New York City Patric Chocolate Events in March

I will be in New York City on the 30th of March for two chocolate-related events. First, I will be speaking at 5 pm, at one of chocolate expert Clay Gordon's Meet-Ups. The talk will cover both fine chocolate in general and Patric Chocolate's processes in particular, and of course we will be tasting both the 67% and 70% bars. This event will be limited to 30 people due to room-size limitations, so please don't wait too long before registering for the event or it may be full. More information can be found HERE.

If two chocolate events in one day doesn't phase you, then plan on making it to The Chocolate Collection: An Evening of Tasting at 7:30 pm, led by culinary historian Alexandra Leaf, chocolate expert Clay Gordon, and wine expert Costas Mouzouras of Gotham Wines, wherein Patric Chocolate will be tasted, discussed, and paired with various fine wines. I will be on hand in order to field any questions related specifically to the manufacture of the chocolate.

I hope to see many of you at both events!

Best,

Alan McClure

Chocolate: If It Isn�t a Candy, Then What Is It?

There are many things about chocolate that stand out for me over the span of my life as I have gone from a novice lover of most things chocolate to a bean-to-bar fine chocolate maker. I remember clearly the first time I saw a cacao fruit in Tabasco State, Mexico. I recall my first smell of roasting cacao as I stirred it in a cast-iron skillet, and I will never forget the joy of tasting my first batch of European-style chocolate, as I slowly placed a spoon of the molten goodness into my mouth. If there is a heaven, it must include the feelings I associate with these experiences. Yet, there is one chocolate-related memory that came before all of these, and whose power still grabs hold of me today when people ask me what types of �candy bars� I make: In my early twenties, I was sitting in a university French course as the instructor asked us to name types of candy, the idea being that she would tell us what they were called in French, if there existed something comparable. Almost immediately I said �chocolate!� The response came just as quickly: �Non, le chocolat n�est pas un bonbon, mais il y a des bonbons qui se font avec du chocolat.� Even for those of you who don�t speak French, the response is probably clear enough; chocolate was apparently not a candy at all.

Still, despite the bluntness with which we were told of chocolate�s status as non-candy, I found myself shocked nonetheless that anyone would claim such a thing. I couldn�t imagine hearing those same words coming out of another person�s mouth ever again, and certainly not out of mine; chocolate obviously was a candy after all, French instructor opinion notwithstanding. That said, this seemingly obvious truth was not about to remain so clear to me for long.

For about a year from 2003 to 2004, I found myself in Lyon, France. The reasons for which I was there had nothing to do with chocolate at all, but upon finding the time to do a bit of reading about French gastronomy, I soon found myself wondering if I was perhaps in the ultimate fine chocolate country in the world. Unlike the national preferences in many countries�Germany, the US, Switzerland and Belgium included--the French prefer dark chocolate, and there are quite a few respected bean-to-bar chocolate makers to be found in France. True, the average French citizen is not necessarily familiar with the names of the makers of these fine chocolate bars, but the chance of accidentally running into their bars while shopping is not infinitesimal either. Taking this into consideration, I began to seek out many of what I read were the �greats� (to learn more about French chocolate makers read the last part of this post). I tried many bars from a variety of different companies, and over the course of the year I began to realize that though I had been convinced that I preferred milk chocolate, dark chocolate was quickly beginning to spend much greater amounts of time filling my thoughts. By the time I headed back home in early 2004, I had developed a taste for French dark chocolate that the variety of bars I was bringing back with me would not be able to satisfy for long.

Back in the US, I set to work trying to figure out if there were some websites devoted to French chocolate. I came across one called SeventyPercent.com, and soon absorbed much of the information there, from forum discussions on various chocolate makers, to the reviews of single bars themselves. I discovered that there were also Italian chocolate makers doing amazing things with cacao, and after finding a site from which to order French and Italian dark chocolate online, I ordered a number of the most respected bars, and then some others made by the same manufacturers. If the average, more easily available, French dark chocolate that I had already tried was a true eye opening experience, then this selection of the �best of the best� was a revelation. Each bar was so different from the next, and I was finally beginning to be able to taste various flavor notes in the chocolate, as I came to better understand what the French term terroir meant: that cacao from different regions had unique flavor qualities, even across manufacturers, that could be tied to climate, soil-type, nearby foliage, and naturally occurring microbes in the air and soil, not to mention other factors such as cacao variety and post-harvest processing. One might start to think that I am talking about wine rather than chocolate, and the confusion would be justified as there are clearly similarities between grapes and cacao on many levels. In fact, it is this complexity in cacao, and therefore chocolate, that so intrigued me, that I soon began to wonder about making my own chocolate and shortly thereafter started to experiment with the preliminary processes that eventually led to my first attempts at making European-style fine chocolate.

You may be wondering at this point how a blog post on the difference between chocolate and candy has turned into a story of my progression from chocolate lover to chocolate maker. Well, as I wondered how best to write a piece about the issue, I realized that virtually every reason that I could put forth was almost entirely subjective, as are many food-related opinions. Where the classification for chocolate ends and candy begins is a judgment call that is made by every individual, and I certainly cannot force my beliefs upon others. However, I think that my subjective experience, from seeing chocolate as candy for so much of my life, to finally seeing fine chocolate as a complex and delectable food quite far removed from candy�well, I thought that it might carry more weight than simply trying to come up with a set of objective criteria by which one might come to the same opinion. I thought that my experience might be more persuasive. As I think about why this might be, I realize that the definitions of candy and chocolate are both inextricably linked to time and place, and right here and right now in the US candy is often seen as cheap, sugar-filled, and bad for your health. That is not to say that all things called candies do have these qualities, but fine chocolate, for example, has none of them. It certainly isn�t cheap to manufacture, in its 70% and higher incarnations it is hardly what anyone would call sweet, and we are finding out more and more reasons why it is good for us. Of course, there is also the fact that chocolate has one of the most complex, if not the most complex, flavor profiles of any food in existence, certainly rivaling wine, cheese, coffee and tea in the quantity of volatile flavor components that can be ascribed to it. What candy can claim the same? Of course, I am careful to continually say �fine chocolate� because much mass-market chocolate, whether made in the US or elsewhere, has more in common with candy than the chocolate of which I am speaking. A warning sign would be a chocolate bar with sugar as the number one ingredient, no mention of the origin from which the cacao comes, no specific mention of cacao content, milk flavor that drowns out the cacao, and excess vanilla or even worse, vanillin, or other flavorings.

As for candy, I certainly think that it is possible for a culture to exist where candy or confections are taken so seriously, that they rise to the status of gastronomic triumph, and many would argue that confectioners in the French tradition have created items--some including chocolate and some not�that approach or fully attain this level, with confections so complex and delicious that they certainly deserve their own place next to the other great foods of the world. However, I have to believe that even in this case, there is something about the complex beauty of a masterfully-crafted fine dark chocolate that is lost when it is combined with other products. A world-class chocolate, at its best, deserves to stand on its own, and like a great wine, is not improved when combined with other ingredients, where the full depth of its bouquet could never be completely experienced. As always, there will be people who will disagree, and I can certainly appreciate other points of view, but still, if ever I were to ask someone to name their favorite type of candy, and �chocolate� came back as a response, there is a good chance that I might think to myself �Non, le chocolat n�est pas un bonbon, mais il y a des bonbons qui se font avec du chocolat.�

Best,

Alan McClure

Nibs, Cacao Seeds and Cocoa Beans, Oh My!

These words are thrown around indiscriminately at times, and I am probably also guilty of it, even as I try to clarify, rather than obfuscate, chocolate-related issues. So, here is my attempt to create some order out of this chaos. Luckily, this topic is one of the least complicated ones of which I have written as of late.

The journey of "cacao" starts with a tree, also called �cacao,� or more specifically, by its scientific name, Theobroma cacao. On the trunk and lower branches of the cacao tree�s canopy grow beautiful, if a bit odd-looking, fruit. These fruit are slightly smaller than a large papaya and roughly the same shape, though some of them have quite a few bumps, ridges, and curves that give them a bit more character (see photo above). As mentioned in a previous post, these fruit are actually large berries, and within these berries one finds tart pulp-covered seeds that are approximately the size of an almond, though a bit plumper. These seeds are, therefore, called "cacao seeds," or often simply "cacao." So far, so good.

The cacao seeds must be removed from the fruit, and fermented and then dried. This processes leads to a product that can then be roasted and refined to make chocolate. At this stage it can still be called "cacao," but in English speaking countries, is often referred to as �cocoa beans� or simply �cocoa.� It is easy to see that the word �cocoa� is quite similar to �cacao,� and that the terms are related, but this does not help solve the confusion related to the fact that �cocoa� can also be used in ways other than to refer to �cacao seeds� or �cocoa beans.� Often �cocoa� is used to refer to �cocoa powder,� which is roasted and ground �cocoa beans� that have had much of their natural fat removed. And speaking of �cocoa beans,� why is it that they are called �beans� anyway, when they are actually not beans at all? The reason is probably quite simple, despite the confusing common usage: the seeds are somewhat bean-shaped, and apparently the English were not the only ones to think so, as the French terminology--f�ve de cacao--references a fava bean in its description of the seed shape.

So, all confusion about �cacao seeds� and �cocoa beans� aside, what are �nibs?� The term �nibs� is one that is cropping up quite a bit lately, but many people, perhaps most, are still not familiar with it. To understand what �nibs� are, let us discuss just a bit about the structure of a cacao seed. The seed has a thin seed-coat that when dried is quite brittle. This dry seed-coat is usually called the �shell.� This shell is removed, generally after roasting, and what is left--the internal part of the bean, or botanically, the cotyledons--is 100% pure unground chocolate. This unground, shell-less seed can be broken into pieces quite readily, and these pieces are called �nibs.� When roasted, as they usually are, these nibs have a pleasant chocolate-like aroma and flavor, though since they are unsweetened, also have some additional bitterness. Their nut-like texture, however, does moderate the strength of the nibs, and so they tend to be far more munchable than refined 100% chocolate. Nibs can be found in bars of chocolate, where they take the place that nuts might normally fill, and also in small bags to be eaten out of hand, or mixed in with fruit, or even cooked with. They are a tasty and satisfying food, and one that Patric Chocolate will be offering in the near future.

I hope that this brief essay helps to clarify the differences between some very commonly used words, despite the large degree of overlap. For an article that touches on a few of these terms in relation to the percentage that we often see on the chocolate bar wrapper, please see my previous post called Chocolate and Percentages: What Does it All Mean?

Very Best,

Alan McClure

Hot Chocolate - Love Potion #1 in Winter

Chocolate… this word evokes such wonderful old memories – family holidays, mom’s chocolate cakes and chocolate chip cookies on Sundays… But it turns out that in the adult world this dessert has so much more to it! Did you know that chocolate is also known as a perfect seduction product?

A legendary Italian Mr. Lover Giovanni Casanova considered chocolate to be an indispensable part of any courting. The famous tempter always carried a silver box of chocolates that ladies simply could not resist. Besides, Casanova believed that the secret of his sexual strength laid in a ritual morning cup of hot chocolate.

This delicious drink is not difficult to prepare:

U’ll need:
2 table spoons of cacao powder
1 table spoon of cane sugar
100 ml of milk
a dash of chilli pepper
U’ll have just to mix it well and to put it on a slow fire. Don’t forget to stir it till it boils. As soon as it does – the drink is ready!

A cup of hot chocolate will warm your partner’s “feelings” up when it is so cold outside! ;)

P.S. Do not forget that chocolate is very rich in calories, so do not abuse with it. Its calorie count is over 500 Kcal per 100g. Among the popular chocolate bars Snickers and Mars are the most rich in calories.

Women's Blog - All Women's Talk
Dieting
Hot Chocolate - Love Potion #1 in Winter

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melanie_Jensen

The Scoop On Hot Chocolate

What could be better than eating chocolate – that delicious, creamy concoction that’s adored the world over? Drinking chocolate of course! Nothing completes a cold winter’s day like a cup of steaming hot chocolate. So revered is hot chocolate that is has become part of our holiday traditions – starring in ice skating outings, sledding, and holiday decorating. As if chocolate isn’t luxurious enough – you can enjoy it completely melted down and drinkable. Could there be anything more decadent?

The truth is that the advent of hot chocolate actually preceded chocolate in its solid form. The ancient Maya and Aztec of South and Central America first discovered the glorious properties of chocolate contained in the seeds of the cocoa tree. These first experimentations with the cocoa seeds found these ancient people combining the seeds with combinations of spices and then drinking the mixture. This liquid chocolate substance was revered by their population and was used in everything from social to religious functions.

When the Spanish conquered Mexico in the early 1500s, the conquistadors were introduced to this exotic beverage. They became so accustomed to it that they brought cocoa seeds with them on their return home and began having the product shipped back to Spain. Because the price of importing the cocoa seeds was so high, hot chocolate was reserved exclusively for the wealthy.

The Spanish enjoyed chocolate as a beverage for nearly one-hundred years before its existence became known to the rest of Europe; Europeans soon adopted chocolate as its collective own, adding sugar to sweeten the mixture and serving it piping hot; it had been served cold up until this point.

The word “hot’ was added to the term hot chocolate when people began enjoying chocolate in its solid form. This was a way to differentiate the chocolate bar from the chocolate drink.

As mass production took hold, more and more people could enjoy hot chocolate as prices came down. In the mid-1920s, a powder mix was invented that would allow consumers to simply add hot milk or water to make their own hot chocolate. Many of us enjoy the beverage this way today.

For easy to understand, in depth information about hot chocolate visit our ezGuide 2 Chocolate.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Bery

Chocolate Candy Recipes - Winning Recipes to Make Your Next Party a Big Hit

The situation comes up where you have a party scheduled, and your looking to provided to your guest something special for dessert. How about giving them some chocolate candy? You will find a lot of chocolate candy recipes to select from, and you can do some practice prior to the big event if you pick the recipes that require small amounts of ingredients and even less time.

Chocolate Truffles

One of the chocolate desserts that many people love the most is Truffles. While some cooks might find this intimidating, there are a lot of chocolate candy recipes that you can find that will give you instructions on how to prepare chocolate truffles easily and with minimal effort.

The ingredients that you need are whipping cream and chocolate shavings; you can select the type of chocolate that you want depending on the amount of sweetness or how bitter you want your truffles to be. You will need to scoop the chocolate with an ice cream scoop to create the truffles, then allow them to chill in your refrigerator so they can keep their shape.

The next step is to add the toppings that you want. Some people prefer to roll their truffles in cinnamon, others choose to use cocoa powder or chopped nuts for a rich taste as well as presentation. This recipe is easy enough to make the day of the party, and it is sure to be a big hit.

Chocolate Toffee

If you are a a person who prefers toffee, you can share your favorite treat with your party guests as well. Chocolate candy recipes also include toffee, and you can locate an assortment of recipes that include caramel, dried fruit, or various types of nuts. You will also need butter as well as brown sugar to make a complete recipe.

You can use the stove to make the toffee, and then transfer it to your oven to help in make the sugar solidified. The majority of toffee recipes take roughly 20 minutes to make, so you can make an attempt at the recipes a few time, even in the event your guests are arriving the next day. The chances are, the more often that you make the recipe, the better it is going to taste, so by the time your guests actually have dessert, you will have complete confidence.

Fudge

Another idea to try is fudge, which has the capacity to be similar to toffee but tends to be somewhat richer. You can also add nuts and fruit pieces to this recipe you choose as well, and you should make certain, that you have a high quality baking pan so that your fudge will not stick to the edges.

If you want to give your fudge a dense, rich flavor, use marshmallow cream, and/or evaporated milk. This has the effect of making the fudge sweet and creamy, and you can also add caramel, peanut butter, or any other kind of flavor extract that you want.

Listen to Korbin Newlyn as he shares his insights as an expert author and an avid writer in the field of fine foods. If you would like to learn more go to Hot Chocolate Recipe advice and at Chocolate Cookie tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Korbin_Newlyn

Personalized Chocolate Candy - Unique Gifts Your Loved Ones Will Appreciate

Some people are so busy with their daily lives that they don't have the time to make their own chocolate candy, however you can still personalize it by using some online resources and some of creativity. Here are some of the best idea on how to get personalized chocolate candy.

One of the best ways to narrow down your choices for getting this type of chocolate candy online is to go to any of the major search engines and type in quotes "personalized chocolate candy". There you will find a large list of online merchants that will have numerous products to select from.

All Occasions

You will find chocolate for many occasions such as Birthdays, Weddings, Child Births, or even Office Gifts. These companies will wrap the chocolates you purchase in paper that lists the name of the recipient, or the name of the occasion, or the time and date of a baby's birth or a wedding.

Sports teams from various schools also use companies such as these to make chocolates that can be sold at different fundraisers to raise money for their respective team. You even have the option of submitting photos to the company to be added to the candy wrapper, and you can send personalized chocolate candy for holidays such as Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, and Christmas as well. The products of these types of companies are always expanding, you can even find muffin and cookie mixes to buy.

You will find the prices are generally very affordable and you can also work with a sales representative so you can get a faster turn around time. You will tend to find discounts and specials advertised on the sites, so make certain to check back a few times during the planning of your event.

Unique and Creative

Some sites offer quality chocolates where you can buy an actual large size Hershey bar that is customized to your specifications. For instance, if you are a teacher you can use these services to personalize treats for students, and if you are expecting a new arrival to the family, you can get the Hershey bars customized with "Heresheis" or "Hereheis" labels that are always a big hit with family and friends.

There are also a number of gift basket ideas on the site, in the event you need to give a personalized gift to a family member or coworker. There is also a toll-free number on the site that you can call if you have questions in regards to shipping and handling, or have a custom order that might require some additional attention.

Bear in mind that you can also create your own personalized chocolate candy. All you need are some candy molds, flavor extracts, and the right ingredients for the kind of chocolate you trying to make.

Listen to Korbin Newlyn as he shares his insights as an expert author and an avid writer in the field of fine foods. If you would like to learn more go to Chocolate Cake advice and at Milk Chocolate tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Korbin_Newlyn

10 Secrets To Justify Chocolate In Your Diet

10 Secrets To Justify Chocolate In Your Diet
By Alexa Cooper

1. Buy high fiber chocolate muesli. A diet high in fiber keeps the digestive system healthy, keeps you feel full longer and can be of great aid in any weight loss program. Of cause you can also choose granola or cereal if you prefer it. However, always make sure it has a lot of fiber in it. Chocolate muesli is awesome in cherry yogurt. Everyone who likes chocolate covered cherries should try this for a substitute or simply have it as breakfast in the mornings.

2. Buy chocolate protein bars. Protein is not only important in proper muscle development, but also plays a major role in weight loss. I know not everyone is too concerned with their protein intake. However, eating a chocolate protein bar is probably much more beneficial than eating a chocolate chip cookie. Also, there are granola bars that have chocolate pieces in them and they are great for a snack during the day.

3. Drop mini chocolate chips in your plain yogurt or cottage cheese. Recommended are three servings of dairy daily. Dairies provide you with calcium and protein. Three a day doesn't really sound that difficult. However, plain yogurt and plain cottage cheese do sound a little boring for every day eating. I would suggest not only to drop some chocolate chips into them, but also a little spoon full of your favorite low sugar jelly or simply cut a fruit up and mix it in as well. It really helps with the bitter taste those foods sometimes carry.

4. For a healthy dessert choose chocolate covered fruit. Fruits have many vitamins. They are essential for good health as well as fighting colds and similar sicknesses. Also fruits support the body with a good amount of fiber, keeping you full and your weight loss going. I would say my favorite foods to cover in chocolate are apples and bananas. Also you might like strawberries, grapes, pineapple, cherries, pears, mandarins and mango.

5. Just have one piece a day for the good benefits of chocolate. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate contains antioxidants those things that keep you healthy and young. Honestly, there is a lot of bad chocolate out there. If you want to eat chocolate go and buy some German or Switzerland brand. Treat yourself to a little luxury every day. Spoil yourself. You don't need to eat that cheap chocolate in bulk, get a little bit special instead.

6. Put some cocoa in your coffee. Cocoa is known to be an energy drink. Put a little of it into your coffee as an extra good tasting boost. I am sure if you like mochas, you will like this as well. When you brew your coffee at home, at one teaspoon of cocoa (the powder you use for baking as well) to every four coffee scoops. Of course you can change the amounts and see if you need a little more or less.

7. Drop some Nutella into your protein shake. Again, protein is very important for the muscle building of the body. Many people lost weight by simply increasing the protein in their diet. I know most people in the US are far more familiar with peanut butter than with Nutella. However, this food is heavenly. One thing to consider is that every Nutella made in America or Mexico includes peanut oil. This just doesn't taste as good as the stuff made in Europe.

8. Drink hot cocoa instead of eating plain chocolate. At least you get some benefits with the milk. Plain chocolate is a very calorie dense food. It is especially high on fat and sugar. By adding some milk to the chocolate you add a good amount of protein and calcium. Again, we are talking about the three servings of dairy a day. Did you know that if the body does not have enough calcium it makes it harder for you to lose weight? Therefore, keep drinking that milk.

9. Treat yourself with a parfait that includes a thin layer of chocolate sauce. Parfaits are great because they are a combination of healthy yogurt, vitamin rich fruit and high fiber cereal. As to parfaits, I like to use frozen berries for the bottom layer. Just defrost them a little longer and they are nice and warm. Next, I use plain yogurt for the middle and finally I top it off with crunchy granola. This makes it so delicious. The chocolate layer I would put right in the middle in between the yogurt. It sounds just right.

10. After dinner have a little chocolate covered mint. Mind is a great way to refresh your breath after dinner. I suppose the mint is not helping with your weight loss, however it is important and makes it easier to keep your friends. Who wants to be lonely during all those weight loss struggles? Therefore, put some chocolate around the mind and treat yourself and your friends good.

To read more by Alexa Cooper on weight loss and maintaining a healthy lifestyle visit her website at http://www.10stepstoweightloss.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexa_Cooper

Chocolate Truffles - What Are These Delectable Desserts

Chocolate Truffles - What Are These Delectable Desserts
By Craig Thornburrow

If you've ever watched any of the food channels, you may have seen segments on how chocolate truffles are made. The truffles made with chocolate mirror those that are found in the wild.

What is a truffle? Basically a truffle originates from the tuber family and is considered a fungus. It is found mostly beneath the surface of the ground and can only be sniffed out by dogs. Some truffles have also been found by pigs as well. Traditionally, there are two types of truffles: black and white. The white truffle is the most expensive.

Let's face it; chocolate is high on most every women's list and men as well. But giving a gift of chocolate truffles is worth its weight in gold. Go to any premium confectioner's store and you may be able to get an inside peek as to how fresh chocolate covered truffles are made.

In fact, there are a myriad of chocolate truffle recipes which you can print out from a multitude of websites as well. You can make chocolate truffles at home providing you purchase the very best chocolate, such as Ghirardelli's.

By the way, making chocolate truffles at home is quite easy. Don't worry; you won't be reliving the scene from the "I Love Lucy" episode wherein she and Ethel are on the chocolate assembly line.

Moreover, the food channel sometimes has segments wherein not only chocolate truffles are made from scratch, but you have the opportunity to see how real truffles are often used in Italian cuisine. The shavings are used quite sparingly as the cost is prohibitive.

Nonetheless, chocolate lovers go absolutely mad over these decadent delicacies, and no wonder. With the recent reports that dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolates, now you can purchase a box of dark chocolate truffles from such notable companies as Russell Stover. For example, a 17.5 ounce box costs approximately $12.00.

What makes truffles covered in a chocolate ganache so appealing is that they can be modified to include pecan or hazelnut toppings, coconut, or the more traditional cocoa powder.

If you've never had the opportunity to taste a chocolate truffle, it has a deep, rich smooth flavor that you will not forget anytime soon.

With Easter soon approaching, why not pick up a sample box of chocolate truffles? They are like potato chips; bet you can't each just one!

Craig Thornburrow is an acknowledged expert in his field. You can get more free advice on chocolate truffles and French chocolate truffles at http://www.chocolate-truffles.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Thornburrow

Chocolate and Percentages: What Does It All Mean?

I often get asked what the percentage on the front of a chocolate bar means. As is the case with many things chocolate-related, the answer is not quite what I would call simple:

Percentages on chocolate bars get tricky because there is no clear and consistent legal standard for their usage. You may see one or more of the following terms on the front or back of the chocolate bar packaging:

cacao (or cocoa) content
cacao (or cocoa) mass
cacao (or cocoa) solids
chocolate
chocolate (or cocoa) liquor
cacao
cocoa

�Chocolate� is defined by the FDA as a product containing ground up cacao--cocoa beans--minus their shells. It can be 100% chocolate with nothing added, or there can be some other ingredients added such as sugar, vanilla and other natural flavorings, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and some additional dairy products as well as emulsifiers such as lecithin.

The funny thing is that sometimes on the back of a chocolate bar you�ll see that the ingredients list includes �chocolate� as the first ingredient. You may wonder how the first ingredient of "chocolate" can be "chocolate," but this oddity is simply because the roasted and refined cocoa beans can be called �chocolate� by themselves, even without sugar added. However, the FDA prefers the controlled term �chocolate liquor� which signifies the same thing (i.e. ground up cocoa beans). Sometimes if the cocoa beans have too low an amount of cocoa butter�as in the case of low quality cacao�cocoa butter must be added, but need not be listed in the ingredients because it is seen as a correction rather than an addition.

�Cocoa mass� is a controlled term used in the EU to signify the same thing as �chocolate liquor� here in the US (i.e. ground up cocoa beans). This term, like �chocolate liquor�, does not include "added" cocoa butter or cocoa powder. These items must be listed separately.

�Cocoa content� signifies a combination of cocoa beans, cocoa butter and cocoa powder altogether, but it has no legally defined meaning.

�Cocoa solids� is the really tricky term. It also has no legally defined meaning and some companies apparently use it to signify the same thing as cocoa content�again butter, beans, and powder�but other companies use it to signify only cocoa powder, or more accurately, the non-fat solid portion of the cocoa bean--and this is how I have seen the term used by most people. However, it is apparently not always used in this way.

Here is an interesting blog post by Emily Stone of Chocolate in Context, based on statements by several chocolate professionals with different ideas of what this term means.

Note that the first two comments are from Americans, and the last one is Australian. There could well be a difference in general usage of these various terms between the two countries. Note also that all three disagree to some extent; however, I believe that the first person, Ed Seguine from Guittard Chocolate, is the most accurate in terms of legally-defined terminology and general usage of terminology as regards chocolate in the United States. Still, as I mention, there is obviously inconsistency in usage in the industry, which is why there is really no completely correct way to use these terms in relation to each other without clarifying what one means by them, and such lengthy descriptions will certainly not find their way onto a chocolate bar package.

"Cocoa" is another tricky term because in common language, it often refers to "cocoa powder," which is ground up cacao that has had some of the fat pressed from it, but it is also sometimes used generically as a catch-all for anything derived from cacao, and therefore the cacao itself, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder.

"Cacao" seems clearer, as one would think that it surely refers to only the fermented and dried seeds of the cacao tree, or what often are called "cocoa beans," but do not expect that every time you see the word "cacao" that it will only include the ground up cacao seeds. "Cacao" is becoming quite a buzz-word now, and so it is just a matter of time before even more confusion sets in as it becomes the #1 catch-all term to describe a combination of all cacao-derived products. The shift in usage and meaning has already begun.

One small US chocolate maker has noted that he sees "cocoa beans" as the clearest way to differentiate the roasted seeds of the cacao tree from other cacao-derived products. This may be the case, but at the moment, the terminology is still rarely used.

Because of this, out of all of the above terms, the clearest commonly used phrase may be �cocoa content,� as it is openly and obviously inclusive of all cacao-based products, which is what the percentage on the bar will almost certainly signify anyway--as companies generally want to use as high a number as possible--and doesn�t risk confusing as does the term �cocoa solids� due to multiple possible meanings since molten cocoa butter can certainly be thought of as a liquid.

So, it is perfectly reasonable to say: �This bar is a 70% cocoa content dark chocolate�, which would mean that 70% of its weight comes from ground up cocoa beans with the possible addition of cocoa butter, and/or cocoa powder in some combination. The simplest 70% bar would be ground up cocoa beans and sugar, which is what the Patric Chocolate 70% Madagascar is.

But, now we have run into a further problem:

The fact that "70% cocoa content" can mean different things is exactly why, though its meaning may be clear, it is still quite imprecise. In fact, 10 different bars that all use the same terminology (i.e. 70% cocoa content), can all have very different proportions of cacao, cocoa butter and cocoa powder in them. Fine chocolate generally does not include cocoa powder, but even so, different brands have highly variable proportions of cacao to cocoa butter. In fact, it is possible, for example, to have a 74% bar that has less cacao--due to added cocoa butter--and is therefore less robust in flavor, than a 71% bar with no cocoa butter added. The problem is compounded by the fact that most chocolate makers/manufacturers do not include the varying percentages of the different components added. Though texture and flavor can give some indication, one would hope that the lack of transparency in the chocolate world as regards percentage will, at some point, be a thing of the past; on this note, please see our web store for in-depth descriptions of the actual contents of our bars.

One final thing to mention, which is something that is probably clearer to most people than what we have already discussed, is that a high percentage does not guarantee quality chocolate. Many mass market brands have caught on to putting percentages on their bars as a marketing technique, because up to a point, only the European fine chocolate companies were listing percentages. As you can imagine, there is a very large difference between a 70% made with what is called "bulk" cacao, from a mixture of many uninteresting origins, and filled with massive quantities of vanilla, and a bar that is made from what is called "fine flavor cacao" from one of many different interesting origins, and that really showcases the beauty of the flavor of the cacao due to the artisan's hand in the manufacturing of the chocolate. This being the case, the oft-quoted term "buyer beware" is certainly relevant here.

Best,

Alan McClure