Chocolate bar
A solid confection made primarily from chocolate, typically molded into a bar and sometimes combined with fillings or other ingredients.
Chocolate: A food made from cacao products, often combined with sugar and other ingredients. Cocoa solids and cocoa butter give a bar its characteristic flavor and structure.
Chocolate tempering: The controlled heating and cooling of chocolate to produce stable cocoa-butter crystals. Tempering gives bars gloss, firmness, and a clean snap.
Chocolate truffle: A small confection traditionally made from a chocolate ganache center and often coated in chocolate or cocoa. Unlike a molded bar, a truffle is a bite-sized, soft-centered chocolate confection.
Chocolate chip: A small, usually teardrop-shaped piece of chocolate designed to retain its shape during baking. Chips are measured baking pieces, not a molded bar meant to be eaten whole.
Cocoa butter: The fat extracted from cacao beans, used in chocolate for smoothness and melting behavior. Its crystallization helps give a chocolate bar a firm snap and glossy surface.
Cocoa butter polymorphism: The ability of cocoa butter to crystallize into several forms with different melting properties. The stable crystal form is the key to a bar that stays firm yet melts smoothly.
Chocolate ganache: A mixture of chocolate and cream used as a filling, coating, or confectionery base. Ganache provides a soft center for filled chocolate bars.
Chocolate spread: A sweet, spreadable food containing chocolate or cocoa, often combined with sugar and fats. Its soft, spreadable form contrasts with a bar's solid structure.
Cocoa solids: The nonfat components of cacao beans, including compounds that contribute chocolate's color and flavor. Their proportion helps distinguish dark chocolate bars from milk chocolate bars.
Chocolate molding: The process of pouring chocolate into molds and setting it into shaped pieces. Molds determine a bar's shape, thickness, and surface pattern.