolate act like magnets,
attracting other loose crystals of fatty acids together,
beginning the crystallization process that results in a
proper temper.
Tempered chocolate melts at a much higher temperature
than untempered. The fat crystals are locked together
tightly and are resistant to developing chocolate bloom.
4.
What is bloom?
Chocolate bloom is visible by white-ish-gray streaks or
spots on the surface of the chocolate, typically caused
by two things; moisture (sugar bloom) or warmth (fat
bloom).
Sugar bloom
is caused by moisture which makes
the sugar in chocolate dissolve. Once the moisture
evaporates, sugar crystals remain on the surface. Your
chocolate will become sticky and discolored. Although
sugar bloom is most often the result of humid storage, it
can occur when stored in a cool climate and moved too
quickly to a warmer one.
Fat bloom
is similar to sugar bloom, except that it is
fat or cocoa butter separating from the chocolate and
depositing itself outside of it. As with sugar bloom, the
most common causes of fat bloom are quick tempera-
ture changes and overly warm storage. Bloomed choco-
late is edible. It just does not appear as appetizing.
