Outline of chocolate

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:

What is chocolate?

• Chocolate – raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to improve the flavor. Chocolate is a popular ingredient in confectionery items and candies.

What type of thing is chocolate?

Chocolate is a type of:

• Food – substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body, ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, and/or stimulate growth.
  • Confectionery – the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well.
    • Candy – confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added. Candies come in numerous colors and varieties and have a long history in popular culture.
  • Ingredient – substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Chocolate is often used as an ingredient in dessert items, such as cakes and cookies.

What is chocolate made of?

Chocolate is created from the cacao bean. A cacao tree with fruit pods in various stages of ripening

Necessary ingredients

• Cacao bean – the primary ingredient which characterizes chocolate
  • Chocolate liquor or mass – ground or melted state of the nib of the cacao bean
  • Cocoa butter – the fat component
  • Cocoa solids, the nonfat part of the cacao bean which is ground into cocoa powder

Substances found in cacao

• Antioxidants –
  • Flavonols –
  • Catechins –
• Caffeine – psychoactive stimulant drug found in coffee
• Phenethylamine – psychoactive drug that is usually inactive when orally ingested because most of it is metabolized into phenylacetic acid by monoamine oxidase (MAO), preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain
• Theobromine – also known as xantheose, it contains no bromine and has a similar, but lesser, effect to caffeine
• Theophylline – methylxanthine drug found in tea leaves

Source of the cocao bean

• Cacao tree –
  • Forastero – 80% made with this tree group
  • Criollo – 10% made with this tree group
    • Cacao bean –
• Côte d'Ivoire –
  • Cocoa production in Côte d'Ivoire – accounts for 43% of cocoa
• Children in cocoa production –

Optional ingredients

• Lecithin –
• Vanilla –
• Sugar –
• Milk –
• [r[caramel]]-
• Peanuts

Ingredients of white chocolate

• White chocolate – Contains the same ingredients as chocolate but lack cocoa solids.

Types

Types of chocolate

• Unsweetened chocolate – pure chocolate liquor mixed with fat to produce a solid substance; also known as "bitter", "baking chocolate" and "cooking chocolate"
• Dark chocolate –
• Milk chocolate –
• Semisweet chocolate –
• Bittersweet chocolate –
• Couverture –
• White chocolate –
• Cocoa powder –
• Compound chocolate –
• Dutch process chocolate –
• Scho-Ka-Kola – a chocolate brand containing coffee and cola nut

Production methods

• Broma process –
• Dutch process chocolate –

Producers and trade organizations

• International Cocoa Initiative –
• Cocoa Processing Company Limited – a Ghanaian cocoa processing company
• Kuapa Kokoo – a Ghanaian farmers' cooperative organisation
• List of bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers
• Chocolaterie
• Chocolatier

See also: Fairtrade labelling

Brands

• List of chocolate bar brands

Comestibles

• Chocolate pudding –
• Chocolate syrup –
• Chocolate cake –
  • German chocolate cake –
  • Wacky cake –
  • Devil's food cake –
• Cookies – (see also: List of cookies)
  • Chocolate chip –
  • Chocolate biscuit –
  • Chocolate chip cookie –
  • Black and white cookie –
  • Afghan biscuit – a traditional New Zealand biscuit
  • Chocolate brownie –
• Chocolate spread –
• Confectionery –
  • Chocolate truffle –
  • Chocolate crackles –
  • Choco pie –
  • Rum ball –
• Chocolates –
  • Swiss chocolate –
  • Mint chocolate –
  • Chocolate money –
• Desserts –
  • Molten chocolate cake –
  • Chocolate salami –
• Ice cream –
  • Mint Chocolate Chip –
  • Chocolate Chip –
• Candy –
  • Chocolate bar –
  • Chocolate-coated raisin –
  • Chocolate-coated peanut –
  • Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats –
• Cereals – (see also: List of breakfast cereals):
  • Cocoa Frosted Flakes –
  • Cocoa Puffs –
  • Cocoa Krispies –
  • Cookie Crisp –
• Brand names:
  • Death by Chocolate –

Drinks

A mug of hot chocolate. Chocolate was first drunk rather than eaten.

• Cafe mocha –
• Chocolate milk –
  • Swiss Miss –
  • Nesquik –
  • Banania –
  • Yoo-hoo –
• Crème de cacao –
• Hot chocolate –
• more...

History

History of chocolate

Effects on health

Health effects of chocolate

• Theobromine poisoning –

Other articles

• United States military chocolate –
• Couverture chocolate –
• Chocolate fountain –
• Compound chocolate –
• Chocolate agar – named for its color, does not contain cocoa
• Chocolate spread –
• Modeling chocolate –

External links

• Outline of chocolate at DMOZ
• Glossary of Chocolate Terms
•  
• Food of the Gods A Popular Account of Cocoa – Freely downloadable book from Project Gutenberg