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Are Compound Chocolate And Chocolate Chips Any Different?

Column: industry Tag: compound chocolate,chocolate chips,baking Published: 2024-12-02 13:33 Source: www.mashed.com Author: STACIE ADAMSNOV. 30

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For all the fun and enjoyment associated with baking, the learning curve can be pretty steep for newbies. Just consider all the chocolate options in the baking aisle, as most grocery stores stock a wide variety of chips in numerous flavors and configurations. You also have compound chocolate, aka chocolate melts, which seem virtually the same as chocolate chips at first glance. However, using compound chocolate in your best chocolate chip cookie recipe may not be the way to go. That's because some key differences between genuine chocolate chips and compound chocolate significantly impact the result.

Real chocolate contains cocoa butter, a natural fat found within cocoa beans. Conversely, compound chocolate typically uses some other type of vegetable fat, such as palm kernel oil. Real chocolate also features cocoa mass, which is made from grinding the cocoa nibs and consists of both cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Compound chocolate, on the other hand, uses only crushed cocoa solids.

Swapping fats can make a big difference in the meltiness of chocolate. The melt-in-your-mouth quality of genuine chocolate is made possible because cocoa butter breaks down at body temperature. Vegetable fats take longer to melt, which means compound chocolate is often chewier. The flavor of compound chocolate is also generally sweet but less chocolatey thanks to the added vegetable fat, while real chocolate has a richer, multi-faceted flavor.

Compound chocolate: the convenient, economical choice

Are Compound Chocolate And Chocolate Chips Any Different?

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Compound chocolate may lack some of the pleasurable characteristics of real chocolate, but it definitely offers some benefits. Forgoing the use of cocoa butter in compound chocolate makes these products less expensive than genuine chocolate. That means compound chocolate is a good choice when you're baking on a tight budget.

Along with cost, compound chocolate also has a major advantage: it doesn't require tempering. The process of making tempered chocolate involves increasing and decreasing the temperature of the chocolate to stabilize the crystals within cocoa butter. Tempering also gives chocolate a nice sheen, as un-tempered chocolate is often quite dull when merely melted down. Because compound chocolate lacks cocoa butter, it only requires heating without the cooling step to achieve a similar result.

The low cost and ease of compound chocolate means it has many uses in the kitchen. It makes an excellent coating for chocolate-covered strawberries and snacks like pretzels and potato chips. You can also use it in a Starbucks copycat cake pop recipe to recreate this beloved treat in your own kitchen. Other uses include candy making with silicone molds, cake decorating, and drizzling over baked goods like donuts.

You can't beat a bona fide chocolate chip

Are Compound Chocolate And Chocolate Chips Any Different?

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It's worth noting that baking chips, a category that features chocolate chips, also include compound chocolate-based products. However, you can determine whether chocolate chips are genuine by reviewing the ingredients on the label. In addition to chocolate, major chocolate chip brands typically include ingredients like cocoa butter, milkfats, and soy lecithin, an additive that can enhance the texture of foods.

When it comes to varieties of chocolate chips, you have options like semi-sweet (a type of dark chocolate with a lower amount of sugar), milk chocolate (which contains milk powder), and white chocolate (which includes cocoa butter but no cocoa solids). If you're still on the fence about what to buy, here's our ranking of popular chocolate chip brands from worst to best to help you find the best product for your baking needs.

Cookies are the first baked treat that springs to mind when it comes to chocolate chips, but there are lots of recipes that call for these delectable, chocolatey morsels. Fluffy chocolate chip muffins are tasty as breakfast or an indulgent snack, while adding chocolate chips to brownies intensifies the already powerful flavor. Chocolate chips can also be incorporated into cakes, cheesecakes, banana bread, scones, and more. Both compound chocolate and real chocolate chips offer unique benefits when you know how to use these baking ingredients effectively.

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