The Chocolate Chipper - Dutch Chocolate

Dutch Chocolate

The Dutch Chocolate Difference

What makes Dutch chocolate different from other chocolate like European chocolate or German chocolate? A Dutch chocolate maker named C. J. Van Houten invented a machine called a cocoa press that squeezes the cocoa butter out of cocoa beans. Then the cocoa is treated with an alkalizing treatment that changes (and improves) the color and flavor of the chocolate. The process, known as "Dutching" (since C. J. Van Houten was Dutch) also makes the chocolate more dispersible in beverages. Extreme treatments make black cocoa powder that's used in baked goods, ice cream and chocolate drinks.

One of the reasons Dutch chocolate so good is because they use only real cocoa butter for the fat in the chocolates. Other countries use palm oil, coconut oil or other types of fat instead. Using cocoa butter instead gives the chocolate a smoother, silkier, creamier texture, which becomes apparent as it melts in your mouth. Dutch chocolate is truly chocolate in its truest form.

Because Dutch chocolate is so pure, it only stays fresh for a limited amount of time unless you refrigerate it. When you buy Dutch chocolates, you'll have to eat them in a short amount of time, but while you're eating them, let them melt in your mouth slowly so you can enjoy the creamy goodness of this kind of gourmet chocolate.

Other kinds of chocolates that fit into this category are Belgian chocolate and Swiss chocolate.