Hey! Here’s an old joke for you.

A man walking along a beach finds a bottle next to the ocean. He opens it up and POOF! A genie pops out, offering him three wishes. Firstly, the man wishes for a million dollars and POOF! Then appears a million crisp dollar bills. Next, he wishes for a racing red convertible and POOF! There’s his shiny new convertible. And for his third and final wish, he wishes that he could be absolutely irresistible to ALL women and POOF! He turns into a box of chocolates!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we have a chocolate-flavoured show for you and your loved one this weekend! I LOVE chocolate, so naturally I’m really excited about this next episode. I got to visit a chocolate bar (as in a place, not a candy size) with the coolest name (hint: the word is Greek, meaning “body”) and learn how great chocolate is made! And I definitely tasted some of the finest chocolate on the planet.
Nevertheless, since we have an upcoming episode that’s all about chocolate, I thought I’d share my updated knowledge and give you a breakdown of the different styles of chocolate, along with some of my fave chocolate quotes:

Unsweetened Chocolate: Made with solid chocolate liquor with nothing added. Too bitter to eat but lends a great chocolate flavour to brownies and cakes. It is made from a blend of fine cocoa beans that are roasted, crushed and ground between large heated rollers. Unsweetened is the purest form of chocolate. It is satin smooth, rich in cocoa butter and best for baking.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate: This is made using the same method as unsweetened chocolate, but with just a pinch of sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla to give it a rich, sweet taste. Semi-sweet is perfect for garnishes and fondues.

Bittersweet Chocolate: Contains chocolate liquor, additional cocoa butter and sugar but with a darker more pronounced European chocolate flavour, due to the higher chocolate liquor content.

Sweetened Chocolate: Rich and creamy with a milder chocolate flavour and a larger amount of additional cocoa butter and sugar. Often used in commercial candies or bars.

Milk Chocolate: Made from milk solids, cocoa butter and sugar, milk chocolate is most often eaten as a candy bar. The first milk chocolate bar was invented by Swiss candy-maker Daniel Peter in 1876 when he devised the process of adding condensed milk to chocolate.

White: Technically not even chocolate, it is made with cocoa butter, milk and sugar, but doesn't contain cocoa solids. As a result, it is creamy white in colour and mild and sweet in flavour. This is often used as a coating or decorative garnish.

Word to the wise, never substitute one chocolate for another in a recipe as this will affect the flavour and might cause your dessert recipe to fail. Also, for best results don’t replace chocolate chips for squares either. Chips are formulated with less cocoa butter that enables them to hold their cute little shape. Squares are specially formulated with quality ingredients to melt easier than chocolate chips.
Wow, that's a lot of chocolate talk! “Nobody knows the truffles I’ve seen”. I bet you’re now craving something sweet...

Richard

Keywords : chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolat, types of chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, white chocolate

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