CHOCOLATE 101

Where does chocolate come from?
Chocolate is the product of the cacao bean. They grow in pod-like fruits on tropical cacao trees.

What is the history of chocolate?
The cacao tree was discovered over 2,000 years ago in the rain forest of the Americas. The Mayans (300 to 900 A.D.) were the first known chocolate lovers and used it in rituals and religious ceremonies. They ground it up to make a frothy beverage. The Aztecs improved on the recipe adding sugar to sweeten it. They called the drink “Xocoati” meaning bitter water. Chocolate became so highly regarded in the Aztec culture it was used as currency. Spanish traders later took the seeds back to Spain and created more recipes.

How is chocolate made?
Chocolate making is a long extensive process that starts at a cacao farm and ends with distribution to consumers.

• It takes four to six years for a farmer to produce their first yield from cacao trees. Cacao trees are very difficult to grow; they can only survive in climates 20 degrees north and south of the equator and are prone to pest infestations. Cacao can not be harvested by machinery so the farmer has to pluck the pods by hand. After it is harvested, it is then fermented and dried in a two step process. Fermentation is the first critical process in the development of the bean’s flavor. Farmers then take the beans to a collection site where buyers can sample the quality of the crop. Traders and exporters then sell the seeds through the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange. Companies then process the chocolate into various products.
• Turning cacao seeds into chocolate is another long process. First, the seeds are put through a machine to sort out any debris and then weighed. Then one of the most important parts of the process, roasting, occurs. Large ovens roast the seeds at 250 degrees or higher to release the flavors of the beans. Roasting usually lasts between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the type of cacao seed. The roasting process makes the outside shell brittle so they need to pass through another machine called a winnowing machine. The winnowing process removes the outer husk or shell, leaving behind the roasted bean, now called a nib. The nib is then ground into thick liquid called chocolate liquor, which is a cocoa solid suspended in cocoa butter. Some batches are then pressed to produce cocoa butter that is pulverized into cocoa powder while other batches use the chocolate liquor directly to make chocolate. To make dark chocolate, chocolate liquor, sugar, and other minor ingredients are mixed and kneaded until well blended. To make milk chocolate, milk and sugar are mixed together and mixed with chocolate liquor. Both dark and milk chocolates then go through the same process. The mixture travels through a series of heavy rollers pressing the ingredients until the mixture is a dry flake. Cocoa butter and an emulsifying agent are then added to make a smooth paste. By putting the chocolate through a kneading process, called conching, the flavor is developed more fully. The conches have heavy rollers that flow back and forth through the chocolate. The mixture is then tempered, allowing the chocolate to be heated, cooled, and then reheated to solidify the chocolate. The final step is moulding. The chocolate is pour into moulds and cooled in a cooling chamber.

What are the different types of chocolate?

• Chocolate liquor is the smooth, liquid paste made from grinding the cocao nib and does not contain alcohol

• Milk chocolate is very sweet, with up to 50 percent sugar, and has added milk solids and milk fats
• Semisweet chocolate is dark brown and lightly sweetened with sugar: contains at least 15% chocolate liquor
• Bittersweet chocolate is very dark and very lightly sweetened; contains at least 35% cocoa liquor
• Couverture is high quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate used for cooking, frosting, and making confectionery; has a high cocoa butter content and is used to make chocolate truffles and confections
• Gianduji is chocolate made with hazelnuts ground into powder
• Cocoa powder is unsweetened and used for baking; it has much of the fat removed
• White chocolate is not technically considered true chocolate because it is made from cocoa butter but not cocoa liquor