Cocoa Butter Vs. Veg. Oil
Both real chocolate and compound chocolate are chocolate – the difference is the type of lipid (fat) or oil used in the production of the product.
A chocolate that is made from “Cocoa Butter” the main ingredient to make chocolate delicious and creamy in texture is the pure form of chocolate. If the chocolate is made from “Vegetable oil” it is a compound chocolate.
Pure chocolate is subdivided into three categories based on the quality of the product (quality of the cocoa beans) and most importantly, the cocoa butter content: regular chocolate, couverture chocolate, and ultra couverture chocolate.
Pure Chocolate requires a process called “Tempering” that makes chocolate to shine on its own without any artificial agent and creamy in taste.
Compound Chocolate is also a chocolate made from replacing cocoa butter with vegetable oil. It is also called Baker’s chocolate or moulding chocolate as its easy to mould and is used by hobbyist and professionals for artistic work.
Couverture Chocolate translates to “covering” and refers to the finest professional quality chocolate. It is produced with a high percentage of cocoa butter and uses premium cacao beans. It melts smoothly, making it ideal for specialty candy making and molding. When tempered and cooled, it forms an elegant glossy finish.
Ultra Couverture Chocolate is equal in quality to couverture chocolate, but with an even higher cocoa butter content. Due to the higher cocoa butter content and very low viscosity, it is the perfect chocolate for dipping and enrobing. Few manufacturers are able to successfully produce this type of chocolate because of the difficulty in balancing the higher cocoa butter content while retaining superb taste and texture. When tempered and cooled, it forms a thin and elegant glossy shell.