What Is Chocolate Couverture?

Did you ever wonder why the chocolate you get when you dip a piece of fruit into a chocolate fountain melts in you mouth with such smoothness, or how that pastry from the bakery gets such a smooth, thin layer of chocolate on it? Most likely what you are eating or what they are using to coat that pastry is what is called Chocolate couverture.

Chocolate couverture is made from the cacao bean, just like other types of chocolate. The difference in chocolate couverture is the amount of cocoa butter that is added when making the chocolate. Cocoa butter is one of two parts that results when chocolate liquor is processed. The amount of cocoa butter that is added to the chocolate when making couverture is higher than what is in regular chocolate. Chocolate couverture usually contains about 32% or more cocoa butter.

The higher percentage of cocoa butter in this type of chocolate means that the chocolate needs to be tempered. Tempering is the process in which you make the cocoa butter in the chocolate crystallize evenly, so the chocolate will have a snap to it and give off a shine. The higher the amount of cocoa butter in the chocolate is what allows it to be thinner when it is melted. This is also what allows for that thin layer when coating pastries or fruit.

So the next time you are trying to decide what chocolate to buy to dip those strawberries for that special someone, remember that chocolate couverture, also know as coating chocolate is going to give a nice, thin, shiny crisp layer of decadence for that person to enjoy.