Naming it, and the four names that carry numbers

The chocolate names commit you

Sweet, semisweet, bittersweet, milk and white chocolate each carry specific minimum percentages. A product outside them may not use the name, and that is true whether you made the chocolate or bought it. If you buy couverture, the supplier’s specification is what supports your claim.

Compound coating is the usual trap

A coating made with vegetable fat instead of cocoa butter is not chocolate under these standards and may not be labeled as such. It is also much easier to work with, which is exactly why it gets used and why the temptation to call it chocolate is strong.

The sugar names are descriptive

Caramel, fudge, toffee, brittle, nougat and praline have no standards of identity. You name them for what they are, and the test is whether a buyer reading the name would be surprised by the product. That is a lower bar and it is not no bar.

Regional and traditional names carry expectations

A name borrowed from a specific tradition brings an expectation about ingredients and method, and a product that departs from it is making a claim it will be judged against. These are the names most often borrowed casually in this craft.

Handmade, artisan and small batch

None of these is precisely defined and all of them mean something to a buyer. They are worth using only where they are plainly true, because the category is full of them and a buyer who feels misled about one will doubt the rest of the label.

Check the name is available

A name already registered in confectionery is one you will be asked to stop using, usually once you are visible enough to be worth asking. The search belongs at the shortlist stage, not after a print run.

References