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Glossary
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Q - Z
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Refining
After roasting and blending, cocoa beans are winnowed to remove their outer skins, leaving a nib, and a series of rollers grind the nibs. Of two refining processes, one is chosen depending on the type of chocolate being made:
--The ground nibs are hydraulically pressed, melting the cocoa butter, leaving behind a cocoa powder cake, which may be further pressed and refined for cooking or drinking.
--Or the nibs are ground into a fine paste that is mixed with sugar, cocoa butter, real or artificial vanilla, soy lecithin and milk products.
Semisweet and Sweet Chocolate
Prepared by blending chocolate liquid with varying amounts of sweetening and added cocoa butter. Flavorings may be included. After processing, the chocolate is cooled. Sweet chocolate is usually molded into bars. Semisweet chocolate is also available in bar form, but most popularly as pieces. This is the generic term. Different manufacturers use different names such as blocs, squares, bits, etc. Chocolate is also granulated and known as "shot," used for decoration by candy makers and confectioners.
Tempering
Tempering is the process of bringing the chocolate to a certain temperature whereby the cocoa butter reaches its most stable crystal form. There are several forms in which the butter can crystallize, only one of which ensures the hardness, shrinking force and gloss of the finished product after it has cooled. If the chocolate is melted in the normal way (between 40 and 45 °C) and then left to cool to working temperature, the finished product will not be gloss. Proper tempering, followed by proper cooling produces a nice shine and good eating properties.
Truffle
A confection made of chocolate (ganache), butter, sugar, and sometimes liqueur shaped into balls and often coated with cocoa. Truffles are made by heating a rich blend of butter, cream, chocolate, and often a flavoring, delicately shaping it, and enrobing it with chocolate couverture.(milk, dark or white) Different truffle textures can be created by rolling the center ganache in cocoa powder, powdered sugar, or finely chopped nuts. Truffles, originally named after the exotic French mushroom because of its visual resemblance, are either hand-rolled chocolate or domed with a piped center.
White Chocolate
White chocolate is not considered real chocolate, because although it has cocoa butter (at least 32% to be considered of good quality), it does not have chocolate liquor. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, milk, sugar and vanilla.
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