Contains at least 35% chocolate liquor for bittersweet. Other ingredients include extra cocoa butter (in some cases), sugar, lecithin and spices.

An individual confectionery center that is either enrobed with chocolate to cover or encased in a molded chocolate shell. I use the term bonbon as I think it is more descriptive than "chocolate" when discussing products with centers. I also differentiate bonbons from confections which to me mean products like nut barks, turtles and other products that are not enrobed or shell molded. I try to reserve the term "chocolate" for solid or hollow chocolate items such as chocolate bars or seasonal shapes.

The French term used throughout the industry for fruit of the cacao tree.

The seeds of the fruit, called a pod or cabosse, produced by the Theobroma cacao tree and pronounced kah KOW.

Chocolate liquor to which different percentages of cocoa butter are removed or added and some or all of the following ingredients are added: sugar, lecithin, milk or cream powder (to produce milk chocolate), and spices such as vanilla.

Also called fat bloom - is a thin whitish, beige or gray film (can be streaks or spots as well) that forms on the surface of chocolate as a result of many factors such as: incomplete tempering (using too cool temperatures for melting and tempering), incorrect cooling, enrobing or molding cold centers, presence of other fats in the centers or chocolate, and storing the chocolate in too warm conditions. Does not effect the taste or condition of the chocolate but does mar the appearance. Preventing bloom requires the correct tempering where the stable crystalline forms of chocolate are dispersed throughout the liquid chocolate, continuous agitation of the tempered chocolate as it is being used and moderate cooling.

The ground cocoa nibs which contain their inherent cocoa solids and cocoa butter (approximately 50%). The industry term "liquor" comes from the latin word liquor meaning "a liquid" which is what happens to roasted cocoa beans when they are ground into a paste - correctly pronounced as "licker" - . The heat of the friction in the grinding process melts the cocoa butter making the mass "liquid" until it cools and hardens. Sold in the consumer market as "unsweetened" chocolate (also referred to as Cocoa Liquor, Liquid, Solid, Mass, Masse, Pate de Cacao). The liquor can be compressed to release the cocoa butter and separate it from the cocoa solids - the result is called cocoa cake or presscake. Liquor can be made from a blend (or "cuvee") of different cocoa beans. "Varietal", "Single Origin", or "Vintage" are all labels for blends or single bean formulations that come from a specific region and are often named by the area or tree species from which they are grown.

Pronounced \'sez\ - The chocolate mass becomes a paste that is grainy, dull and thick. There are two conditions which bring about chocolate seize:

Water: Chocolate is made up of dry ingredients (cocoa solids, sugar and/or milk powder) suspended in cocoa butter. A small drop of liquid will moisten the dry particles and allow them to clump together and separate from the cocoa butter. This is why you never cover a pot of chocolate with a lid (as the steam will condense and drop into the chocolate) and need to be very careful when using a double boiler. If this happens the chocolate will not temper but can be used in baking or truffle centers. Interestingly, if you add in more liquid to the chocolate (a minimum of 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) of liquid per ounce of chocolate) the melted chocolate will remain in a liquid state because the dry particles get saturated by the moisture and detach from each other. They then are suspended in the liquid again so the chocolate mass is back to a liquid form.

Heat: Overheating separates the cocoa solids and other dry ingredients from the cocoa butter. Chocolate solids and dry ingredients will burn if heated to 130°F (54.4 ° C). The result is a dry discolored paste. As there's no retrieving burned chocolate be very careful when heating in a double boiler (over hot - not simmering or boiling water) or microwave. Make sure a scrape across the bottom of your bowl or pan continuously when heating. Sometimes only a thin layer at the bottom of the pan burns if left unattended but if it does, your chocolate will not temper properly

The measure of the density of a melted chocolate mass using the McMichael Scale which compares liquids to the thickness of water. Water equals a 1 on the scale so chocolate with a viscosity of 30 is thirty times the density of water. The ratio of cocoa butter to cocoa solids in a particular chocolate flavor impacts its viscosity - with more cocoa butter producing a less dense liquid. Chocolatiers use the chocolate's viscosity to determine its use - a higher viscosity chocolate (more dense - less cocoa butter) is used for ganache and other chocolate centers while a lower viscosity chocolate (less dense - more cocoa butter) provides the flow and thinner coverage important for molding and enrobing.

In the industry, once "cacao" beans (or seeds) have gone through the fermentation process they are then called "cocoa" beans.

The pale yellow vegetable fat in the cocoa bean with a melting point of 89° F (32° C) - 95° F (35° C). It's crystallization properties demand that chocolate containing cocoa butter be tempered in the final process before cooling.

Also called Presscake - chocolate liquor in which most of the cocoa butter has been removed. The percentage of cocoa butter in the cocoa cake varies depending on its later use. "Kibbled" presscake refers to the breaking up of the cake in order to add a specific amount of cocoa butter or hydrogenated vegetable oil in the making of chocolate products.

Cocoa beans break into smaller particles/sections called nibs after they are dried and roasted. These natural breaks are caused because the inside of the cocoa bean is not a solid mass but consists of the tiny stem and unfurled leaves. Also called grue.

Ground cocoa cake. Cocoa powders can have different percentages of cocoa butter.

Also called Compound Coating, Decorator's Chocolate, Confectioner's Coating, Pate Glace - all the cocoa butter is removed from the chocolate liquor and replaced with another hydrogenated vegetable oil such as coconut or palm kernel oil. This greatly reduces the cost and processing (doesn't have to be tempered) of the finished product. As with real chocolate, coatings also have some or all of the following ingredients added: sugar, lecithin, milk or cream powder (to produce milk confectioner's coating), and spices such as vanilla.

Chocolate containing at least 32% cocoa butter. The high cocoa butter content can make the chocolate taste better in your mouth (more about that later) and produce a more satiny finish for a beautiful chocolate. Couverture comes from the French word couvrir - to coat or cover and is pronounced koo-vehr-TYOOR. Sometimes referred to as fondant chocolate.

The cocoa cakes, powder or nibs are treated with an alkali salt to increase pH value and neutralize the acidity. While this process doesn't change the flavor of the chocolate except for the acidity, it does deepen the cocoa powder's color making it appear richer and improves its suspension in liquids.

The thin, hard covering of an enrobed bonbon.

Cocoa beans that are considered high in quality and flavor - about 5% of the total cocoa bean market.

Chocolatiers are called Fondeurs or "melters" in France as they melt large blocks of bulk chocolate and temper it to cover bonbons and mold into filled or solid shapes.

You may see this term used in reference to cocoa butter replacements used in the production of compound coatings.

Here is a good description from the glossary on the sports performance site EAS, "A fat molecule consists of a "backbone" (glycerol) attached to three fatty acid tails (see "triglyceride"). This molecule can be broken up, or "fractionated," then separated based on physical properties such as consistency or melting point. In this way, manufacturers of cocoa products are able to produce a product that melts at the correct temperature ("in your mouth," for instance), but stay solid at a lower temperature (i.e. "in your hand"). Nutritionally, some parts of the "fractionated" fat are better than the original oil, and other fractions of the oil are worse for bodily health." Fractionation does not add or remove trans fatty acids from an oil. Oils commonly used for fractionation include coconut, palm, palm kernel, cotton, avocado, peanut, and soybean, among others. 

A blend of roasted hazelnuts (or almonds) with milk chocolate that is produced commercially and used for chocolate and dessert fillings. This confection [pronounced gyan-DO-ya] was created in the Piedmont region of Italy during a chocolate shortage in 1861 by Caffarel. The first producer was Gian d'la Duja and the product was named after him. Bite size pieces of Gianduja are usually wrapped in foil. It became even more popular because of the lack of cocoa and abundance of local hazelnuts during the World Wars. It is the luxury version of commercial chocolate spread Nutella which was created in the same region.

The pattern of cocoa butter crystallization in tempered chocolate.

Contains at least 10% chocolate liquor. Other ingredients include sugar, lecithin, milk or cream powder, and spices such as vanilla.

Powdered Cocoa Butter that can be used as a "seeding" agent for tempering in which "you are not creating Beta forms, you are simply...adding them. 1% of Mycryo is just the right amount of Beta crystals to start the chain reaction." While this sounds like the answer to your tempering problems, remember that it is an added expense that will increase the cost of your products.

Pronounced \pis-'tol\ (also called: Pastilles \pas-'tel\ , Feves, Calets, Discs) - chocolate or coatings that are formed into small discs or wafers instead of bars for distribution. This in response to demand from chocolatiers and pastry chef's for a more convenient form of couverture. The pistoles eliminate the need to chop up large blocks of chocolate as well as ease the melting and tempering process.

Produced by Cacao Noel and called 'Couverture Atomize'. It is made from fully conched chocolate couverture. Using a patented process, the cocoa butter content of the finished couverture is reduced, and the results crystallized and pulverized into a fine, free flowing powder. Attributes that differentiate it from cocoa powder: authentic, well rounded chocolate taste, aroma, and mouth feel as well as completely dissolves in any liquid, hot or cold, without lumps. Used mainly in pastry applications.

Can be many things: a bonbon of filled chocolate (Belgium, Germany and Switzerland), a New Orleans pecan sugar candy (US), and a blend of chocolate with nuts - usually almonds (France).

Contains at least 15% chocolate liquor. Other ingredients include extra cocoa butter (in some cases), sugar, lecithin and spices.

Produces white dots or tackiness on the surface of the chocolate. This is the sugar rising to the surface when chocolate is exposed to refrigerated conditions. More than a 13°F (7°C) degree difference between temperatures in storage will cause condensation which precipitates sugar bloom.

The heating - cooling - heating of the chocolate in order to stabilize the cocoa butter fatty acids. Referred to as temperage in France.

The tree that produces the cacao pod (cabosse) with its cocoa beans (seeds) inside.

Contains at least 20% cocoa butter. Other ingredients include sugar, milk and vanilla. Since it does not contain any chocolate paste, white chocolate isn't considered to be a chocolate product.