ChocoVision REVOLATION DELTA - Manual (Page 11)

FAQ’s
1. What is “pure” chocolate? What is “compound” chocolate?
“Pure,” unsweetened chocolate is produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree,
and contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Most
consumed chocolate is sweetened with suagr. Milk chocolate contains sugar and some
form of either condensed or powdered milk. “White chocolate” contains cocoa butter,
sugar and milk but no cocoa solids (thus is not truly chocolate).
Compound chocolate is a chocolate replacement made from a combination of cocoa,
vegetable fats, coconut or palm kernel oils and sweeteners. Compound chocolate is
designed to simulate enrobed chocolate on a product.
2. Why do I have to temper my chocolate?
Cocoa butter is the fat in cacao that gives chocolate its stable properties. To be considered
“real” chocolate, a chocolate bar or chunk can contain only cocoa butter, not any other fat.
Cocoa butter is the reason that chocolate must be tempered.
Cocoa butter is comprised of three to four fatty acids, each of which solidifies at a different
temperature. When chocolate is melted, the crystals of fatty acids separate. The objective
of tempering is to entice those separated fat crystals of cocoa butter back into a stable form.
Proper tempering gives chocolate a smooth and glossy finish, has a crisp snap, and won’t
melt as easily as untempered chocolate to the touch.
3. What is seed chocolate?
The “seed” is tempered chocolate (chunks or wafers) that should be set aside and placed
behind the baffle at the beginning of the temper cycle (your machine will beep three times
to indicate that your chocolate had hit its melt-point and is ready for tempering/seeding).
These pieces of seed chocolate act like magnets, attracting other loose crystals of fatty
acids together, beginning the crystalization process that results in a proper temper.
Tempered chocolate melts at a much higher temperature than untempered. The fat crystals
are locked together tightly and are resistant to developoing chocolate bloom.
4. What is bloom?
Chocolate bloom is visible by white-ish-gray streaks or spots on the surface of the
chocolate, typically caused by two things; moisture (sugar bloom) or warmth (fat bloom).
Sugar bloom is caused by moisture which makes the sugar in chocolate dissolve. Once
the moisture evaporates, sugar crystals remain on the surface. Your chocolate will become
sticky and discolored. Although sugar bloom is most often the result of humid storage,
it can occur when stored in a cool climate and moved too quickly to a warmer one.
Fat bloom is similar to sugar bloom, except that it is fat or cocoa butter separating from
the chocolate and depositing itself outside of it. As with sugar bloom, the most common
causes of fat bloom are quick temperature changes and overly warm storage.
Bloomed chocolate is edible. It just does not appear as appetizing. 10