What are the different standards of chocolate identity?
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines several standards of identity for chocolate and compound chocolate coatings. Bakers use several of these types of chocolate, including:
| ADM offers full range of cocoa ingredients How should bakers determine what types of cocoa to use in bakery foods? Determining which cocoa to use depends on the ingredient composition and on the desired color and flavor in the bakery foods. Natural cocoa is lightest in color and flavor, and is used in cakes with a sweet and mild chocolate flavor. Alkalized cocoas are darker and more intense in flavor. Light, medium and red alkalized cocoas are used in brownies and devil's food cakes, while dark brown cocoa is ideal for donuts. The darkest cocoa is almost black and is used for sandwich-type cookies. The fat content of cocoas for baked goods ranges from 10% to 12%. How should cocoa be stored? The ideal environment is 55°F to 65°F with no more than 50% humidity, and away from direct sunlight. At higher storage temperatures, the cocoa butter in cocoa powder partially or completely melts and re-crystallizes, resulting in lumpiness. Cocoa butter also tends to absorb other odors, so it is best stored away from products such as mint, cinnamon or coffee. What are the different types of coatings that are used in bakery applications? Chocolate coatings are made using pure chocolate liquors from select cocoa beans that are combined with sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk and vanilla or vanillin. ADM has chocolate coatings available in bittersweet, milk and white chocolate that are used in enrobed cookies, cakes, nutritional bars and bottomed and striped bars and cookies. In compound or confectionery coatings, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter are substituted with cocoa powder and vegetable oil. Compound coatings are available in dark, milk and white flavors, and are used for donut coatings, enrobing and striping cookies and cookie fillings. Can chocolate in bakery applications be made to contain low or no trans-fat? Yes. Confectionery coatings are typically made with partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, sometimes in combination with partially hydrogenated palm or cotton/soy oil. Using these oils allows a wide range of melting and handling characteristics, but results in various levels of trans-fat. Chocolate-flavored confectionery coatings with low or no-trans fat is created with fractionated palm and palm kernel oils as the fat base. ADM Cocoa offers trans-fat free compound coatings with the eating and handling characteristics of traditional compound coatings. What trends are you seeing with chocolate and cocoa in bakery applications? Today's active consumers want smarter snacks that still taste great. ADM is looking at ways to add functional ingredients to chocolate, such as formulating ADM's fiber and soy-derived ingredients into chocolate flavored coatings for foods such as snack bars. Does ADM offer customers help in formulating baked foods with cocoa and chocolate? ADM offers a full range of cocoa and chocolate products for bakery applications. ADM's R&D experts work with customers to add ingredients to new or existing formulations each step of the way, from formulation to finished product. For more information, contact ADM Cocoaat 414-358-5700 or go to www.admworld.com |
- Cacao nibs - This is the food from cacao beans. The shell content cannot weigh more than 1.75% by weight.
- Chocolate liquor - Cacao nibs are ground to produce this ingredient. Chocolate liquor must contain between 50% and 60% cacao fat.
- Eating chocolate - This is typically comprised of milk chocolate and sweet/dark chocolate. It contains 28% to 32% cocoa butter and is made from chocolate liquor, nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners and other ingredients such as cacao fat. It must contain at least 12% milk solids and 15% chocolate liquor.
- Couverture chocolate - This is chocolate for industrial use. It is ideal for truffles, bakery foods, nutritional bars, dipped foods and shaped chocolate products. Bakers often use it for dipping and enrobing applications, due to this chocolate’s high fat content of 28% to 32%.
- Compound chocolate coatings - This type of chocolate is less expensive than couverture chocolate. Hard vegetable or tropical fats are used in place of cocoa butter.
- White chocolate - This contains at least 20% cocoa butter, at least 14% milk solids, no more than 55% nutritive carbohydrate sweetener and no chocolate solids other than cocoa butter.
What are the differences between chocolate and compound chocolate coatings?
Chocolate contains cocoa butter as its fat source. Compound chocolate coatings contain lauric or non-lauric fats, instead of fat butters.
Lauric fats are palm kernel and coconut oils.
Non-lauric fats include partially hydrogenated soy, soy/cottonseed and cottonseed/soy oils. Non-lauric coatings also do not require tempering. Bakers temper chocolate by cooling the chocolate mass below its setting point, then rewarming it between 86°F and 88°F to set its crystal structure. Non-lauric coatings simply are cooled 5°F to 10°F above the coating’s melting point.
What are some common problems that occur when formulating with chocolate?There are many problems that may occur when formulating with chocolate, especially when using the ingredient for enrobing.
Cracking occurs if the percentage of cacao in the chocolate is incompatible with the percentage of cacao in the bakery food.
Greasiness is common when cream is not boiled rapidly enough before it is mixed with chocolate. Cream should be boiled to temperatures between 90°F and 100°F before it is mixed with chocolate and poured over the bakery food.
Do compound chocolate coatings also experience problems during formulation?
Yes. Most of these difficulties occur because of the presence of lauric or non-lauric hard butters in compound chocolate coatings.
One common problem is dull appearances. Depending on the cocoa butter replacement, compound chocolate coatings must be heated and cooled to a certain temperature. Dull appearances also are the result of warm cooling tunnel temperatures. Cooling tunnels must be cold for chocolate to set properly. If humidity in the cooling tunnel and packaging room is too high, this additional moisture will dull the coatings.
Other problems common in compound chocolate coatings are greasiness and waxiness. Non-lauric fats are more greasy than palm kernel fats because non-lauric fats have flatter melting points of the fat system in each compound chocolate coating. The higher the melting point, the more waxy the chocolate compound coating.
What problems occur when formulating sugar-free chocolates or sugar-free compound chocolate coatings?
Moisture affects both sugar-free chocolate and sugar-free compound chocolate coatings. Moisture migrates from sugarfree ingredients to bakery foods, contributing to problems with viscosity and re-melting.
When enrobers are running and then stop, exposing the chocolate for a period of time, bakers must reduce moisture in any sugar-free dry ingredients being formulated into the fat systems. This is because the enrober releases moisture when it stops.
