Outline of chocolate

Updated on Dec 25, 2024

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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.

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 –

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