Is compound chocolate ‘true’ chocolate?

No. It is only an alternative to true chocolate – which contains cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and dairy fat – by US standards. However, EU regulations allow up to 5% of vegetable fats to be present in true chocolates. In general, the chocolate standards-of-identity requires chocolate to contain 50-60% cocoa butter and should exclusively use cocoa liquor. Any deviation from these standards becomes a compound coating or compound chocolate. Cocoa butter replacers or CBRs are also used as an alternative to cocoa butter. Their consistency makes it easy to mix with chocolate liquor. However, their tolerance to other fats is only up to 20%.

It also serves confectionaries and bakeries that involve dipping food items in chocolate, such as chocolate-dipped strawberries and biscuits. Compound chocolates are a reliable alternative for couverture chocolate to use in chocolate fountains. They are also a practical choice for large servings of chocolates, such as caterers, restaurants, and other dessert businesses. Though the flavor and melt-in-mouth sensation are not the same as pure chocolate, it is still a cost-effective substitute and is relatively easy to work with.

Healthy cocoa butter alternatives for compound chocolate production

Usually, CBEs (Cocoa Butter Equivalent) and CBAs (Cocoa Butter Alternatives) are using vegetable oils with hydrogenated fat or trans-fat. They emulate cocoa butter and increase the shelf life of compound chocolates. This can, in turn, leads to major health issues, such as raised cholesterol levels, and can further develop stroke or heart disease. There is however an alternative to this, which is non-hydrogenated fat. Most food companies now use this kind of fat in their dairy products such as chocolates. Lauric fats, which are ingredients of CBEs, do now have non-hydrogenated fat alternatives.