Chocolate chunks
Larger and more irregular than chips, and generally formulated to melt rather than to hold shape — the opposite trade-off.
A manufacturing grade — this describes how it behaves, not what it isaccessible
What it is
Chunks are larger, irregular pieces sold for baking. Unlike chips they are usually made from ordinary chocolate rather than a reduced-cocoa-butter formulation, so they melt into pools rather than holding their shape.
That makes them the right choice where a bake wants molten pockets rather than distinct pieces — which is most cookie recipes that describe themselves as gooey. The distinction from chips is a formulation one and it is not always obvious from the packaging.
- Category kind
- A manufacturing grade — this describes how it behaves, not what it is
- Legal status
- Industry convention, not a legal definition
- Typical range on shelves
- 40–70%
- Texture
- snappy, melting
What the percentage means here
Whatever it means for the chocolate used.
Working with it
Melt into pools in a bake where chips hold their shape. Chopped bar behaves the same way and is cheaper.
Related
Covered in
- Best chocolate for cookiesThe product that melts instead.
Compared in
- Chocolate chunks vs chocolate chipsSet against Chips, which readers frequently believe is the same thing.
Techniques that work with this
- Baking with chopped chocolateThe opposite choice to chips: pools, seams and shards rather than discrete pieces. Usually the better-tasting one.
- Choosing chocolate for cookiesOne decision decides everything: pools or pieces. Chips hold their shape, chopped bar does not.
Sources
- ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)