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Chocolate has a long and colorful history. The Mayans believed it was a divine food from the gods. The French once thought it to be a dangerous drug. And many people and cultures throughout the ages have associated chocolate with love and romance, which seems especially appropriate given how many people simply love eating it. In fact, chocolate is more popular than ever. There are more varieties and types of chocolate available than ever before. Restaurant and foodservice operations can capitalize on this trend, but chefs need to know the basics of chocolate first. This section covers how chocolate is made, stored, and tempered.

Chocolate is produced from cocoa beans picked from cacao trees. Americans usually think of chocolate as a sweet, used in cookies, candies, cakes, and other desserts. However, chocolate is very versatile and can be used in many main dishes. To make chocolate, processors roast the cocoa beans. Machinery loosens the outer shells and cracks the beans into small pieces, called nibs. Nibs are the basis of all cocoa products. The cocoa beans are then crushed into a paste that is completely unsweetened, called chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor may be ground (possibly with other ingredients, such as sweeteners or flavorings) to give it an even smoother texture, or it may be pressed to separate the liquid from the solid materials. The liquid is cocoa butter, which can be combined with chocolate liquor to make eating chocolate, or flavored and sweetened to make white chocolate. The solids are further ground to form cocoa powder.