Cacao beans are the raw fruit of the cacao tree. “Cocoa” and “chocolate” refer to products made from the beans (it takes around 400 cacao beans to make half a kilogram of chocolate).
Battle of the bean: dark vs milk vs white chocolate
Dark chocolate combines cocoa butter, sugar and cocoa powder and contains varying percentages of cocoa, from 35 to 90%, sometimes more. The melting point of cocoa butter is just below human body temperature, which is why chocolate literally melts in your mouth.
Milk chocolate contains milk solids and sometimes cream and sugar.
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter from which the cocoa solids have been removed. The cocoa butter is then combined with milk and sugar to make white chocolate.
Perfect chocolate pairings
Pair milk chocolate with apricot, coconut, rose and strawberry. Pair white chocolate with cauliflower, cardamom, lemongrass, pink peppercorns, saffron. Pair dark chocolate with bacon, cherries, crème fraîche, ginger, Gorgonzola, nutmeg, saffron and star anise.
Take chocolate to the next level with our ultimate chocolate recipe guide.
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