5. Near Relations Half-finished Products To a part of the finished chocolate paste supplementary amounts of cocoa butter are added. The products obtained are so-called couvertures and are used as half-finished products in the biscuit and in the ice cream industry. Further important buyers of couvertures are confectioner’s shops and bakeries. They use them for making chocolate bonbons and other chocolate specialities. Couvertures are also used for the manufacture of Easter items (bunnies and eggs) and for delicious cake fillings and coatings. These specialities of the house produced by the confectioners with special professional skill substantially contribute to maintain the world-wide reputation of Swiss chocolate.
Drinking Chocolate In contrast to pure or sweetened cocoa powder, chocolate powders are homogeneous products which differ only from solid chocolate in that they are in powder form and contain less cocoa butter.
Instant Products Instant products, subjected to a special process which improves their solubility, are made mainly from sugar and cocoa and are used to make flavoured cocoa beverages quickly and simply, with or without milk, and either hot or cold as desired. Manufacturers often enrich these products by adding vitamins and other fortifying substances.
Chocolate confectionery This is the term applied to products which contain a certain proportion of chocolate or have a chocolate covering. They are usually small in size and are produced in a wide variety of shapes. Their manufacture owes as much to the art of the confectioner as that of the chocolate-maker. Hence the name, chocolate confectionery. Packed in their brightly coloured, sparkling wrappers, tit-bits such as chocolate-sticks, chocolate covered marshmallows, caramels, snack fingers, Christmas tree decorations and many other delicacies wait for buyers young and old. It is not really surprising that a considerable sector of production is devoted to confectionery products.
Source : Chocologie published by Chocosuisse CH-3000 Bern