Compound chocolate for what? Basically, compound chocolate is a cheaper alternative to real chocolate like couverture . So, all that couverture chocolate can do, you can also do at a lower quality using compound chocolate.
So, what is compound chocolate used for? Before finding answers to these questions, you can read a deeper explanation about compound chocolate first below!
What Is Compound Chocolate?
Compound chocolate is one of the most frequently used 'chocolates' in the food industry, such as bakeries , confectionaries , and so on. Compound chocolate itself is made as an alternative to real chocolate such as couverture and is an imitation chocolate which is sold at a lower price because it is made from a cheaper base material.
Just like real chocolate, the main ingredient of compound chocolate comes from cocoa beans. However, the most basic difference between the two is the cocoa butter content in them. Unlike real chocolate which contains cocoa butter , compound chocolate does not contain cocoa butter and uses vegetable fats, such as coconut, soybean or palm oil, as a substitute for cocoa butter .
Many chocolate brands choose to replace cocoa butter with vegetable fat to reduce costs because ingredients such as coconut oil are much cheaper than real cocoa butter . Compound chocolate is also less complicated to produce as it doesn't require careful heating and cooling (tempering) to give it a glossy finish. While it can be enhanced with flavorings, compound chocolate can never achieve the same texture, taste and aroma as real chocolate.
Compound chocolate is also available in various percentages of cocoa in it and is divided into three types ( dark, milk, and white ), just like real chocolate. Dark and milk compound chocolate contains some cocoa solids , although it is often in the form of cocoa powder rather than chocolate liquor . On the other hand, white compound chocolate is basically not chocolate, but a combination of sugar, vegetable fat, milk and emulsifiers.
Use of Chocolate Compound in the Food Industry
Basically, compound chocolate can be used as a substitute for lower quality couverture chocolate. So whatever can be made or done using couverture chocolate, you can also use compound chocolate for the same.
The cheaper ingredients in compound chocolate make it more affordable to buy. That means many commercial snack or confectionery brands use these imitations instead of the high-quality real chocolate to mass-produce inexpensive chocolate products for consumers.
As well as being cheaper to buy, compound chocolate can also give manufacturers more flexibility. The amount of oil or fat added to the compound chocolate mixture can change the properties of the chocolate. This versatility makes it a popular choice for cooking and baking.
For example, chocolate coatings used to decorate cakes tend to be made of chocolate compound because the texture hardens more quickly to form. In addition, compound chocolate will not melt quickly, making it very suitable for use as the main ingredient for chocolate decorations.
Some chocolate confectioners prefer to use compound chocolate for mold or shell designs because it can be used directly without having to do any tempering first. Compound chocolate is also often used as a filling for bread, candy, and even biscuits.
3 Advantages of Using Chocolate Compound
Although they are a cheaper, lower quality alternative to real chocolate, compound chocolate has its advantages. The following are some of the advantages of compound chocolate.
- Easier to Use
If you want to use real chocolate like couverture for various needs, the chocolate must go through a tempering process first so that the end result can be good. Unlike real chocolate, compound chocolate can be melted and used immediately without having to do any tempering first.
Thanks to its ease of use, compound chocolate is perfect for beginners. If you want to start a hobby of cooking, especially baking , and need chocolate as one of the ingredients, then you should use this compound chocolate first before using real chocolate.
- Not Easy to Melt
In contrast to real chocolate which is very fragile and sensitive to many things, especially air temperature, compound chocolate does not melt easily and can be more resistant to heat. Basically, this compound chocolate has a fairly high melting point, which is at 40 o C. So, you can store this chocolate at room temperature without melting.
Compound chocolate will also be more suitable for decoration in some special needs, such as making molds. Unlike real chocolate decorations, which need to be immediately placed in the cooler to prevent them from melting, you can store compound chocolate decorations at room temperature longer. So, you don't need to rush when you're done decorating.
- More Flexible When Processed
When processing compound chocolate, you can do it in a room that doesn't even have air conditioning. Unlike real chocolate which has to be processed in a cold room to make it easier to use, you can process compound chocolate in any room as long as the room temperature used is stable.
If you are interested in getting compound chocolate or real chocolate like couverture , you can find it at KioskCokelat . Apart from these two types of chocolate, there are still lots of chocolate products that you can find. If you have questions about our products, you can click here .