Compound chocolate is a product made from a combination of cocoa, vegetable fat and sweeteners. It is used as a lower-cost alternative to pure chocolate, as it uses less-expensive hard vegetable fats such as coconut oil or palm kernel oil in place of the more expensive cocoa butter. It may also be known as "compound coating" or "chocolatey coating" when used as a coating for candy.[1] It is often used in less expensive chocolate bars to replace enrobed chocolate on a product.
 Pieces of dark compound chocolate cake coating | |
| Alternative names | Compound coating, chocolatey coating |
|---|---|
| Type | Chocolate substitute |
| Main ingredients | Cocoa, vegetable fats or oils, sweeteners |
Cocoa butter must be tempered to maintain gloss and coating. A chocolatier tempers chocolate by cooling the chocolate mass below its setting point, then rewarming the chocolate to between 31 and 32 °C (88 and 90 °F) for milk chocolate, or between 32 and 33 °C (90 and 91 °F) for semi-sweet chocolate. Compound coatings, however, do not need to be tempered. Instead, they are simply warmed to between 3 and 5 °C (5 and 9 °F) above the coating's melting point.
See also
- Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) an emulsifier made from castor beans commonly used in compound chocolate
- Types of chocolate