What Is Couverture Chocolate? Is It Really Top Grade Chocolate?
What is Couverture chocolate?
In order to understand what couverture chocolate is, and why we have it, it’s a good idea to understand what your basic dark chocolate is.
Molten couverture chocolate. Couverture is simply a more fluid (less viscous) chocolate. It is more expensive because it contains much more extra cocoa butter (fat from the cocoa bean) which adds to the cost. Most couverture’s from both middle and even higher quality brands also contain lecithin, which aids in fluidity.
What is chocolate?
Basic dark chocolate is made by grinding up the cocoa nib (kernel of the cocoa bean) until a paste is formed, adding some sugar, and grinding it until both optimal texture and flavour is formed. This is your basic dark chocolate. Sometimes vanilla or flavour additives are added, but this does not impact the points we will discuss here in regards to couverture.
Cocoa beans are roughly around 50% fat. Some beans can be below 50%, and some can be above 55% fat. A few percentage can make a exponentially large impact on the viscosity of the chocolate (how fluid it is). Just as many nut butter manufacturers add extra peanut oil to peanut butter or almond oil to almond butter, so most chocolate makers add extra cocoa butter (the fat from the bean) to the chocolate when manufacturing it from the cocoa bean. It improves texture by making it more smooth and softer than if the extra fat was not added. It’s not necessary to add, but it does seem to appeal to most consumers.
A non-Newtonian fluid
Molten chocolate is naturally a very viscous mixture, and considered a non-Newtonian liquid. This means that in order to get the chocolate to flow (to move), it requires an outside force to push it along. Think of how you need to bang the bottom of a ketchup bottle to get it to come out. Ketchup is also a non-Newtonian liquid. This is why chocolatiers and chocolate makers need to shake and bang the molds when they are filling them with chocolate - so that it can flow into all the corners of the mold as it would not really do this on it’s own as would water or oil.
What is couverture chocolate?
Many chocolate makers add extra cocoa butter to their chocolate regardless of whether it is considered couverture or not. Couverture is simply chocolate that usually has over 30% cocoa butter. It is often much smoother, but that does not always have to do with particle size. The extra creamy and smoothness comes from the extra fat, and if the cocoa particle size is smaller (20 microns) then combined it will be very smooth. However, particle size does not necessarily define a chocolate as couverture. It has more to do with the percentage of cocoa butter and the overall fluidity. In fact, if chocolate is ground too fine, it actually begins to get thicker. Fluidity in chocolate is a little complex, but it’s the ideal particle size (and varying particle sizes) which can make a chocolate more fluid, not just an overall smaller particle size.
More economical brands of chocolate do not wish to add cocoa butter, as it is a costly ingredient unlike say sugar. A higher quality couverture will usually have a higher amount of cocoa butter. This is why some more economical brands of couverture such as Callebaut are much thicker than say Valrhona which often contains much more cocoa butter than Callebaut brand couverture. The percentage of the cocoa butter is the combined percentage of the fat from the beans as well as the additional cocoa butter added during processing. For instance, a dark chocolate couverture with 35% cocoa butter on the label does not mean they add 35% cocoa butter in addition to the fat already present in the chocolate. That would not only make the chocolate taste very bad, it would make it extremely difficult to work with. Too much cocoa butter actually makes the chocolate much more challenging to temper, too fluid to work with, and can be more frustrating than not adding it in the first place. Too much of a good thing is never beneficial in chocolate.
Why does one need couverture?
It allows the chocolate to be more fluid which makes tempering and using it much easier for chocolatiers
The high fluidity (lower viscosity) allows the chocolate to coat molds or products more evenly
It allows less chance of air bubbles as the chocolate is less thick, and less likely to trap air bubbles during pouring, and less likely to “stop” at the corner of a bar mold and leave an air pocket there.
Essentially it makes life easier for the chocolate maker
Lecithin in Couverture
Lecithin can be a contentious issue nowadays in chocolate. Most lecithin is derived from GMO soybean, as a byproduct of soy oil production. Lower quality chocolate brands will add less cocoa butter, and pretty much always add lecithin.
Lecithin is a phospholipid which reduces the surface tension between the fatty cocoa butter and the other non-fatty ingredients (cocoa solids, sugar crystals), and increases the flow of chocolate (reduces the viscosity). So, it essentially has the same effect as cocoa butter. The biggest difference is that is very cheap, and you only require a very small amount (usually no more than 0.5% of the total mass of the chocolate). It also has a greater impact on the fluidity of the chocolate, even at such a small amount. Therefore, it is favorable for many chocolate manufacturers for the reasons listed above. As well, there is evidence that lecithin can aid in the development of beta crystals when tempering chocolate, and therefore aid in a more successful chocolate temper. Another reason why lecithin is often added in couverture.
Does one require lecithin in chocolate? No. But for it’s impact on fluidity and cost, these are the main reasons it is added. Personally I do not like to see lecithin in a fine single-origin chocolate bar. I understand why it would be contained in couverture (even higher quality brands such as Valrhona contain lecithin), but it is not necessary and begins to counter the values placed on fine single-origin chocolate.
Are there grades of couverture?
There are no official grading scales of the commercial couverture you find. Some of it is up to subjective preference of taste and how fluid it is. Generally, if a couverture has a higher percentage of cocoa butter, then it is viewed as a higher quality couverture because it will be more fluid. Higher percentage of cocoa butter is not directly equivalent to flavour quality of the chocolate.
The quality of the couverture will come down to having a good level of fluidity that allows you to temper it and work with it with ease, but also have a good flavour. What is a good flavour? For most chocolatiers, a typical “cocoa” flavour that is not too bitter or astringent is a good flavour. For a bean-to-bar maker, flavour is just as important as fluidity and texture, and the flavour would have to have more to it than just that predictable “cocoa flavour”. However, couverture is often intended to be a “one size fits all” flavour. That is, since it is mostly used by chocolatiers who will mix it with other ingredients in a ganache or in a bar, they want a flavour profile that is simple enough where it won’t be a challenge to pair with other flavours. It’s not that this is how a couverture must be in regards to flavour, but this is often the objective of someone who is making couverture be it a large manufacturer like Cacao Barry or a small bean-to-bar company designing a couverture so they can enrobe their own products.
Something like Lindt or Callebeaut is not at the same quality level for many reasons as say Valrhona, with Cacao Barry being somewhere in between. The latter two have much more cocoa butter (they’re not being stingy with it), and in some cases the flavour can be much better or interesting. Of course, this is quite far out of the realm of bean-to-bar makers as discussed on this website. For instance, some bean-to-bar makers are making their own very high quality chocolate with extra cocoa butter and selling it as a couverture. Some of them opt in for the lecithin, some of them don’t. Keep in mind that many home-chefs or chocolatiers will get frustrated with their high-quality couverture if it does not flow as easily as the mediocre commercial brands - which is why many opt-in for the lecithin. It will be up to you to decide what you value in regards to fluidity, flavour, and ingredients (lecithin) when choosing a couverture.
Can one make their own couverture?
Sure you can. Just ensure you mix it very well. Better yet, if you have a chocolate refiner/melanger, allow it to mix in there for an hour or less before using it. You do not need to know the percentage of fat in the chocolate you wish to turn into a couverture. You simply melt it, and add small amounts of cocoa butter until the desired consistency is reached. Just be careful, as a little goes a long way. I may start with 2% cocoa butter and move up from there. Again, do not add too much, as too fluid a chocolate will be more challenging to temper well and work with. Some chocolate makers will just add the extra cocoa butter into the tempering machine and allow it to mix for 30 minutes or an hour before turning on the tempering machine and starting the temper. If you were making your own at home, you would add the extra cocoa butter (solid or melted) in your chocolate as it is melting and stir it very well before proceeding to temper it (regardless of your method of tempering).
Can you bake with couverture?
Certainly! There is no such thing as “baking” chocolate really. If you get into the industrial side of chocolate, you will learn that certain chocolates are better suited for certain products. For instance, the chocolate sticks manufactures specifically to place in your “pain au chocolat” croissant are manufactured in a way so they retain their shape better, and have a much lower cocoa butter content. Does this mean you can’t use other chocolate? Not at all. Even “Bakers” Chocolate is not necessarily for baking. It is called that because the original owner’s name was, you guessed it, Mr. Baker.
Keep in mind that recipes designed with say Valrhona chocolate (be it ganache, cakes, etc.) take into account the amount of cocoa butter and such of a Valrhona chocolate. Your recipe may not turn out the same if you are using say Baker’s Chocolate from the grocery store with a much lower cocoa butter content.
Any chocolate can be used in baking, but both percentage (55%, 75%), type (dark, milk, white), and brand will impact the recipe. A recipe made designed to use a 65% dark may not have the same results if using a 40% milk chocolate instead. In fact, it could end up in disaster. However, keep in mind not all chocolate is ideal for tempering or using to cast into molds. All chocolate can essentially be used as chips in your cookies, melted into a ganache, incorporated into cakes, muffins, breads, etc. Also keep in mind that your chocolate does not need to be tempered if you are using it in cookies, melting it into ganaches, or baking/melting it for something other than making chocolates. So do not throw out that untempered and bloomed chocolate!
Where to buy couverture?
You likely will not find couverture in your local grocery store, even high-end grocers. You likely will find it in shops that sell baking supplies, but even those can be tricky. Your best bet would be to ask a local chocolatier if they would be willing to sell you some of theirs, or order it in with their next supplies order. Many often have no issue, but you do need to ask nicely and be patient. You can also seek out chocolate wholesale or bakery wholesale companies near you. Some do sell to the public.
Confectionary coating
Be careful not to purchase confectionary coating, as this is not chocolate. Read the ingredients. Better quality chocolate will not contain palm-kernel oil or other fats that are mixed in with the cocoa butter. Confectionary coatings are made with synthetic fats and not cocoa butter, and this is not chocolate. These may be easier to temper, as the chocolate is designed in a way that you do not need to go through the normal tempering procedure. However, it is not actually chocolate, and is not something that should be used for making confections, bonbons, tempering into bars, as the taste and texture quality is quite low.
Does Bean to Bar World sell couverture?
At the moment I do not, as I’m not a supplier for chocolatiers or bakers. My website focuses on education first, and also with a focus on the highest quality chocolate bars intended for eating, not simply baking. Couverture is most often the “cooking wines” of the chocolate world, where the chocolate bars sold her are the “fine wines” that generally would be too costly to use in baking. However, other than cost, there really is no reason why these bars cannot be used in your baking or hot chocolates!