Chocolate Glossary: Praline, Truffle, Ganache and Other Terms
Essential terms from the chocolate world. What is praline? Difference between truffle and bonbon? How is ganache made? Comprehensive glossary for chocolate lovers.
When you step into the world of chocolate, there are many terms you’ll encounter. Praline, truffle, ganache, bonbon… What do these mean? Here’s a comprehensive glossary for chocolate lovers.
Chocolate Types
Couverture
Professional quality chocolate with high cocoa butter content (31-36%) used in chocolatiering. Ideal for fluidity and shine. Unlike consumer chocolate, it’s suitable for tempering.
Cocoa Mass
Pure, unprocessed chocolate obtained by grinding cocoa beans. Without added sugar or milk. “100% cocoa” products are made with this.
Cocoa Butter
Natural fat obtained from cocoa beans. Main component of white chocolate. Gives chocolate fluidity and shine.
Cocoa Powder
Made by grinding after pressing cocoa mass to extract fat. Used in hot chocolate, cakes and dessert making.
Chocolate Shaping
Ganache
Smooth cream made by combining chocolate and cream. Forms the base of truffle fillings, cake coatings and tart fillings.
Basic ratio:
- Dark: 1:1 (equal chocolate and cream)
- Milk: 2:1 (2 parts chocolate, 1 part cream)
- White: 3:1
Praline
Has two different meanings:
- Belgian praline: Chocolate shell with filling (hazelnut paste, caramel, ganache etc.)
- French praliné: Caramelized hazelnut or almond paste
Truffle
Chocolates with soft ganache center, usually round. Name comes from resemblance to French truffle mushroom.
Truffle varieties:
- Classic: Rolled in cocoa powder
- Champagne truffle: Champagne-flavored ganache
- Fruit truffle: Fruit ganache filling
Bonbon
French for “good good”. General term for small, bite-sized chocolates. Every praline is a bonbon but not every bonbon is a praline.
Production Terms
Tempering
Process of heating and cooling chocolate at controlled temperatures. Proper tempering:
- Provides shiny appearance
- Gives snap sound
- Maintains form at room temperature
Conching
Process of smoothing chocolate by stirring for hours. Unwanted flavors evaporate, flavor develops.
Enrobing
Process of coating fillings with chocolate. Mass production done with enrobing machine.
Molding
Pouring chocolate into molds to give shape. Production method for bonbons, bars and figures.
Filling Terms
Gianduja
Italian-style hazelnut-chocolate mixture. Born in Piedmont region in 19th century, now inspiration for world’s most popular hazelnut chocolate creams.
Marzipan
Paste made from ground almonds and sugar. Chocolate-covered marzipan is a popular combination.
Nougat
Sweet made from egg white, sugar and nuts. Has soft or hard varieties.
Caramel
Sweet formed by heating sugar. Combines with chocolate as soft, hard or salted caramel.
Cocoa Terms
Single Origin
Chocolate made with cocoa from a single country or region. Reflects terroir characteristics.
Bean-to-Bar
Small production controlling entire process from cocoa bean to final product. Craft chocolatiering movement.
Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario
Three main cocoa varieties:
- Criollo: Rarest, highest quality (5%)
- Forastero: Most common, hardy (80%)
- Trinitario: Hybrid, balanced (15%)
ChefMade Chocolate Varieties
At ChefMade you can taste all these terms:
- Pralines: With different filling varieties
- Truffles: Classic and modern interpretations
- Dragées: Almond, hazelnut, fruit coated
- Ganache filled: Creamy, smooth flavors
Visit us to improve your chocolate vocabulary.
To discover ChefMade chocolate varieties: Visit our menu page. For chocolate making workshop check out our workshop page. Visit us.