Chocolate is made from cocoa beans that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and ground before being mixed with sugar and, optionally, other ingredients to create chocolate. Chocolate comes in many forms and flavors and is especially popular in sweet cooking for desserts, cakes, and confectionery.

Chocolate should be stored in a dry, cool place, away from direct sunlight—such as in a dark cupboard.

Avoid storing it in the refrigerator, as the high humidity can cause a white film to form on the surface. The ideal storage temperature for chocolate is 15–18°C. We recommend keeping your chocolate at room temperature in the coolest room of your home.

Chocolate needs to be melted carefully to avoid burning it. This is where Ztove’s temperature control is perfect. Set the pot to 50°C and add the chocolate. It will melt gently without getting too hot.

Once the chocolate is melted, you can temper it or use it in chocolate mousse, brownies, or other desserts.

If you don’t have Ztove, you can melt chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. However, caution is key with both methods. In the microwave, it’s easy to overheat the chocolate and burn it. Use short intervals of 10–20 seconds, stirring in between each. When melting chocolate over a double boiler, avoid getting any water into the chocolate, as this will cause it to seize and ruin the texture.

If chocolate hasn’t been tempered correctly or has been stored at too high a temperature, the cocoa butter can separate from the unstable crystals in the chocolate. The cocoa butter will form a white or gray layer on the surface. While this affects the appearance, the chocolate is still perfectly fine to eat.

Ruby chocolate is a newer variety of chocolate distinguished by its pinkish-red hue and fruity, slightly acidic taste. It was first introduced in 2017 and is made from the ruby cocoa bean, which is a cocoa bean able to undergo the process required to produce ruby chocolate. Ruby chocolate is tempered at the same temperature as dark chocolate, i.e., 31-32 ºC.

Gold chocolate has experienced a surge in popularity. However, unlike dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and ruby chocolate, which are distinct types of chocolate, gold chocolate can be best characterized as a flavour variation.

Gold chocolate is essentially a caramelized version of white chocolate. It has a golden colour and a caramel-like taste. To balance its sweetness, a hint of salt is often incorporated into the chocolate. Gold chocolate is tempered at the same temperature as white chocolate, i.e., 27-28 ºC.

Cocoa butter is a fat extracted from cocoa beans. It has a neutral flavour on its own but plays a vital role in giving chocolate the right consistency, both at room temperature and when it melts in the mouth.

You can find chocolate coating where some of the cocoa butter has been replaced with other vegetable fats, resulting in a different melting point and a different texture when consumed. The pros for this type is that tempering is not required, you only need to melt it gently. However it does not taste as nice as real chocolate.

If you add extra cocoa butter while tempering chocolate, you will achieve a more fluid consistency, which can be advantageous when dipping cookies, chocolate truffles, etc. in the chocolate.

No, chocolate does not normally contain gluten. However, it may be produced in a factory where gluten-containing raw materials are handled and therefore it can contain traces of gluten. Some chocolates also have added ingredients that contain gluten, e.g. biscuit pieces. Therefore, always check the label of the specific chocolate.