Real Chocolate is subdivided into three categories based on the quality of the chocolate:
- Regular Chocolate
- Coverture Chocolate
- Ultra Coverture Chocolate
Another category of a type of chocolate is Compound Chocolate. In many countries it may not legally be called “chocolate.” It is a confection combining cocoa with vegetable fat, usually tropical fats and/or hydrogenated fats, as a replacement for cocoa butter. Its ingredients are cheap and unhealthy. Professionals and home hobbyists alike utilize Compound Chocolate due to its ease of use and lower price.
The two defining aspects in rating the quality of chocolate are the selection of the HIGHEST QUALITY COCOA BEANS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE AMOUNT OF COCOA BUTTER IN THE PRODUCT.
COCOA BUTTER GIVES CHOCOLATE THAT SMOOTH, MELT IN YOUR MOUTH TEXTURE AND PROVIDES MANY HEALTH BENEFITS.
NATURALLY OCCURRING CHEMICALS IN COCOA BUTTER HELP PROTECT AGAINST CANCER AND HEART DISEASE. THESE NATURALLY OCCURRING CHEMICALS ARE PENTAMER AND COCOA MASS POLYPHENOL (CMP). COCOA BUTTER CONTAINS LARGE AMOUNTS OF CMP, WHICH ALSO TREATS SYMPTONS OF ARTHRITIS AND DERMATITIS.
Regular Chocolate is sweetened with sugar and generally made from moderate quality cocoa beans. It has a very low cocoa butter content.
Coverture Chocolate refers to the finest professional quality chocolate. It is produced with a high percentage of premium cocoa beans (60% or more) as well as a high percentage of cocoa butter.
Ultra Coverture Chocolate is equal in quality to Coverture Chocolate, but with an even higher cocoa butter content. Few manufacturers are able to successfully produce this type of chocolate because of the difficulty in balancing the higher cocoa butter content while retaining superb taste and texture.
BETHENY’S BEST USES ONLY THE FINEST ARTISAN ULTRA COVERTURE CHOCOLATES AVAILABLE.
Betheny’s kitchen blends their own ultra coverture chocolate mixture, using different varieties of cocoa beans from the World’s Finest Artisan Ultra Coverture Chocolate Makers.
Routinely, Premium Chocolate Manufacturers as well as moderate and low-grade chocolate manufacturers use CORN SYRUP or other cheap, unhealthy vegetable oils, such as PALM Oils to thin chocolate for the purpose of enrobing (coating).
(Refer to Unhealthy Oils Link-pgs. 10-11 specifics on palm oil) Corn syrup is a cheap sweetener that is very easy to work with. It gives chocolate that characteristic glossy sheen, enhancing its eye appeal. However, corn syrup is noted for an excessively sweet taste, and no health benefits are associated with its use.
A NATIONALLY BRANDED, PREMIUM CHOCOLATE MANUFACTURER USES SHELLAC AND PARAFFIN WAX TO OBTAIN A HIGH GLOSS SHEEN WHEN COATING THEIR GOURMET CHOCOLATES.
On the other hand, Cocoa butter may be used as a chocolate thinner as well as a glossing enhancer. Very few manufacturers will incorporate cocoa butter in their chocolate production process. It is a very costly ingredient and requires time, patience and skill to manipulate it for use in viscosity alteration and chocolate enrobement.
In spite of it’s high cost and manageability issues, adding it to chocolate is well worth the effort and expense. It adds a luxurious texture and rich taste to the chocolate while providing numerous health benefits.
Bear in mind, the higher the content of the cocoa butter, the more prone the chocolate is to “blooming” under certain weather conditions. High heat, humidity and sunlight will precipitate the blooming process. Although blooming does not compromise the taste or health benefits of the chocolate, it may mar the flawless sheen of the coating.
THE KITCHEN AT BETHENY’S BEST USES NO CORN SYRUPS OR OTHER CHEAP, UNHEALTHY VEGETABLE OR TROPICAL OILS TO THIN THEIR CHOCOLATE OR FOR ENROBING PURPOSES.
THEY USE ONLY THE FINEST PREMIUM ORGANIC COCOA BUTTER FOR ALTERING THE CHOCOLATE VISCOSITY. THEIR END RESULT IS A DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS ONE OF A KIND, SIGNATURE PRODUCT.