What's In my Pantry: Chocolate, Cocoa & Coffee

Those percentages on the packaging? Don’t stress them. Just know: the higher the number, the less sweet the chocolate will be. That’s it.

For baking, I often love bittersweet chocolate combined with sugar more than I like a sweeter chocolate to begin with. The bitterness gives you more to work with.

One more thing: vanilla was originally invented as a flavoring for chocolate before it became its own flavor. Adding a dash of vanilla or dark rum to any chocolate dessert, from pudding to cake to ice cream to hot chocolate, enhances the chocolate flavor. Don’t skip it.

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