Vera's Recipes

Desserts

Chocolate Types (Kitchen Reference)

Desserts
0 ingredients
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Method

  1. Unsweetened: Also called baking chocolate, this is pure chocolate liquor molded into solid pieces. For cooking only — too oily and strong to eat, even with sugar added — but the basis for many standard chocolate desserts. Cannot be used interchangeably with any sweetened chocolate. Store indefinitely in a cool, dark place.
  2. Semisweet, bittersweet, dark: Sweetened chocolates suitable for eating and cooking. May be used interchangeably, but bittersweet tends to be stronger than semisweet, and European-style dark chocolate tends to be closer to bittersweet than semisweet. Store up to a year in a cool, dark place.
  3. Chocolate chips: Designed to hold their shape even when exposed to high heat. They do not melt properly for other uses and should not replace semisweet, bittersweet or dark chocolates. Store up to a year in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place.
  4. Milk chocolate: Combination of chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids to produce a very mild product used most often for eating. Cannot substitute for semisweet, bittersweet or dark in recipes; if used in cooking, must be melted with extreme care as milk solids cause it to burn at even lower temperatures than dark chocolates. Does not store well.
  5. White chocolate: Technically not chocolate at all because it contains no chocolate liquor. The most delicate of all solid 'chocolates'; it burns very easily and usually is not cooked. Can sometimes be used interchangeably with milk chocolate. Does not store well.
  6. Cocoa: Pulverized residue from chocolate with some cocoa butter removed. Easier to work with since it requires no melting. Either sifted with dry ingredients or dissolved in liquid. Store indefinitely if airtight in a cool, dark place. Two main types: Dutch-process (European-style) cocoa — the acid is neutralized, giving a milder taste and reddish-brown color; used in European-style recipes requiring baking powder. Natural or nonalkalized (American-style) cocoa — the acid is untreated, giving a sharper flavor; used only in recipes requiring baking soda.

Notes

Kitchen reference clipping, not a recipe. By Jan Ellen Spiegel, Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Most chocolates and cocoas used in baking are not interchangeable.

Original card

The recipe above was transcribed from this scan of Vera’s original card.