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Chocolate Liquor: The finely ground meat of the cacao bean. When warm, it's a liquid; when cold, a solid.

Cocoa Butter: The naturally occurring fat in cacao beans. It's why chocolate melts in your mouth.

Cocoa Powder: The fine powder made from the cacao bean meat once most of the cocoa butter has been removed.

Couverture: A high-quality chocolate used by professionals that is specially formulated for dipping and coating.

Milk Chocolate: Made from chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk powder. Quality milk chocolate has a minimum of 30 percent cocoa.

Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate: Made from chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla. A premium brand of bittersweet will have a minimum of 62 percent cocoa, while semisweet will have less.

Unsweetened Chocolate: Solid chocolate liquor, with no added sugar, that is usually used in cooking.

White Chocolate: White chocolate contains no cocoa liquor, so it isn't really chocolate. A quality brand contains sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, and vanilla.

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