4 Surprising Chocolate Chip Facts

Chocolate chips are a very popular topping and inclusion choice. Besides being easy to apply, chocolate chips give a different dimension to the cakes, cookies, and desserts you make.

Just sprinkle it on top of your dough, and you can enjoy delicious bursts of chocolate flavor. Especially if you use Embassy Chocolate's couverture chocolate chips, Torres Dark Chocolate Chips 51%, your recipe will definitely have a more premium feel.

There's a lot you probably didn't know about chocolate chips. Especially about the origin of its creation. Curious about it? Embassy Chocolate has compiled some interesting facts about chocolate chips that are ready to surprise you.

4 Chocolate Chip Facts That Will Surprise You

1. Invented by accident

Who doesn't know chocolate chip cookies? This one snack is excellent wherever you are. But did you know that it was actually invented by accident?

It all started with Ruth Graves Wakefield, the owner of Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, United States. One night in 1930, Ruth was making a batch of Chocolate Butter Drop Cookies, a popular old recipe. But as she started to bake, she realized she was out of baking chocolate. She then chopped up a block of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate that was given to her by someone from the company. Ruth had expected the chocolate to melt and combine with the rest of the ingredients. But to her surprise, the chocolate pieces held their shape, softening to a moist, gooey melt that we all now love from a chocolate chip cookie.

2. The creator sold its recipe in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate

Ruth’s cookie recipe, which she named “Chocolate Crunch Cookie”, was such a success that it was published in several newspapers, was featured on an episode of The Betty Crocker Cooking School on The Air radio, and was published in the still popular Toll House Tried and True Recipes in 1936. 

Due to its enormous popularity, sales of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate skyrocketed. Ruth and Nestle then came to a deal: in exchange for a lifetime supply of free chocolate, Nestle acquired Ruth’s recipe. Then, in 1939, the company invented the now signature teardrop-shaped chocolate chip.

3. It can hold its shape even at high oven temperatures

Chocolate chips are designed to be bake stable, which means they can withstand high oven temperatures, even up to 200 degrees Celsius. This ensures chocolate chips are able to keep their ubiquitous teardrop shape, making them the perfect topping for cookies and brownies.

4. Not Just Dark Chocolate

In the beginning, chocolate chips only came in semi-sweet dark chocolate. However, as it rose to popularity, a lot of bakers and chocolate brands experimented with their chocolate chip product variations. You can now find everything from peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, mint chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and white and dark swirled chocolate chips.

4 Tips for Using Chocolate Chips in Your Creation

1. Toppings in baked goods

There are a lot of ways to apply chocolate chips on your creations. One of them is by sprinkling them on top of your dough before baking it.

Due to its bake-stable properties, the chocolate chips will hold their shape without flowing off from your baked goods. Not only that, it will also still have its chocolaty flavor without getting burnt or overcooked, unlike if you put other types of chocolate on top. Just to be sure, however, stick to normal temperatures and use the middle rack of your oven when using it as a topping in baked goods. This is done to prevent cases of caramelization.

2. Inclusion in pastries

Not only that you can use chocolate chips as a topping, you can also use it as an inclusion in your baked goods. Incorporate chocolate chips into bread, brioche or other doughs just before you knead to prevent the chips from smearing all over your dough. This also helps the chocolate chips to keep its shape.

3. Toppings in desserts

When it comes to chocolate chips, don’t limit yourself to baked goods. Chocolate chips are also perfect to sprinkle on other desserts! We guarantee that ice creams, sundaes, and waffles taste much better with a generous sprinkling of chocolate chips. It adds a crunchy texture to your desserts, making your dining experience more adventurous.

4. Use high-quality chocolate chips

Not all chocolate chips are created equal. Lower quality chocolate chips do not hold their shape as well, and are usually loaded with sugar to make the product more bake-stable, sacrificing its taste.

For premium quality bake-stable chocolate chips, opt for Embassy Torres Dark Chocolate Chips 51%. It has an intense but well-balanced chocolate flavor and hold its shape well when baking, as what you would expect from good chocolate chips.