bake - November/December 2020 - 12

VOCABULARY OF

Bittersweet Chocolate: Dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 35%
chocolate liquor and less than 12%
milk solids. Bittersweet and semisweet both fall under this deﬁnition; however, bittersweet is often
the term used for chocolate with a
minimum of 50% chocolate liquor.
Cacao: The deﬁning ingredient in
all chocolate and chocolate products. The term "cacao" refers to
the tree and its fruit and the seeds
(otherwise known as cocoa beans)
inside the fruit, which are processed
to make chocolate.
Varieties of Cacao:
Forastero: The hardiest and
most productive of the three or
four cacao varieties, Forastero is
believed to have originated in the
Amazon basin. Today it is grown
around the globe and accounts for
over 90% percent of the world's
cacao. Chocolate manufacturers
value Forasteros for basic robust
chocolate ﬂavor.
Criollo: Considered the rarest
and most prized of the three or
four recognized varieties of cacao,
Criollo is native to either northern
South America and or Mesoamerica.
Prized for their fragrance and delicate and complex ﬂavor, criollos are
"ﬂavor beans" which account for

less than 1% of the world's cacao.
Trinitario: One of three or four
recognized varieties of cacao,
Trinitario is a hybrid of the ﬂavorful
Criollo and hardy Forastero. Along
with Criollos, Trinitarios are considered "flavor beans" and they
account for less than 5% of the
world cacao crop.
Nacional or Arriba: The proposed
fourth variety of cacao from
Ecuador, otherwise considered a
ﬁner strain of Forastero.
Theobroma Cacao: The botanical
name for the tree, fruit, and seeds
from which chocolate is made.
Cacao Beans/Cocoa Beans: Seeds
from the pod of a Theobroma tree.
Native to the dense tropical Amazon
forests. Commercially grown worldwide in tropical rainforests within
20° latitude of the equator.
Cacao Content: Cacao content
refers to the amount of the chocolate product that is made of the
three cacao components (chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa
powder).
Chocolate Liquor: The ground
up center (nib) of the cocoa bean
(otherwise known as unsweetened chocolate and is often used
in baking) in a smooth, liquid state.
It contains no alcohol.

Chocolate Truffle: A rich confection made from chocolate and
cream (ganache), although it may
contain butter, eggs, and other
ﬂavorings. Truffles may be dipped
in chocolate and or rolled in cocoa
powder. Although American-style
chocolate truffles are larger and
may be decorated, the original
European chocolate truffle is bitesized with a rough cocoa-y exterior.
Cocoa: The term cocoa is used in
different ways. When it appears on
a chocolate label with a percentage,
it denotes the total cocoa bean
(cacao) content of the chocolate
and the term is sometimes used
interchangeably with chocolate
liquor, cacao, cocoa beans or cocoa
solids. Not to be confused with
Cocoa Powder.
Cocoa Butter: The unique ivory
colored fat that constitutes 50
to 54% of roasted cocoa beans.
Cocoa butter has little flavor of
its own, but it adds considerable
richness and depth to the ﬂavor
of chocolate. Cocoa butter makes
chocolate ﬂuid when melted and
crisp when hardened. Chocolate
melts readily and luxuriously on
the tongue because cocoa butter
melts at body temperature. Cocoa
butter contributes to the creamy

Bake Magazine Digital Special Report 4 | Volume 1 | bakemag.com

SOURCE: GHIRADELLI, PHOTOS: STOCK-ADOBE.COM

CHOCOLATE

http://www.bakemag.com

bake - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of bake - November/December 2020