Unsweetened Chocolate

Unsweetened chocolate is solid 100% cacao made from ground cocoa nibs pressed into bars or blocks. It tastes intensely bitter with a firm, clean snap and melts smoothly thanks to cocoa butter; cooks use it to build deep chocolate flavor in brownies, tortes, ganache, and sauces. Common retail forms include 1-ounce squares, wafers/discs, and bulk blocks.\n\nCacao was first domesticated in Mesoamerica; European makers later refined and pressed cocoa liquor to separate cocoa butter and produce baking chocolate. Modern production ferments, dries, roasts, and grinds cacao beans before molding the liquor into baking-ready formats.