How to Use Your Chocolate

If there is one thing that the world can agree on, it’s that chocolate is the ultimate indulgence that some, such as chocolate expert and host of Netflix’s School of Chocolate, Amaury Guichon, spend their whole lives mastering.

But with a wide variety of chocolate available in the market, it can be tough to decide what to pick for what application; that is what I am here to discuss. So join me as we dive into the wonderful world of chocolate and the delights it can provide.

The chocolate we know today did not always look or taste the way it does now; its origins date back 5,300 years ago in the upper Amazon region of Ecuador, where the dried seeds of the cacao pod were ground up for pottery or mixed with hot water, vanilla and spices and served as a bitter, acidic drink that was believed to have health benefits and increase libido.

In the 1400s, as the Aztecs moved across Mesoamerica, they realized they couldn’t grow the pods in the dry land of Mexico, so they traded the pods with the Mayans as a currency.

Then in the 1500s, during the Spanish invasion of Central America, chocolate was brought to Europe from the Americas. The drink was sweetened with cane sugar and cinnamon but was still considered a food for royalty.

Finally, in the mid-1800s, a British chocolate company made chocolate into an edible bar by mixing cocoa powder (made from ground cocoa beans), cocoa butter, and sugar, giving us the great chocolate we know today.

Strange as it may look, this is a cacao pod, the seeds of which are air-dried and then ground into chocolate.

Well, with that long bit of history out of the way, it’s finally time to explore the different varieties of chocolate and what applications they can be used for; starting on the sweeter side and moving down, our journey begins with a type of chocolate that isn’t considered to be chocolate.

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White chocolate.

Made from cocoa butter and sugar, white chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids (another word for cocoa powder) that make up chocolate, but that doesn’t mean white chocolate doesn’t have a place in the baking world.

White chocolate’s nutty, sweet flavor pairs wonderfully with citrus, fruit, nuts, and mint; it can also be melted down with heavy cream to form a thick glaze for cakes, ice cream, and tarts.

Ruby chocolate.

Introduced in 2017, ruby chocolate is a newer variety made from the ruby cacao bean, a reddish-pink pod grown in Ecuador, Brazil, and along the Ivory Coast. It has a sweet, fruity flavor with a tart after-tone, similar to most berries, and has a smooth, decadent texture similar to most of the chocolates we know today.

Its flavor blends well with spices, nuts, seeds, and citrus for a pleasant experience. Ruby chocolate is a bit hard to find in supermarkets, but you can easily find it online, or at specialty chocolate shops.

Milk chocolate.

As the name might tell you, milk chocolate is made with cocoa solids, sugar, and, you guessed it, milk. The milk adds a rich flavor and helps to sweeten the chocolate even further. It’s a confection from a Swiss inventor, Daniel Peter, who combined cocoa solids with condensed milk to create the delight we know today.

Milk chocolate is often used in candy bars such as Twix, Hershey’s bars and kisses, Butterfingers, and Reese’s; and is delicious when slapped between two graham crackers and a toasted marshmallow to create…well, you know.

Semisweet chocolate.

By definition, semisweet chocolate has to have a cocoa solid content between 35% and 65%; it’s an excellent chocolate to introduce to kids as it’s sweet enough that kids will like it but also has some of the complex, dark flavors of the darker chocolates.

Since it is somewhat sweeter, semisweet chocolate pairs well with treats that need that boost of sweetness, like brownies, cakes, cookies, and almost any baked good.

Bittersweet or dark chocolate: one of my favorites.

Dark chocolate has a cocoa solid content of more than 70%; it’s not as sweet but has lots of dark, bitter, fruity flavors that I could snack on. I understand that not everyone likes darker chocolates, but…that’s them; this is me.

Dark chocolate is fantastic at balancing out sweet dishes like baked goods, croissants, and chocolate lava cake. It also has savory applications, like in the classic Mexican sauce, mole, which is made from chilies, spices, nuts, and, in some recipes, dark chocolate.

(I would like to clarify something at this point, any of the chocolates mentioned above can be used in any baked good or dessert you wish, depending on how rich you want the final dish to be and how dark you like the chocolate.)

Cocoa nibs.

Made from cracked cocoa beans, cocoa nibs offer the bitter, dark flavor of chocolate with little crunchy bits that are great to add to softer foods like oatmeal, smoothies, and garnish for desserts like sundaes and cakes.

Cocoa nibs can be found in health food stores, and in some grocery stores near baking chocolates. Of course, you can easily buy them online off…well, these days, there isn’t another online delivery company other than the one named after a famous South American river.

Cocoa powder.

Made from grinding dried cocoa pods, cocoa powder is 100% pure and, therefore, is the most bitter form of chocolate you can find. It comes in two basic varieties, natural and Dutch process.

Natural cocoa powder has a lighter color and is slightly acidic, while Dutch process cocoa has a darker, richer flavor that bakers love. Both forms of cocoa are easily interchangeable, but since Dutch Process cocoa is harder to find at supermarkets, the natural form will work just as well.

Cocoa powder is most often used in baked goods, sometimes in place of some of the flour to give a dark color and rich flavor. It is also fantastic for making hot cocoa mixed with sugar and steeped in milk.

By the way, if you’re steeping cocoa powder into dairy, it’s hot cocoa, but melting chocolate into dairy is hot chocolate.

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Now, before you think that eating all this chocolate will make you fat, I think it’s important to know that dark chocolate is considered a superfood. The darker, the better!

Dark chocolate helps to promote heart health, controls blood pressure, boosts brain function, and helps maintain a healthy vision, to name a few things. Plus, since dark chocolate has less sugar and fat than sweeter chocolates, it’s something that you can happily eat as much as you want!

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It makes sense why chocolate was considered food for the gods for centuries, as its wide varieties can make you feel like you’re eating something that costs a million dollars. And with the above-mentioned health benefits, you can rest assured that the next chocolate bar you eat will benefit you in many ways.