Chocolate Glossary

Below are some terms and definitions relating to the chocolate and confection industry. Use our chocolate glossary to learn more about the fascinating and complex world of chocolate! If you want to learn more terms relating to the candy industry, download and print:

• Chocolate USA PDF downloadable and printable glossary

Bittersweet Chocolate - Used primarily in baking, it is a slightly sweetened dark chocolate. Containing between 25-50% cacao content, it is a little sweeter than unsweetened chocolate, but contains less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate.

Cacao - The name of the plant and seeds that produce chocolate (chocolate in its natural and pure unprocessed form).

Cacao Liquor - Same as cacao mass.

Cacao Mass - A creamy paste resulting from grinding the roasted cacao beans.

Cacao Paste - Cacao mass after extra cocoa butter has been added and it has cooled.

Caffeine Content - Chocolate contains caffeine, but only a small amount. The average serving of chocolate has less caffeine than a cup of decaffeinated coffee, so chocolate can be consumed anytime during the day or night or by most people on caffeine-restricted diets. The caffeine content of chocolate compares to these common foods as follows:

Chocolate - The food product made from the roasted seeds (beans) of the cacao tree. The hulled meat of the bean, the nib, is ground and processed into various forms for eating and drinking. For thousands of years, chocolate was only a beverage, xocoat. It has only been eaten in solid form since 1847. Eating chocolate (candy) is generally mixed with sugar, vanilla, and sometimes other flavorings and generally lecithin as an emulsifier. Milk chocolate also contains milk. Quality manufacturers may also add cocoa butter for extra richness and smoothness. Chocolate for cooking is left unsweetened and generally unflavored. Quality eating chocolate is further divided as follows:

*The cacao referred to here is the chocolate liquor. See definition below.

† Manufacturers designate cacao content on their bars. Each manufacturer will produce a different mix of bars based on their interests and production methods. The Sweet Spot's dark chocolate contains 72% cacao content.

The most likely scenario for the development of the word chocolate is that the Spaniards combined the Maya word chocol, meaning “hot,” and the Aztec atl, meaning “water,” to produce chocolatl. The proper pronunciation of tl is “te.” It is surmised that the Spaniards created this word instead of using the Aztec word cacahuatl, because “caca” in Spanish is a vulgar word.The True History of Chocolate authors Sophie Coe and Michael Coe suggest that the Spaniards substituted the Maya chocol because they were uncomfortable with a word that began with “caca.”

Chocolate Liquor - Unsweetened chocolate that is made from the finely ground nib of the cacao bean. It is also referred to as cacao mass.

Chocoholic - A true chocolate lover who is addicted to chocolate and could not see life the same without chocolate.

Cocoa - Another term for "cacao" which may have been the cause of misspelling from 18th century English traders. Now cocoa usually refers to the powder of the Dutch Process which removes all of the fat.

Cocoa Butter - The vegetable fat extracted from pure cacao paste during the process of refining. It is used along with cacao solids to produce chocolate.

Cocoa Mass - This is the finely ground nib of the cacao bean and is known as unsweetened chocolate. It is also referred to as cacao liquor.

Cocoa Pods - These egg-shaped cocoa pods (fruit) of the cacao tree measure between 6 and 12 inches and hang from the trunk and the largest branches. Each pod holds between 30 and 40 beans of about 0.5 inch in length.

Cocoa Powder - This powder or unsweetened cocoa is the result of drying chocolate liquor (cacao mass) and grounding it into a powder. The creamy cacao mass is pressed into cakes to remove cocoa butter (fat) and grounded into a powder that comes available in different fat levels.

Couverture - High quality chocolate that is used to cover or coat confectionery and baked products. It is usually used for dipping and coating truffles. It has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate and can come in a variety of flavors due to different percentages of sugar and chocolate liquor (such and semisweet and bittersweet).

Dark Chocolate - Dark chocolate must contain a minimum of 43% cocoa to be called "dark" according to European norms. A "70% cocoa chocolate" is considered quite dark while 85% and even 88% cocoa dark chocolates have become quite popular for dark chocolate lovers.

Dutching – In the early 19th century, Dutchman Coenraad Johannes van Houten invented this "dutch process" of treating cocoa powder with alkali in order to neutralize its natural acids. This process created a digestible cocoa that could be easily prepared and thus, large-scale manufacture of cheap chocolate became possible.

Ganache - A rich, silky chocolate mixture made by combining chopped semisweet chocolate and boiling cream and stirring until smooth. The proportions of chocolate to cream vary, depending on the use of the ganache, and can be flavored with fruits spices and different liquors.

Hot Chocolate - Drink that contains cocoa powder and milk or water (usually has more sugar than chocolate). Originally, it referred to ground cacao beans in boiling water.

Milk Chocolate - This best known chocolate is that which has milk powder or condensed milk added. The US Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids. Generally cacao is the third of fourth ingredient. (Some fine chocolate manufacturers are making 60% milk chocolate where the milk replaces the sugar instead of replacing the chocolate). The main ingredients of milk chocolate are (the first having the highest concentrations): sugar, milk or milk powder, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and vanilla.

Pure Chocolate - Also known as dark chocolate. European name for bars with greater than 65% cacao content and no additives.

Refining - The process of removing the outer skins of cacao beans and leaving a nib after they have been roasted and blended. The ground nibs than can be used to create cocoa powder for cooking or drinking, or used to create a fine paste that is mixed with cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla and/or milk products.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate - Chocolate that is made from chocolate liquid that is slightly sweetened during processing with varying amounts of sweetening and added cocoa butter. Can come in bar form, but mostly comes as pieces (blocks, squares, or bits).

Tempering - Process of heating chocolate to a certain temperature so cocoa butter reaches its most stable crystal form. It is important that the tempering and cooling of the chocolate is done correctly for it to have a nice shine and good eating properties.

Truffle - A confection made of chocolate, butter, sugar and sometimes liquor. Chocolate truffles are made by heating a blend of butter, cream, chocolate, and often a filling, and covering it with milk, dark or white chocolate couverture. Truffles are filled with every imaginable crème or flavor inside, from vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, key lime, coconut and raspberry to name a few. Also, finished truffles can be rolled and coated with cocoa powder, powered sugar, or finely chopped nuts. Chocolate truffles got its name from the exotic and expensive French mushroom because of its similar appearance.

Unsweetened Chocolate - Chocolate that has no other added ingredients. This chocolate is mainly used for baking and contains up to 75% cocoa solids with no added sugar or milk products. Also known as baking chocolate, bitter chocolate or plain chocolate.

White Chocolate - Some people believe that white chocolate is not "true" chocolate because it does not contain chocolate liquor. However, others say it is "real" chocolate because it contains cocoa butter (at least 32% to be of good quality), which is derived from the cacao bean. White chocolate is made from combining sweetened cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, and sometimes vanilla.