UNDERSTANDING THE INGREDIENTS IN CHOCOLATE

1. Cacao

It is the name of the cocoa beans after being roasted, blown and ground into a paste. It is the ingredient that gives the chocolate flavor in dark chocolate and milk chocolate products. Roasted cocoa beans contain approximately 55% fat (also known as cocoa butter), when crushed, the fat contained in the beans will be released. Due to its large fat content, crushed cocoa will be liquid when heated above the melting point of cocoa butter.

2. Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter is a fat that occurs naturally in cocoa beans. People produce cocoa butter by roasting, grinding cocoa beans into a paste and then pressing them. Under the great pressure of the press, the cocoa butter will escape, and the remaining solid mass in the press is cocoa powder.

Cocoa butter itself does not contribute significantly to the taste of chocolate, but when producing chocolate, one will have to add a certain amount of cocoa butter even though there is already a certain amount of cocoa butter in the paste. The main role of cocoa butter is that it helps the chocolate melt easily, creating a smooth feeling in the mouth when eaten.

The main characteristics of cocoa butter:

• The melting point of cocoa butter is lower than the human body temperature. That’s why chocolate melts easily in the mouth.
• Not all cocoa butter is the same. Cocoa butter pressed from cocoa beans grown in hotter regions has a higher melting point than cocoa butter pressed from cocoa beans grown in cooler regions.
• Cocoa butter is the most expensive ingredient in chocolate. Therefore, to produce cheap chocolates, people will replace cocoa butter with vegetable fats that are much cheaper.

When buying chocolate, pay attention to read the ingredients of the chocolate carefully, whenever you see the ingredients of “vegetable oil” or “cocoa butter substitue” or “CBS (cocoa butter substitue), you know that this is not pure chocolate.

3. Sugar

It is the 2nd most common ingredient in the ingredients that make up chocolate. Its main purpose is to provide sweetness to balance out the bitterness of cocoa paste. Sugar is not dissolved in chocolate because it does not contain water, but is crushed to the point where the tongue does not feel gritty (size less than 25 microns).

4. Milk powder

For milk chocolate and white chocolate, powdered milk is an important ingredient that creates a soft flavor and texture.

The fat in milk reduces the melting point of cocoa butter, which explains why milk chocolate and white chocolate are softer and more melting than dark chocolate.

5. Vanilla

Vanilla is the most common flavor used in chocolate production. Manufacturers can use natural vanilla berries or vanilla extract.

6. Lecithin

Almost all chocolates contain lecithin. Lecithin is of all-natural origin, extracted from soybeans.

The role of lecithin is to reduce the consistency of chocolate. Just a very small amount of lecithin will make the liquid chocolate flow more easily, making it much easier to pour or dip.

Lecithin is not something that you need to worry about unless you are allergic to soy-related things because lecithin is completely natural and safe.