What actually is praline? Who was Xochiquetzal? What is the difference between a chocolate maker and a chocolatier? Use this extensive chocolate glossary to understand those chocolate terms you have heard or read. Impress your friends with your newly acquired chocolate trivia and truly savour your next chocolate eating experience by really understanding the time, love and attention that is invested to ensure each and every mouthful is completely delicious.
The French term for water bath. A bain marie, or 'double boiler' melts chocolate gently over warm water so it will not burn. There is a risk when using this method that water or moisture will get into the chocolate. Instead of using a bain marie, use a microwave for no more than 40 seconds at a time, and stirring in between, to melt the chocolate.
Ballotin
A type of box that chocolates are presented in. Usually holds 2 or 3 layers of chocoaltes, each layer being slightly larger than the one below it.
Chocoholic
Someone who is said to be 'addicted to chocolate'.
ChocoLamore
Incorrect spelling of ChocoLamour!
ChocoLamour
The finest provider of luxury chocolate delicacies. Made from wonderful courverture the chocolate is tempered to create wonderful chocolates, chocolate lollies and chocolate bars.
Chocolate
A combination of raw and processed ingredients that originate from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Together they create the wonderfullyl sensationional indulgence that with the satidfying qualitiies everyone loves.
Chocolate maker
Someone who creates couverture from the cocoa beans and other ingredients
Chocolatier
Someone who uses couverture to create or produce chocolates.
Cocoa Butter
The edible natural fat of the cacao bean, extracted during the process of making chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter has a mild chocolate flavour and aroma. It is the only cacao component used in the confection known as white chocolate. Can be added to milk or dark chocolate to thin it.
A very precise machine used to grind and pummel the chocolate over a sustained period of time. This ensures the chocolate is smooth with a rich texture, whilst achieving desirable flavors and liquefying the refined chocolate mass.
Couverture
Chocolate in its untempered form, a professional form of chocolate, that is used to form a crisp, thin shell. Used to produce chocolate sweets and items.
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate without a milk element. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. Contains cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar and often flavouring, such as natural vanilla, and an emulsifier, such as lecithin.
Dipping Fork
A tool used in chocolated making, can be 2, 3 or 4 pronged with a small handle. It is used to lift a chocolate sweet and dip into chocolate, then used to drip the excess liquid chocolate off to leave a thin coating..
Dutch Process Cocoa
Cocoa powder which is treated with alkali, thus neutralizing the natural acids. It is slightly darker in colour and has a sllightly different flavour from natural cocoa.
Fat bloom
When cocao butter in the chocolate rises to the surface and forms white streaky patches or white spots on the chocolate's surface. Should not impair the flavour.
Fondant
A sugar and water mixture that is cooked, cooled, then beaten until it is formss a stiff, opaque mass . A sweet filling that can be flavoured with fruit concentrates or coffee, for example, to create the chocolate filling.
Ganache
Simply a mixture of chocolate and cream. Chocolatiers often uses double cream to make the chocolates particularly creamy and smooth and varying ratios of chocoalte to cream produce different results with varying viscocity.
Gianduja
Gianduja is a mixture of emulsified hazelnuts and cocoa mass, with cocoa butter and sugar. Originally it was an Italian specialty.
Hydrogentated Fats
Beginning as liquid fat, they are solidified when hydrogen atoms are added. A healthy or unsaturated fat is converted into an unhealthy or saturated fat. They contain trans fats. None of ChocoLamour's chocolates contain hydrogenated fats - they use only Cocoa Butter.
Lecitihin
A natural emulsifier used in chocolate to improve the flow properties by reducing the viscosity.
Milk chocolate
Chocolate that contains cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids and often flavouring such as natural vanilla and emulsifiers, such as lecithin. In the UK milk chocolate must contain minimum 20% milk solids.
Mould
I use polycarbonate moulds to create uniform shape chocolates. A tray (the mould) has a number of cavities which are filled with chocolate before being emptied out and filled.
Nib
The inner kernels of coca beans are usually called ‘nibs’. They are basic ingredient of chocolate. The original dark and rich nibs can be used to add texture to chocolate bars.
Praliné is composed of richly flavoured chocolate to which caramelized sugar (hot caramel), well-roasted, finely-ground hazelnuts (or almonds) and vanilla are added. The praliné flavor is typical in many Belgian chocolates or "pralines."
Quetzalcoatl
The Aztec god attributed to have created the cocoa plant.
Selfish
An ancient one person chocolate drink jug.
Semi-sweet chocolate
Same as Plain chocolate.
Sugar bloom
A collection of white sugar crystals that form when moisture accumulates on the surface of chocolate. Moisture draws the sugar to the surface where it dissolves. This is visible as white streaks and dots and can cause a grainy texture. Storing chocolate in the refrigerator can cause a sugar bloom. Should not impair the flavour.
Tempering
The technical process of heating and cooling the chocoalte at precise temperatures to ensure the fats in the chocolate (the cocoa butter) are correctly crystallized and the cocoa butter is stabilised. This ensures the tempered chocolate forms a crisp, shiny shell.
Theobroma Cacao
The tropical cocoa tree, originally native to South America, Cetnral America, and Mexico, but now growing within 20o of the equator. Beans from the pods are fermented, roasted and ground to produce chocolate. The name "Theobroma," comes from the ancient Greek words for "god" (Theo) and "food" (Broma).
Truffle
A type of chocolate, usually has a ganache centre which is then coated in chocolate or dusted with cocoa powder. Often an irregular shape but generally round. The ultimate chocolate delicacy.
White chocolate
Chocolate that contains cocao butter but does not contain nonfat cocao solids. Contains sugar, cocao butter, milk solids and flavourings such as vanilla plus a stabliser such as soy lecithin
Winnowing
The process of removing the outer husk of the cocoa pods to reveal the cocoa beans. Is often done by hand in the country of production.
Xochiquetzal
The Goddess of fertility, with which the Aztecs associated chocolate.
Xocolatl
A combination of the Mexican Aztec Nahuatl words xocolli, meaning "bitter", and atl, meaning "water", this was the origin of the word 'chocolate'.
