Chocolate liquor (cocoa liquor) is pure cocoa mass (cocoa paste) in solid or semi-solid form. Like the

cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substance ...

s (nibs) from which it is produced, it contains both

cocoa solids Dry cocoa solids are the components of cocoa beans remaining after cocoa butter, the fatty component of the bean, is extracted from chocolate liquor, roasted cocoa beans that have been ground into a liquid state. Cocoa butter is 46% to 57% of the ...

and

cocoa butter Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Its mel ...

in roughly equal proportion. It is produced from

s that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their skins. The beans are ground into cocoa mass (cocoa paste). The mass is melted to become the liquor, and the liquor is either separated into cocoa solids and cocoa butter, or cooled and molded into blocks of raw chocolate. Its main use (often with additional cocoa butter) is in making

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

. The name '' liquor'' is used not in the sense of a distilled, alcoholic substance, but rather the older meaning of the word, meaning 'liquid' or 'fluid'. Chocolate liquor contains roughly 53 percent cocoa butter (fat), about 17 percent carbohydrates, 11 percent

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, 6 percent tannins, and 1.5 percent

theobromine Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of '' Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to ...

.Wolke, Robert L. (2005). '' What Einstein Told His Cook 2, The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science'' (Hardcover). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 433.

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References

Components of chocolate {{ingredient-stub

See also

References