Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter refers to the natural fat extracted from the bean by pressing cocoa mass. Ivory in colour, it melts at around 34 degrees Celsius, just below body temperature, which explains the melting sensation of chocolate on the palate. Its polymorphic crystallisation demands precise tempering to set the one stable crystal form that yields gloss and snap. It is also the sole cocoa component of white chocolate, alongside sugar and milk solids.