Chocolate Terms

Ballotin – Decorative rectangular cardboard box used for packaging chocolates in such a way that they don’t damage each other. In French chocolate shops, these typically come in 125g, 250g, 375g and 500g sizes.

Bonbon – A filled chocolate (in French, chocolat fourré)

Cabosse – Fruit of the cacao tree

Cacao – May refer to theobroma cacao (the cacao tree), or the end product (chocolate liquor) made from the cacao bean

Cacao content – Total percentage of cacao fat and cacao solids contained in chocolate

Carré – French word for “square”

Chocolate liquor – Also known as cacao mass, the liquid or paste produced when cocoa beans are roasted and ground

Chocolatier – A chocolate artisan or seller (person or company)

Cocoa – A hot drink made with chocolate, i.e. hot chocolate. In North America, the term is also also used interchangeably with “cacao”

Confiseur – French term for person who makes or sells sweets

Confiserie – French term for shop that sells candy and chocolate

Cocoa butter – Natural fat of the cacao bean

Cocoa powder – Non-fat part of the cacao bean that is ground into a powder

Dark chocolate – Produced by adding fat and sugar to cacao. It is chocolate without milk as an additive

Ganache – Smooth mixture of chocolate and fresh cream or butter

Gianduja – Blend of crushed, grilled almonds, sugar and melted chocolate.

Grand cru chocolate – Chocolate made with beans from a particular region

Milk chocolate – Chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added

Napolitain – A small, sample-sized square of chocolate

Palet d’or – A flat, round pure ganache dark chocolate bonbon

Praline – Paste made from ground almonds and caramelized sugar

Rocher – Clusters of slivered almonds, covered in chocolate

Theobroma cacao – Botanical name of the cacao tree. It literally means “food of the gods”

Truffle – A small, rich chocolate, usually shaped into a ball

Unsweetened chocolate – Pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate, mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance