Vosges Aztec Chocolate
Exotic chocolates with a cornucopia of flavors, by Vosges Chocolate.
MENU

   

 

   

Chocolate

Category Main Page
Articles & Reviews

   

 

Main Nibbles

Main Page
Articles & Reviews Of Foods From A To Z

   

 

Product Reviews

Main Page
Food, Beverages, Books,
News & More

   

 

 

   

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
KAREN HOCHMAN, Editorial Director, and PETER ROT, Chocolate Reporter, work together to bring NIBBLE readers some of the most exciting chocolate content anywhere. This article is a work of original scholarship as well as part of their commitment to educating others to more fully enjoy the nuances of fine chocolate.

 

April 2005
Updated July 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Chocolate

The Flavors & Aromas of Chocolate

Page 2: Chocolate Characteristics

by Peter Rot and Karen Hochman

 

This is Page 2 of a four-page article. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.

 

THE NIBBLE Guide to Chocolate Descriptors

This material is copyrighted. Reprints, redistribution and repurposing are by written permission only.      

Chocolate has more than 1,500 distinct compounds that combine to produce many aromas and flavors. Expect to find some of these in different pieces of fine chocolate—whether they are blended or single origin chocolate.  

FRUITY

SPICY FLORAL COLOR DESCRIPTORS

Berry
Bl
ackberry, blueberry, cranberry, currant, raspberry, strawberry

Any Spice
Cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, licorice, mace, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla

Specific Flowers
Carnation, hibiscus, lavender, pansy, rose, any floral

Brown
Dried
Citrus Fruit
Grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, orange, pomelo (pummelo), tangerine
HERBACEOUS VEGETAL

Green
Fresh—grass

Unripe—unripe fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, or nuts

Dried Fruit
Cherry, date, fig, prune, raisin

Fresh
Basil, fresh tobacco leaf, grass, licorice, mint
Bean
Cocoa, coffee

Orange
Sweet, tart, tangy (combination of tart
and sweet)

Tree Fruit
Apple, apricot, cherry, peach, plum, olive

Dried
All dried herbs, brown grass/hay, dried tobacco

Vegetable
Mushroom

Purple
Blackberries, black currants, blueberries, prunes

Robust, tart, tangy (combination of tart
and sweet)

Tropical Fruit
Banana, coconut, kiwi, mango, pineapple

SUGARY ALCOHOLIC Red
A red fruit combined with puckery, robust, sour, sweet, tangy (combination of tart and sweet)—e.g., “a tart and sweet strawberry flavor”

Vine Fruit
Cantaloupe, grape, watermelon

Brown sugar, caramel, honey, molasses, malt

Pungent
Vodka, wine
Yellow
Puckery, sweet, tangy, tart
NUTTY
DAIRY

Smooth
Rum, whiskey

White
Grapes, pineapple, white peach

Almond, cashew, hazelnut, peanut, pistachio, toasted/roasted

Butter, buttermilk, cheese (soft and hard), cream, milk, yogurt    
WOODY

BREADY

 

 
Burned
Ashy, charred

Baked bread

 

 
Types of Wood
Cedar, juniper, oak, pine
 
     

 


Continue To Page 3: Single Origin Chocolate ~ Regional Differences In Cacao

Go To The Article Index Above

Read More About Chocolate

Science of Chocolate Chocolate Bible Chocolate Saga
The Science of Chocolate, by Stephen Beckett. Get to know your favorite food on a molecular level, like a professor. Click here for more information or to purchase. The Chocolate Bible, by Christine McFadden. A delight for any true chocolate lover. Click here for more information or to purchase. Chocolate; A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light, by Mort Rosenblum. Learn to distinguish the subtle differences of chocolate from their country of origin. Click here for more information or to purchase.