Picking The Right Chocolate For Every Recipe

There are over 15 different types of chocolate.

I'm gonna show you how to identify

and correctly use all of the different types

of chocolate that you might encounter.

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Cacao beans.

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Cacao beans are pretty much the most raw version

of chocolate that you can buy.

The cacao beans are taken

from the pod growing on the tree.

They're fermented and dried

and that's exactly what you see here.

The cacao tree is thought to have originated

in the upper Amazon region, and then the growth

of the tree spread to Central and South America.

To make chocolate, these beans would have

to first be roasted and then processed

and ground to be turned into chocolate

but that's a lot of work.

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There's a thin layer of skin.

It's almost like an almond skin.

It's definitely very dry, but it is easy to break.

You definitely get notes of acidity, bitterness,

but a lot of depth of flavor.

It's almost that feeling of umami

that kinda takes over your mouth.

I think the skin has more bitterness than the inside.

I actually love chocolate in this form

because you really get the essence

of what the cacao is without adding things to it.

You probably wouldn't eat cacao beans on their own

but they are great to infuse

into different liquids to get that flavor.

You could make chocolate vodka or steep them into teas

and really get that true essence of cacao.

Cacao nibs.

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Cacao nibs, also called cocoa nibs,

are dried broken pieces of cacao beans.

They can come roasted or unroasted.

Typically, the roasted ones have a little more flavor

and less of the bitterness.

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M-hm.

Cacao nibs are great to add to baked goods,

placed on top of yogurt or ice cream,

and also in smoothies.

One of my favorite uses for cacao nibs is granola.

I love adding cacao nibs to granola

because they don't add any additional sweetness

but they add tons of flavor and texture.

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The chocolate-making process

essentially goes something like this.

Cacao beans are broken down into nibs.

The nibs are ground finely into a paste.

The paste gets melted into what's called chocolate liquor

and then the liquor gets distributed

to make the various types of chocolate.

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Unsweetened chocolate.

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Unsweetened chocolate is also commonly referred to

as baking chocolate.

It has no sugar added and is frequently used in baking.

Unsweetened chocolate is the ground cocoa mass or paste

that is then melted into chocolate liquor and set into bars.

It is about equal parts cocoa butter and cocoa solids.

It can be very bitter.

It has absolutely no sugar added

and that's why it's used more commonly

for baking instead of snacking.

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It's a little bitter.

But you still get some of the acidity of the chocolate.

A lot of tannins.

This is a very pure form of chocolate,

so this is what you want to use

when you're making a devil's food cake

or a chocolate stout cake.

Ooh!

It is intense.

Another great use for unsweetened chocolate

is your classic chocolate brownies.

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Hm.

The sugar almost acts like salt in a recipe

where it brings out the nuance of flavor.

So you get some more of those citrus notes,

you get some more of that luscious chocolate flavor,

but not overpowered by the bitterness

of the raw chocolate.

Milk chocolate.

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Milk chocolate contains at least 12% milk

and a minimum of 10% cocoa mass.

The added milk takes the edge off of the bitterness

and tannic qualities of chocolate.

Milk chocolate is very popular for snacking

and you'll commonly see it sold in the candy aisle

under brands like Hershey, Nestle, and Cadbury.

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The texture on this is much softer.

It doesn't have that same kind of bite and crispness

as when you're biting into a piece of dark chocolate.

So you do lose some of that texture

because of the milk but it also makes it sweeter.

You do get chocolate flavor,

but you're not getting some of those characteristic

bitter notes that you get from semi-sweet or bittersweet

or unsweetened chocolate.

Milk chocolate is great to use for things

like chocolate pudding and chocolate mousse

because the extra added milk and milk fat

in here give it a creamier texture when it's melted.

Semi-sweet chocolate.

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Semi-sweet chocolate begins with unsweetened chocolate

that then has sugar added to it.

It's used in sweet baking applications.

You may have seen bittersweet chocolate

and semi-sweet chocolate next to each other

but they're actually pretty much the same thing

with the determination being left up to the manufacturer

on what to call it.

Semisweet chocolate has to have

a minimum of 35% cocoa mass in it.

However, the range usually falls between 65 and 70%.

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Hmm.

It's not too sweet, but it has just enough sugar

to kinda offset the bitterness.

It's great in baking, especially things like granola bars

or even in pancakes because it's not so sweet

combined with a sweet batter.

But it is also great in chocolate chip cookies

because they're not overly sweet

so they really balance out the cookie dough.

I mean, come on, what's not to love?

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German's chocolate.

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German's chocolate is actually not from Germany.

It was invented in 1852 by a man named Samuel German

who worked for the Baker's Chocolate Company.

He made it by incorporating more sugar

than usual into semisweet chocolate.

While German's chocolate is a variety of chocolate,

it is trademarked and only ever sold

under the Baker's brand.

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That's definitely sweet.

I wouldn't swap it out for regular semisweet

because it would give you a sweeter finished product.

While this is a product of the Baker's Chocolate Company,

it does have specific uses, like chocolate frosting

and, of course, German chocolate cake.

Here we have German chocolate cupcakes

topped with pecan coconut frosting.

M-hm.

You can definitely taste the sweetness in the chocolate.

It's not overly sweet, but that's balanced out

by the recipe calling for less sugar than you would add

to a chocolate cake that uses unsweetened chocolate.

You get a lot of the deep notes

and toasted flavor of chocolate

and it's really nicely balanced out

by coconut and pecan frosting,

which is the traditional frosting

for German chocolate cakes.

Dark chocolate.

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There is a wide range of dark chocolate.

Sometimes you'll see dark chocolate compared

against milk chocolate, but the main difference

is dark chocolate does not have any added milk.

Not having that milk added gives dark chocolate

a snappier, firmer texture, and also has some

of those more bitter, chocolatey, tannic notes.

The percentages can range but dark chocolate

has to have a minimum of 35% cocoa mass.

Dark chocolate is made with different amounts

of sugar and different percentages of cocoa mass.

These different amounts of cocoa mass

and sugar change the flavor

and the texture of each type of dark chocolate.

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As you can see, I have a variety of four different types

of dark chocolate and percentages in front of me,

and each one has a different amount

of sugar and cocoa mass in them.

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On the lower end of the percentage

I'm getting more sweetness.

Less of the bitter notes,

less of that robust chocolate flavor.

It's more rounded and easy to eat,

melts pretty quickly on your palette.

And on the higher end of the percentage spectrum,

I'm getting more bitterness and spice almost.

As the percentages go up,

one of the biggest things that you'll notice

is that the texture of the chocolate itself

gets firmer and also more brittle,

so it'll break with more of a snap.

It also takes longer to melt on your tongue

because of that higher cocoa mass percentage.

The flavor gets much more intense.

The sweetness goes down dramatically,

but you get this really robust chocolate flavor.

It's almost like hints of espresso.

The higher percentage is definitely something

that you want to linger and savor,

as opposed to just eating and going on about your day.

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As chocolate gets to a higher percentage,

you'll also frequently notice this white bloom

on the outside.

That does not mean that your chocolate went bad,

so don't be scared and don't throw it away.

That white powdery substance

on the outside is called fat bloom.

That's when your chocolate reacts to a fluctuation

in temperature either being too cold or too warm

and then coming back to room temperature.

The cocoa butter solids will actually come

to the surface and create this kind of white haziness

on the outside.

Mexican table chocolate.

Mexican table chocolate is a type of chocolate used

for cooking that's made by grinding cocoa nibs

with coarse sugar and a little bit of cinnamon.

The little bit of cinnamon added to this type of chocolate

gives it that distinctive warm spice note that you taste

when you have Mexican hot chocolate and moles.

While it looks like a chocolate that would be for snacking,

it has a much deeper and robust flavor

which is why it's primarily used for cooking.

In some regions, the skin on the cocoa bean is left intact

when it's ground to give it a little bit more

of that bitter flavor.

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That's pretty delicious.

The chocolate flavor is very deep, dark, robust.

It tastes like this one definitely had the skin left

on the bean to get those bitter notes.

It has a little bit more of a tannic flavor,

a slight bit of acidity, and really cool texture

from the spices ground into it.

You can also feel the texture of the coarse sugar

and you can actually see some of the crystals inside,

so if you are to eat it on its own

you will get some of that crunchiness from the sugar.

This is chicken with mole.

Mole is a traditional sauce that varies widely

by region and household, but some versions

of it use Mexican table chocolate like mole negro.

The Mexican table chocolate gives it

this distinct warm flavor

and also the deep rich color that you see.

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I could eat this whole bowl.

You get so much rich depth of flavor in this sauce

balanced really well by some warm chilies,

a little bit of ground sesame.

So it takes the edge off the sweetness

but you're still getting so much of that umami

and deep flavor from the chocolate in there.

Modeling chocolate.

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Modeling chocolate is used by bakers and confectioners

to make chocolate decorations.

It's a mixture of melted chocolate and corn syrup

and it makes this pliable dough

that kind of feels like Play-Doh.

Modeling chocolate reacts with the heat

of your hands and gets more pliable

and easier to work with as it warms up.

And you can see that it almost looks like a pie crust

or other kind of dough that you can work with very easily.

This is so fun.

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It's almost like eating a Tootsie Pop or Tootsie Roll.

It's exactly what it's like.

It has a chewy dissolving texture that's a little weird

so it goes away a little bit faster

than a Tootsie Roll does, but you still get

that same kind of sticking-to-your-teeth candy feeling.

But it's great for making beautiful decorations

like chocolate roses.

Isn't that pretty?

As you see here, the modeling chocolate

can be rolled out really thinly,

cut and shaped into just about anything you want,

and it's actually easier to work

with than sugar fondant, so it's preferred

by a lot of bakers and cake decorators

to make intricate designs.

The corn syrup adds a lot of sugar

but also pliability to this.

So that's the key here is that you're going for something

that you can work with and shape to whatever you wanna make.

Couverture chocolate.

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Couverture chocolate is the preferred type

of chocolate used in tempering.

Couverture chocolate is made

by grinding the chocolate to a finer paste

and it has a higher percentage of cocoa butter.

That higher percentage of cocoa butter

gives it a beautiful glossy finish when it cools.

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Hmm.

The flavor on this is really incredible

and because of that extra cocoa butter

it gives a really nice mouth feel and texture.

It's creamy, it's soft,

it melts a little bit easier than dark

or bittersweet chocolate, but it's not overly sweet.

This type of chocolate is great for melting

because of the fine texture and high fat content.

It makes it great to cover anything,

like truffles bon-bons, eclairs

in a beautiful shell of chocolate.

It's also great for things like chocolate dip strawberries.

You can see here that even when it's melted

it has a beautiful glossy shine to it

and that shine is coming

from all the extra cocoa butter fat in there.

You can see that even after it cools,

the chocolate has a beautiful sheen to it.

And you can feel that nice, perfect, snappy texture.

Hmm.

The texture of the chocolate is firm, but not so hard.

It breaks easily, but it maintains its shape

and you still get all that rich, robust chocolate flavor.

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Tempering chocolate is the process

of heating chocolate up to a certain temperature

and cooling it slightly.

This changes the structure of the chocolate itself

so that when it cools and dries

it hardens to a beautiful, snappy texture.

When you temper a couverture chocolate,

especially you're still gonna get that gloss

and snap because of the high fat content.

That's what you want.

Let's see if we can get an audible on the chocolate snap.

[chocolate crunches]

You get that crunch?

White chocolate.

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There's a lot of debate around white chocolate

with the consensus being that it's not actually chocolate.

Whatever side of the debate you're on,

it's technically a confectionary made with milk solids,

cocoa butter, and sugar.

So that means that it has the cocoa butter,

which has been removed from other types of real chocolate,

but none of the cocoa solids that give

other types of chocolate their color and distinct flavor.

It's essentially cocoa butter flavored

with milk solids and other things.

Rumor has it that it was developed as a way

to use up excess milk powder that was left over

after World War I that was no longer in high demand.

There are some high quality types

of white chocolate out there.

They typically have a more yellow color,

and that's because cocoa butter has a naturally yellow hue.

Lower quality versions can have more milk solids

which gives them a whiter color and a sweeter flavor.

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It's soft because it's not getting

any of that firmness from the cocoa solids.

It's sweet, it's milky, it's creamy.

You don't get any of the bitterness,

tartness, acidity or robust flavor

that you expect from actual chocolate.

It's essentially like eating a solid piece

of sweetened condensed milk.

There are actual uses for white chocolate.

Some of these include white chocolate pudding,

certain desserts and confections, and roasting it.

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It's still white chocolate.

But the roasting of it caramelizes the milk solids

and gives you almost like caramel notes of flavor,

a little bit more depth, a little umami and

really help kinda balance out the cloying sweetness of it.

Ruby chocolate.

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Ruby chocolate is made from ruby cacao beans

which are found in Ecuador, Brazil, and the Ivory Coast.

While the actual production process is kept

a very tightly held secret, it's speculated

that the ruby chocolate is produced by either unfermenting

or very lightly fermenting the cacao beans,

defatting them and treating them with an acid

that may help enhance the natural color.

A lot of traditional chocolatiers

think that this is just a marketing ploy,

not necessarily a true chocolate.

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The flavor on this is a little bit sweeter.

I'm not sure if I think it's a real chocolate.

It reminds me more of white chocolate in texture.

It feels creamy and richer on the palette.

It doesn't have any of that bitterness,

but you do get a weird citrusy flavor that's evocative

of raw chocolate, but almost in a cloying kind of way.

It also has notes of raspberry or some kind of red fruit

but it is very milky overall.

While this is called a chocolate,

it doesn't hit those same flavor notes

that you get from all the other types of chocolate.

The robustness, the bitterness,

the depth of flavor, the tannins,

but it still tastes good.

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Natural cocoa powder.

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Cocoa powder is the true essence of chocolate flavor.

You see it in the grocery store

and it can be used in tons of applications.

Natural cocoa powder comes from roasted cacao beans

that have been processed.

The beans are cracked into nibs

and then ground into a paste,

which is essentially an emulsion

of cocoa solids suspended in cocoa butter.

When the cocoa butter is extracted from that emulsion

you're left with the cocoa solids,

which are then ground into a fine powder,

making cocoa powder.

Cocoa powder can be used in brownies,

frostings and savory applications, like a dry rub for meat.

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On its own, the flavor of cocoa powder is very sharp

and because the texture is so fine

the powder really coats your whole mouth.

You also get notes of citrus and you really

get the character of the chocolate coming through.

It's much better used in a baking application

like chocolate cake.

Oh, look, we have two applications;

chocolate frosting and chocolate cake.

Oh, yeah.

That's what life is all about.

Cocoa powder doesn't have any sugar on its own.

When you add it to an application that has some sweetness

you can taste a lot of the different flavor notes in it.

You get more of the citrus,

a little acid, some of the tannins.

You get a lot more of the nuance

of the chocolate flavor in the buttercream and the cake.

Because cocoa powder is so fine and dry

it's great in frostings 'cause when it's whipped in,

it makes the structure much tighter.

Dutch-process cocoa powder.

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Dutch-process cocoa powder is cocoa powder

that has been alkalized using a Dutch process.

Dutch-process cocoa powder was invented in 1828

by a Dutch chemist and chocolatier

who added alkaline salts to his cocoa powder.

He did this to make the cocoa powder less bitter

and also more water soluble.

It can change the color and the flavor of your final product

so it's best to double check your recipe

to make sure which type of cocoa powder it calls for.

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[smacks lips]

It almost tastes more like a chocolate bar

than the natural cocoa powder.

It's less acidic, less of the citrus notes,

but more of that deep chocolatey flavor

that you get kind of coming up at the back end.

It's actually kind of pleasant.

One great and lesser-known use

for Dutch-process cocoa powder is red velvet cake.

Traditional red velvet cake did not use red food color.

The brick red color was a result of the higher alkaline

in the Dutch-process cocoa powder

being mixed into the batter,

but today most bakers add red food color

to make it a brighter red like you see here.

The red food color doesn't affect the taste of the cake

but you still get that depth of flavor

from the alkalized cocoa powder.

M-hm.

If you didn't know that there was cocoa powder

in red velvet, you might not be able to pick it out

but once you know that,

you can kind of get those mellow chocolatey notes

behind the other flavors.

Black cocoa powder.

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Black cocoa powder is cocoa powder that has gone

through the Dutch process multiple times,

resulting in a higher alkaline level and a darker color.

It also has a milder flavor than even Dutch-process.

Black cocoa powder is great

because you can get a much darker color

without having to add any food color

or excessive amounts of cocoa powder.

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The heavy processing changes the flavor dramatically

from natural to Dutch-process to black.

It still has notes of chocolate, but it's very different.

You're not getting any of the acidity,

you're not getting so much of the citrus.

It actually doesn't taste like cocoa powder in the same way,

but it has a very specific taste

that you probably are familiar with: Oreo cookies.

Oreo cookies are made with black cocoa powder

giving them their distinct color

that you can see on the outside of the cookie.

Black cocoa powder is also used

in a lot of ice cream sandwiches

to give the outer cookie that dark color.

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Hm!

This is definitely gonna get in my teeth.

Sweet cocoa powder.

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Sweet cocoa powder is just natural cocoa powder

made with sugar and sometimes the addition of vanilla.

It can be easily used in recipes

like hot chocolate and frosting

because it's already got a sweetener added to it.

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It's pretty tasty, but it is pretty sweet.

Another thing that it's great for is dusting desserts,

like topping this cheesecake.

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It's better than adding just natural cocoa powder

because that might add a little bit of bitterness

which we don't want.

But you don't wanna just swap it out in your recipe

for natural cocoa powder because it is very sweet.

So always be sure to adjust your recipe

or use it very sparingly.

So that was all of the chocolate

that we could possibly get in one place.

Thanks for tuning in.

I hope you learned a lot and get to try some

of these amazing preparations that we made today.

Feel free to leave a comment

and let us know what you wanna see next time

on The Big Guide.

I'm Adrienne Cheatham and I hope to see you soon.