Chocolate - Varieties
Bittersweet: Contains chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, vanilla, and approximately 40% by weight sugar. Highest quality bittersweet chocolate contains greater than 35% chocolate liquor. Bittersweet chocolate is not as sweet as semisweet though it may be substituted.
Chocolate chips: Contain a fat content of 27% to 30% in order to retain their shape during baking. Highest quality chocolate chips contain cocoa butter rather than palm oil.
Coating chocolate: Contains a very high percentage of cocoa butter to give candy a hard, shiny finish.
Cocoa powder: Concentrated powder produced by hydraulically pressing unsweetened chocolate and removing at least 50% of the cocoa butter.
Compound: Also called imitation chocolate, confectioners' chocolate, and chocolate-flavored chocolate. Contains no cocoa butter and is less expensive than chocolate.
Dutch-process cocoa: Cocoa powder treated to reduce its acidity. Darker color, milder flavor, and more easily burned than untreated cocoa powder.
Milk chocolate: Contains chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk solids the equivalent of up to 1 cup whole milk. Used for eating, not baking.
Semisweet: Contains a minimum of 35% chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla. Semisweet is sweeter than bittersweet chocolate though it may be substituted.
Sweet: Contains chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla. Sweeter than semisweet and bittersweet. Used for cooking and eating.
Unsweetened: Pure chocolate liquor with approximately 50% cocoa butter and no other additives. Also called baking chocolate or bitter chocolate not to be confused with bittersweet.
White chocolate: Contains cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, milk solids, and no chocolate liquor. Highest quality white chocolate uses cocoa butter and not coconut oil or vegetable oil.