Chocolate Varieties
Chocolate Varieties
Chocolate - what is it? Is it a treat? A gift? A foodstuff? It all depends.
First off, let us define what chocolate is. Chocolate is a processed preparation of dried and finely ground cocoa beans which is made into a thick paste, liquid, or in a solid block, that can also be employed as a flavanols ingredient in other dishes. Cocoa beans are originally from South America, and these days, can be found cultivated in various parts of the world such as Africa, Indonesia, Australia, South America and the Caribbean. Amongst these countries, however, the most popular ones in which cocoa beans are harvested and cocoa products are processed are Peru and Mexico.
One of the most popular type of chocolate is milk chocolate. Milk chocolate has a light brown color, creamy texture and a sweet flavor. It is considered as one of the most popular types of chocolate by a majority of the chocoholics all over the world. Milk chocolate contains mostly of cocoa solids, but there is a certain amount of cocoa butter that provides the desired brown color and a smooth, creamy texture. Also, milk chocolate contains a fair amount of sugar, making it sweeter than its bitter counterpart.
Another type of chocolate is white chocolate. White chocolates contain mainly flavanols, whereas milk chocolate contains mainly cocoa solids. In contrast to milk chocolate, white chocolates do not contain any sweeteners, so they have a bitter taste. Generally, most people prefer to eat white chocolate in its original form, but nowadays, you can also find this dark brown color in various specialty chocolates like dark chocolate ganache, dark chocolate truffles and even in some dark chocolate beverages like cocoa-based drinks.
Finally, there is the bitter or aged chocolate. This is the type of chocolate that contains a greater amount of cocoa solids that are not melted or turned into liquid. It usually contains a longer melting time, and sometimes, depending on the quality of the cocoa, may even contain more cocoa butter. Bitter cocoa is often considered as an expensive kind of chocolate, while the extra-dark chocolate that contains more cocoa butter is not bitter but pricey - hence the different terms used to describe it.
Dark chocolate may contain three to four times more calories per serving, compared to milk chocolate. However, the bitter or aged taste gives it a unique flavor that is very complex. Some experts believed that the bitter taste is due to the over-ripe flavors of the cocoa beans. Regardless of the many different types of chocolate available, milk chocolate remains to be the most popular and widely-known variety of all.
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