Chocolate liquor

Chocolate liquor, also called cocoa liquor, paste, or mass, is pure cocoa in liquid or semi-solid form. It comes from cocoa bean nibs that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their skins. These nibs are ground until cocoa butter is released and melted, turning the cocoa into a paste and then a free-flowing liquid.

The liquor can be cooled and molded into blocks used as unsweetened baking chocolate. It can also be put under high pressure to separate out cocoa butter, leaving behind a dry cake of (non-fat) cocoa solids. Its main use, often with extra cocoa butter, is in making chocolate products.

The word liquor here doesn’t mean an alcoholic drink. It uses an older meaning of the word, meaning “liquid” or “fluid.” In the United States, chocolate liquor is classified as a chocolate product, while in Europe it is considered a cocoa product until sugar is added.

Chocolate liquor contains about 53 percent cocoa butter (fat), 17 percent carbohydrates, 11 percent protein, 6 percent tannins, and 1.5 percent theobromine. It is an important part of making many chocolate treats we enjoy today.