Definitions

Bio -

Common European term for organic farming.

Bittersweet Chocolate -

is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which

sugar, more cocoa butter, lecithin, and vanilla has been added. It has less sugar

and more liquor than semisweet chocolate but the two are interchangeable in

baking. The best quality bittersweet and semisweet chocolate is produced as

couverture and many brands now print the percentage of chocolate liquor it

contains on the package. The rule is the higher the percentage of liquor the

more bittersweet the chocolate will be. Generally Europeans favor bittersweet

chocolate and Americans opt for semisweet chocolate which has more sugar than

bittersweet chocolate.

Bars which fall in the middle ground between candy and

chocolate, 25% to 50% cacao content.

Buy Idaho - formed in 1986, the original concept of Buy Idaho was to build a

Marketplace, where Idaho consumers/buyers, would be introduced to the

tremendous variety of quality products and services from Idaho. The concept

remains the same today.

www.BuyIdaho.org

Cacao -

(also Kakao) From Mayan Cacau

The plant and seeds that produce chocolate.

Chocolate in its natural form.

The pure processed product before additives are combined with it to form

chocolate,

or candy.

Cacao Liquor -

Cacao mass.

Cacao Mass - T

he creamy paste resulting from grounding the roasted cacao beans.

Cacao Paste -

Cacao mass after extra cocoa butter has been added and it has

cooled.

Chocolate -

From Aztec Xocoatl, via Spanish and then French.

Product of the

seeds

of the tree Theobroma cacao L.

A narcotic, native to Venezuela, used by

the Mayas

and Aztecs and widely exploited by the 18th Century Spanish Empire.

tempered

version of the Aztec Xocoatl that is now added to many confections.

Chocolate Mountains -

A mountain range in the southeastern southern California

desert.

Chocolate War - The

European Union Food Standards 'discussion' within the EU in

the mid 1990s about how to define chocolate, resulting in no minimum cacao

level,

but labeled percentages on all bars. The result was an explosion in the

market for

high percentage pure chocolate bars.

Chupon -

The main stem of the cacao tree with pods and fans of leaves budding

off.

Coca - either of two shrubs. The dried leaves are chewed for the stimulant

properties and yield cocaine and other alkaloids.

Cocoa -

A further anglicization of cacao caused by a spelling error, probably by

18th

century English traders. Now generally used to refer to the product (a

powder) of the

Dutch process which removes all of the fat.

Cocoa Beans -

Roasted, fermented seeds from the fruit pods of the cacao tree.

Cocoa Butter -

The fat pressed out of pure cacao paste.

Cocoa butter is one of

the most stable fats known, containing natural antioxidants that prevent rancidity

and give it a storage life of two to five years. It is used for its smooth texture in

various foods (including chocolate), as well as in cosmetics and soaps and was

used as an excipient in rectal suppositories.

The paste is about 55%

fat,

has a

melting point at human body temperature.

Cocoa Powder -

there are two types of unsweetened baking cocoa available:

natural cocoa and Dutch-process cocoa. Both are made by pulverizing, partially

defatted chocolate liquor (unsweetened chocolate) removing nearly all their

cocoa butter. Natural cocoa is light in color and somewhat acidic with a strong

chocolate flavor. Dutch-process cocoa has been processed with alkali to

neutralize its natural acidity so it's darker often with a reddish cast. Dutch cocoa

is slightly milder in taste and deeper in color than natural cocoa.

Conching - The penultimate process is called conching. A conche is a container

filled with metal beads, which act as grinders. The refined and blended chocolate

mass is kept liquid by frictional heat. The conching process produces cocoa and

sugar particles smaller than the tongue can detect, hence the smooth feel in the

mouth. The length of the conching process determines the final smoothness and

quality of chocolate. High quality chocolate is conched for about 72 hrs, lesser

grades about 4-6 hrs. After the process is complete, the chocolate mass is stored

in tanks heated to approximately 45-50 degrees C until final processing.

Couverture or coating chocolate - is a term used for cocoa butter rich chocolates

of the highest quality. These chocolates contain a high percentage of chocolate

liquor (sometimes more than 70 percent) as well as cocoa butter, at least 32-39%,

are very fluid when melted and have an excellent flavor. In fact, chocolate of this

quality is often compared to tasting fine wine because subtleties in taste are often

apparent, especially when you taste a variety of semisweet and bittersweet

couvertures with different percentages of sugar and chocolate liquor.

Crillo -

('native' in Spanish, because it is the Venezuelan variety) is cultivated in

small quantities in the original

acao areas, especially in Venezuela.

Traditionally

the most rare and sought after of all the

acao varieties, it produces "very fine"

grade

hocolate sought after by some of the very high end

hocolatiers.

Yields

are low and the tree is fragile.

Only 5% to 10% of the world's production is Crillo.

It has more Theobromide than any other variety and therefore this is the variety

that is sometimes suggested to contain caffeine.

A small bit of it is sometimes

mixed in to a large batch of the Forastero.

he famous Ecuadoran Nacional is a

form of Crillo.

It is creamy and strong.

Easily detectable sweet aroma, almost no

bitterness, delicate taste.

Dark Chocolate -

chocolate without milk as an additive, sometimes called plain

chocolate. The US Government calls this Sweet Chocolate, and requires a 15%

concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35%

cocoa solids.

Dutch Process -

Producing a powder with no cocoa butter by pressing the pure

cacao paste at very high pressure to produce a fat free powder. Developed in the

Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium & Holland) in the mid 18th century.

Fair Trade -

A method of production and asset management which assures that

the

people who grow the raw product are treated well and fairly compensated.

Very

important with chocolate due to widespread problems with slavery on Cacao

plantations.

Food of The Gods -

Romantic term coined by Europeans for cacao and often

incorrectly attributed to the Aztecs. The origin of the genus name Theobroma.

Forastero -

('foreign' in Spanish because it is the African cultivar) is most common

-- 80% to 90% of all commercial cacao comes from this plant. It has a high yield

and is very resistant to disease. Not classified as "Fine Grade", this cacao is used

as a base to be blended with superior types of cacao. Perfumed aroma with a

fruity and bitter taste. The Amelonado form of Forastero is most often used. It is

rather mild and in some cases can be unpleasant.

Hot Chocolate -

Originally, ground cacao beans in almost boiling water. Now it

refers

cocoa powder in milk. In practice it is also used to refer to confections

that

contain

far more sugar than chocolate.

Kakao -

European. See Cacao.

Like Water for Chocolate -

The water to create the Aztec chocolate beverage

must

be extremely hot for the mixture to work, and from that came this phrase,

still used

in Mexico, to mean as hot as anything you can imagine.

Milk Chocolate -

chocolate with milk added. The US Government requires a 10%

concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 25%

cocoa solids. Milk Chocolate is

made from numerous ingredients, primarily sugar

and

vanilla

which includes less than 30% cacao. Generally cacao is the third or

fourth

ingredient (Some chocolate manufacturers are making 60% milk chocolate

where

the milk replaces the sugar instead of replacing the chocolate).

Pod -

The large (about 40 cm) fruits of the cacao tree containing seeds that are

processed into chocolate. Green while growing, the pods turn yellow, red or even

purple when ripe.

Pure Chocolate -

European name for bars with greater than 65% cacao content

and

no additives.

Seed -

One of about 30 to 70 small (3 cm x 1.5 cm) purple seeds in each cacao

fruit

pod.

Semi-sweet chocolate - used for cooking purposes; a dark chocolate with lower

sugar content.

Theobroma cacao L. -

A rainforest tree, native to Venezuela now grown in the

tropics

worldwide and the seeds are produced into chocolate.

Trinitero -

which is grown almost exclusively in the Antilles, is a hybrid of the two

other varieties and combines the best aspects of both.

It accounts for 10% to 15%

of world production.

It has greater resistance to disease and damage than Crillo

and many plantations that specialize in fine grade

acao have been switching

from Crillo to Trinitero.

It produces generally excellent

acao, being used more

often in "very fine" grade Chocolate.

Fruity aroma and slightly acid.

It is spicy

and sharp.

Unsweetened chocolate - is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking

chocolate. It's unadulterated chocolate: ground roasted chocolate beans with no

other added ingredients imparts a strong, deep chocolate flavor in all the sweets

you add it to. With the addition of sugar however it's used as the base for

American style layer cakes, brownies, frostings and cookies.

White chocolate - a confection based on cocoa butter without the cocoa solids.