Compound chocolate
Combination of cocoa, vegetable fat and sweeteners
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compound chocolate is a product made from a combination of cocoa, vegetable fat, and sweeteners. It can be made with either cocoa powder or chocolate liquor. It is used as a lower-cost alternative to pure chocolate, as it has less-expensive hard vegetable fats such as coconut oil or palm kernel oil in place of the more expensive cocoa butter.[1] It may be known as "compound coating" or "chocolaty coating" when used as a coating for candy.[2]
Pieces of dark compound chocolate cake coating | |
| Alternative names | Compound coating, chocolatey coating |
|---|---|
| Type | Chocolate substitute |
| Main ingredients | |
It is often used in less expensive chocolate bars to replace enrobed chocolate on a product. True chocolate containing cocoa butter must be tempered to maintain the gloss of a coating. Compound coatings, however, do not need to be tempered. Instead, they are simply warmed to between 3 and 5 °C (5 and 9 °F) above the coating's melting point.[3]
In the European Union a product can be sold as chocolate only if it contains a maximum of 5% vegetable oil.[4][5]
Compounds made with the whole chocolate liquor instead of defatted cocoa powder, therefore substituting only added cocoa butter, are also referred to as supercompounds.[6]
See also
- Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) an emulsifier made from castor beans commonly used in compound chocolate
- Types of chocolate
