Most chocolate lovers are likely familiar with chocolate in its ready-to-eat forms, such as organic dark chocolate bars, organic chocolate chips and other kinds of chocolate candy. However, for centuries, bakers have been utilizing unsweetened baking chocolate in order to concoct some of our favorite desserts, such as brownies, chocolate cookies, and more.

So how did unsweetened baking chocolate come to be? Its history begins centuries ago, before the birth of America even happened.

In 1764, John Hannan and Dr. James Baker, an American physician, started importing beans and making chocolate in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Hannan never returned from a 1779 sailing trip to the West Indies to purchase cocoa beans. And upon realizing his untimely demise, Hannan’s wife sold his rights to the company to Dr. Baker. From there, the Baker name dominated the unsweetened baking chocolate market and was used in a number of products that are still enjoyed today.

Nowadays, Bakers no longer monopolizes the market, and there are a number of wholesale chocolate suppliers that sell very high quality unsweetened baking chocolates.

Do you have some baking chocolate sitting in your pantry? If so, here are a few great ways to use it:



Fudge

Fudge is relatively easy to make, as it only requires a few ingredients. For a quick fudge, melt unsweetened baking chocolate and mix with a can of sweetened condensed milk, a pinch of sea salt, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Combine thoroughly and spread into a parchment lined baking sheet, letting it cool until hardened. Then, slice and enjoy!



Savory Chocolate Sauce

If you’re looking for a savory chocolate sauce to complement chicken or steak, simply melt unsweetened chocolate with chicken stock, cayenne pepper, chopped chiles, salt and cinnamon.



Chocolate Macaroons

For a chewy, chocolaty coconut cookie that you simply can’t resist, take coconut shreds, condensed milk, and melted unsweetened chocolate and combine. Then, roll into one inch balls and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes.



How else do you use unsweetened chocolate? Tell us in the comments below!