Types of Chocolate Products
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established Standards of Identity for many chocolate and cocoa products. These standards designate the percentage of key ingredients that must be present.
Following are the definitions for some well-known chocolate and cocoa products:
Terms & Definitions:
- Milk Chocolate
- - A combination of chocolate liquor (not alcohol), cocoa butter, sugar and milk or cream. Milk chocolate must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor and at least 12% total milk ingredients.
- Sweet Chocolate
- - A combination of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and sugar, but contains at least 15% chocolate liquor.
- Semisweet Or Bittersweet Chocolate
- - A combination of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and sugar, but contains at least 35% chocolate liquor. Sweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate are often called dark chocolate.
- Chocolate, Unsweetened Chocolate, Or Baking Chocolate
- - Chocolate or chocolate liquor is produced by grinding cocoa beans smooth into a liquid state. This chocolate can be sold as unsweetened chocolate or baking chocolate or used to make other chocolate types such as milk chocolate, sweet chocolate, or semisweet chocolate.
- White Chocolate
- - Made from the same ingredients as milk chocolate (cocoa butter, milk, sugar) but without the nonfat cocoa solids. In 2002, FDA established a standard of identity for white chocolate. White chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa butter and 14% total milk ingredients.
- Cocoa
- - Cocoa is the product made by removing part of the fat (cocoa butter) from the cocoa beans and grinding the remaining material minus the shell.
