Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civilization, and later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of English and food labeling standards, the term chocolate bar is reserved for bars of solid chocolate, with candy bar used for products with additional ingredients.
Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Its melting point is slightly below human body temperature. It is an essential ingredient of chocolate and related confectionary products.
White chocolate is a confectionery typically made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids. It is pale ivory in color, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk, dark, and other chocolates. It is solid at room temperature because the melting point of cocoa butter, the only white cocoa bean component, is 35 °C (95 °F).
Reese's Take 5 is a candy bar that was released by The Hershey Company in December 2004. The original name of the candy bar was TAKE5 but common usage among consumers added a space. In June 2019, when the candy bar became part of the Reese's family, the name was officially changed to Reese's Take 5.
Chocolate chips or chocolate morsels are small chunks of sweetened chocolate, used as an ingredient in a number of desserts, in trail mix and less commonly in some breakfast foods such as pancakes. They are often manufactured as teardrop-shaped volumes with flat circular bases; another variety of chocolate chips have the shape of rectangular or square blocks. They are available in various sizes, usually less than 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in diameter.
Whoppers are malted milk balls with an artificial flavored "chocolatey coating" produced by The Hershey Company. The candy is a small, round ball about 3⁄4 inch (20 mm) in diameter. They are typically sold in various packaging options: either in a small cardboard candy box, in a larger box that resembles a cardboard milk carton, as the 'Fun Size' variety which is a tube-shaped plastic package sealed at the sides and contains twelve Whoppers weighing 21 grams, or as an even smaller variety in a tube containing three Whoppers weighing 6.8 grams.
Maltesers are a British confectionery product manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. First sold in the UK in 1937, they were originally aimed at women. They have since been sold in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and Middle East. The slogan is "The lighter way to enjoy chocolate".
Milk Duds are a brand of chocolate-coated caramel candies produced by The Hershey Company. The candy is a caramel disk covered with a confectionery chocolate coating made from cocoa and vegetable oil. Milk Duds are sold in a yellowish-orange box.
Couverture chocolate is a chocolate that contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter (32–39%) than baking or eating chocolate. This additional cocoa butter, combined with proper tempering, gives the chocolate more sheen, a firmer "snap" when broken, and a creamy mellow flavor.
Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), E476, is an emulsifier made from glycerol and fatty acids. In chocolate, compound chocolate and similar coatings, PGPR is mainly used with another substance like lecithin to reduce viscosity. It is used at low levels, and works by decreasing the friction between the solid particles in molten chocolate, reducing the yield stress so that it flows more easily, approaching the behaviour of a Newtonian fluid. It can also be used as an emulsifier in spreads and in salad dressings, or to improve the texture of baked goods. It is made up of a short chain of glycerol molecules connected by ether bonds, with ricinoleic acid side chains connected by ester bonds.
Mango oil, mango kernel fat, or mango butter, is an oil fraction obtained during the processing of mango butter. Mango oil is a seed oil extracted from the stone of the mango, the fruit of the Mangifera indica tree. The oil is semi-solid at room temperatures, but melts on contact with warm skin, making it appealing for baby creams, suncare balms, hair products, and other moisturizing products. The oil is a soft yellow color with a melting point of 32–42 °C (90–108 °F).
Whatchamacallit is a chocolate candy bar marketed in the United States by The Hershey Company.
Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cocoa pods mixed with fat and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
The National Confectioners Association is an American trade organization that promotes chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and the companies that make these treats. NCA lobbies the American government in favor of the confectionery industry, evaluated at US$35 billion. Confections are produced in all 50 states. The association "annually hosts the National Candy Show in Chicago, as well as the Candy Hall of Fame". As of 2024, the Sweets and Snacks Expo will take place in Indianapolis.
Hershey Kissables were a chocolate candy sold by The Hershey Company from 2005 to 2009. Comparable to M&M's, Hershey Kissables were shaped like miniature Hershey's Kisses and were coated in a thick sugar shell.
Chocolate bloom is either of two types of whitish coating that can appear on the surface of chocolate: fat bloom, caused by changes in the fat crystals in the chocolate; and sugar bloom, due to crystals formed by the action of moisture on the sugar. Fat and sugar bloom damage the appearance of chocolate but do not limit its shelf life. Chocolate that has "bloomed" is still safe to eat, but may have an unappetizing appearance and surface texture. Chocolate bloom can be repaired by melting the chocolate down, stirring it, then pouring it into a mould and allowing it to cool, bringing the sugar or fat back into the solution.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
An enrober is a machine used in the confectionery industry to coat a food item with a coating medium, typically chocolate. Foods that are coated by enrobers include nuts, ice cream, toffee, chocolate bars, biscuits and cookies. Enrobing with chocolate extends a confection's shelf life.
