| Dark chocolate |
To meet the European standard description of dark chocolate
it should contain a minimum of 43% cocoa solids.
70% cocoa is generally considered the starting point for good quality
dark chocolate and can go up to 100% cocoa for the absolute
purists.
Dark chocolate must contain a minimum of 43% cocoa to be called "dark"
according to European norms. A "70% cocoa chocolate" is considered quite
dark while 85% and even 88% cocoa dark chocolates have become quite
popular for dark chocolate lovers. |
| Drinking chocolate |
Sweetened cocoa powder used to make hot milky
drinks. |
| Dutch process cocoa |
Cocoa powder that has been treated with alkali to neutralise
the natural acids, the resulting cocoa is darker in colour
and has a slightly different flavour from natural cocoa. |
| Dutching |
In the early 19th century a Dutchman called Coenraad Johannes
van Houten discovered that the acid taste of cocoa was
neutralised if he added alkali-potash to the nibs before they were
roasted. Ever since the end of the 19th century all industrial
chocolate makers have practiced this alkalisation process to modify the
flavor and the color of the final product.
Another term for alkalisation still used today is the ?Dutch process? or
?Dutching?. |
