Types of chocolate

Chocolate available at Fremantle Chocolate

Chocolate comes in many varieties, but there are four main types of Chocolate – White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Milk chocolate and Ruby chocolate! Everyone has a favourite Chocolate they can count on as a treat.

But do you how where your favourite Chocolate originates from? And did you know about the fourth type of Chocolate? In short, each Chocolate is unique due to the production method and the ingredients used to make the Chocolate.

This blog will go into more detail regarding each chocolate type! If you are already an expert, feel free to browse our online store.

 

How is Chocolate made? 

To start looking at the types of Chocolate, we need to understand the production method of Chocolate.

Any chocolate production starts with the cocoa bean found in cocoa pods which grow in the tropics of Central and South America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Collection – phase 1

A cocoa farmer collects the cocoa pods and harvests the cocoa bean found inside the pod.

After the cocoa farmers harvest the cocoa beans, the beans transported to a manufacturer for production.

Now that the cocoa beans have arrived at the manufacturer’s factory, the beans will undergo a heating process to remove the shell.

After the heating procedure, it is time to remove the shell to collect the inside of the cocoa bean, referred to as the nib.

Roasting – phase 2

After collecting the nibs, the next phase is to roast the nibs. Roasting the nibs develops the flavour and prepares them for grinding.

Cocoa beans consist of 50% fat. The fat is known as cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is a crucial ingredient for good quality types of Chocolate.

During the grinding procedure, the beans are exposed to heat, and the friction activates the cocoa butter, which separates from the leftover mass. This leftover mass is pure liquid Chocolate called chocolate liquor.

Depending on the type of chocolate the amount of cocoa butter removed will vary as different types of Chocolate all require different ratios of cocoa butter and chocolate liquor.

A mixer blends the remaining ingredients to the consistency of a thick paste.

Refining – phase 3

The flavour of the Chocolate is achieved at this point, but the consistency of the Chocolate will have to be refined.

Therefore, the Chocolate moves to a refining machine to be refined into dry powder.

After the refining process, the chocolate powder needs to be liquified, so the next stop is a conch machine. The heat and friction from the conch machine activate the remaining cocoa butter.

After liquefying the Chocolate in the conching machine, more cocoa butter is added to the mix to create the exact thickness for the required shape of Chocolate.

 

Types of chocolate – Milk Chocolate 

The key ingredients for milk chocolate are cocoa solids, sugar, chocolate liquor and milk solids. The added milk solids in milk chocolate gives the Chocolate a smoother and creamier taste with less bitterness. On the other hand, dark Chocolate contains smaller amounts of milk solids, giving it a bitter and less sweet flavour than milk chocolate.

The quantities of these ingredients will vary depending on the country and manufacturer.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required these milk chocolate ingredients:

• At least 10% chocolate solids
• At least 12% of total milk solids
• At least 3.39% milkfat

Chocolates made by European countries must adhere to the European union’s standards. The EU requires milk chocolate to contain:

• At least 25% cocoa solids
• At least 20% milk solids
• At least 3.5% milkfat

In Australia, Milk chocolate is the most popular type of chocolate for consumption; therefore, at Fremantle Chocolate, we provide an extensive range of milk chocolate products. Our most popular milk chocolate product is the 250g Rocky Road! Check it out here – Rocky Road 250g Box – Fremantle Chocolate (freochoc.com.au)

 

Types of chocolate – Dark Chocolate

The key ingredients in Dark Chocolate are cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar. Dark Chocolate has a more bitter flavour than milk chocolate as dark Chocolate has a high percentage of cocoa and a lower percentage of sugar.

Dark Chocolate may also have benefits to improve your health and lower the risk of heart disease. For example, a 100-gram bar of dark Chocolate with 70-85% of cocoa contains 11 grams of fibre, a good source of antioxidants, and may improve blood flow. The quantities of ingredients to make dark Chocolate will vary depending on the country and manufacturer.

The FDA does not have a standard of identity for dark Chocolate as a type of Chocolate.

Chocolates made by European countries must adhere by the European union’s standards. The EU requires dark Chocolate to contain:

• At least 35% cocoa solids
• At least 18% cocoa butter
• At least 14% non-fat cocoa solids

We love dark Chocolate for its unique taste! Therefore, we have plenty of dark chocolate products to choose from at our chocolate factory. Please browse our online shop to check out our dark chocolate products or visit our chocolate factory located in Bibra Lake?

Types of chocolate – White Chocolate

The key ingredients for White Chocolate are cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids. Unlike other types of Chocolate, White Chocolate only contains a small number of cocoa solids. Therefore, when the cocoa solids are separated from the cocoa butter, the cocoa mass is not added back into the recipe.

As a result, white Chocolate has a creamy off-white colour due to the cocoa butter. White Chocolate has had a rough time fitting into the chocolate family. Some chocolate connoisseurs do not consider white Chocolate as “real” Chocolate due to the elimination of cocoa solids. At Fremantle Chocolate, we welcome white Chocolate with open arms as white Chocolate cannot exist without the cocoa bean.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires these white chocolate ingredients:

• At least 20% cocoa butter
• At least 14% of total milk solids
• At least 3.5% milkfat.

Chocolates made by European countries must adhere to the European union’s standards. The EU requires white Chocolate to contain:

• At least 20% cocoa butter
• At least 14% milk solids
• At least 3.5 milkfat

The most popular white chocolate treat at our Fremantle chocolate factory is the cookies and cream 250g deluxe chocolate. Find it here  – Cookies & Cream 250g Box – Fremantle Chocolate (freochoc.com.au). 

You can browse the rest of our white chocolate collection on our website or visit us at our chocolate factory located in Bibra Lake.

Types of chocolate – Ruby Chocolate

Developed in 2017 by Callebaut, Ruby chocolate is the newest addition to the chocolate family.

The production method of the pink chocolate is unknown, therefore Callebaut is the only source of Ruby chocolate.

Although we don’t know how to produce Ruby Chocolate, the primary ingredients consist of:

• 47.5% cocoa solids
• 26.3% milk solids

Ruby chocolate is often assumed by the general public to be white Chocolate with tints or flavours to change the colour, but this is not true. The fourth chocolate is entirely natural and does not include artificial colours or berry flavours.

Ruby chocolate has a combination of sweet and sour berry-like undertones. As a result, Ruby chocolate has a unique taste compared to the other types of Chocolate we all know.

For more in-depth information regarding Ruby Chocolate, visit Callebaut’s article – How to work with Ruby RB1? (callebaut.com)

At Fremantle Chocolate, we sell a small range of Ruby Chocolate! Visit us at our chocolate factory to check out the 70g packet of Ruby chocolate drops. Our factory also stocks a 45g bar of Ruby and Dark Chocolate. The bar contains a layer of Ruby chocolate and dark Chocolate to make a unique flavour! Browse the website for the whole Ruby chocolate collection.

 

Conclusion 

Each Chocolate is unique, and at Fremantle Chocolate, we appreciate and cherish every type of Chocolate!

Please browse the website for our whole collection of Chocolate or visit us at our chocolate factory located in Bibra Lake! Let us know what your favourite type of Chocolate is on Facebook and Instagram!