Do you know your chocolate?

Cocoa beans are the fruit of the topical tree called Theobroma Cacao."The traditional way of manufacturing chocolate is to take the beans [from the cacao pod] and ferment them after harvesting to remove the bitterness. They are then thoroughly dried. Next they are roasted to expose the inside, which is called the nib. Various bean nibs are blended together to obtain the flavor desired and then ground up. The resulting paste, called cocoa mass is the heart and soul of chocolate's flavor. The cocoa mass is enhanced with sugar, butter, flavorings and then blended thoroughly. Today some chocolate is made [of inferior quality] where the cocoa butter is replaced with a synthetic substitute, and "conching" replaced with the addition of soy lecithin [for smoothness]. The good news is that by law, a product that is made without cocoa butter, cannot be labeled as chocolate." tells candycraft.com

Milk Chocolates contains dry milk solids or condense milk, addition to containing cocoa solids. They are much sweeter in taste.

Dark chocolates are often distinguished by the percentage of cocoa solids in the bar. It could be anywhere between the %30 to %90.It has a bitter aftertaste and they are chalky in the texture. Great for baking and melting.

White chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids, they are a confection made of milk, cocoa butter and sugar. Hard to work with when it comes to baking, and pay extra attention to not over heating during melting.
Note on storing chocolate : Chocolates can be store for up to a year if the conditions are favorable. this means a dry place with temperature 20C/68C. Place your chocolate inside an airtight container away from strong smelling foods.If your chocolate has white streaks, it means the fat comes to the surface due to higher temperature, it doesn't spoil the flavor but the appearance wont be suitable for use as a decoration.