Since the early Aztecs, people worldwide have tried to improve upon chocolate, creating better flavors, textures, and structures. Although the secrets of each chocolate manufacturer are closely guarded, the basic methods necessary to produce this delicious concoction are widely known.
Cacao plants grow best in warm and humid climates, and are generally found within 20 degrees North and South of the Equator. Although no longer used as a currency as it was during early Aztec civilization, the value of the cacao plant and its fruit are widely accepted. Chocolate manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar industry throughout the world
Cocoa pods are harvested when they turn a deep orange color, the seeds inside are covered with a white membranous material. The pod is separated from the beans inside and the beans are left in the sun to ferment and dry until purchased by world chocolate bean buyers. Following purchase, the beans are packed into large burlap sacks for export to the various countries.
Upon receipt of a sack of beans, they are cleaned, the outer shell is removed, and the beans are roasted by exact standards to enrich their full flavor much the same as coffee beans are roasted. Roasting involves heating the beans for 30 to 120 minutes in turning, heated drums. The roasting process brings out the characteristic chocolate aroma, dark brown color, and reduces the moisture content of the beans. The thin outer shell is very brittle following roasting and must be removed. The beans are passed through a machine that cracks the beans and the shell for easier removal (a process called "winnowing"). The resulting cracked beans are then called cocoa nibs.
Cocoa nibs from different bean varieties can be blended together at this point to create the desired flavor profile in the finished chocolate. Once blended, they are crushed between rolling cylinders until they are a fine paste. This paste is called chocolate liquor or cocoa liquor, though it contains no alcohol. Liquor refers to the fact that the chocolate is now liquid. This liquid is 53% cocoa butter, and 47% cocoa solids. Under pressure the cocoa butter separates from the chocolate liquor for use in the chocolate and other industries. The process until this point is identical for both cocoa and chocolate.
After the pressure removes the cocoa butter from the liquor mass, the resulting solids become known as the "cake" or cocoa solids. Ground up and sifted, this unsweetened cocoa cake becomes cocoa powder and can be used in hundreds of recipes to make such delicacies as brownies, hot cocoa, and more. By treating the cocoa powder with alkali (a basic solution) the resulting cocoa is milder in flavor and darker color. This process is known as "Dutching".
The cocoa butter from this process is critical in the production of all types of chocolate, including "white chocolate" which is not really chocolate at all. Cocoa butter is made up of a 16-18 carbon triglycerol which crystallizes in very exact ways, producing up to 6 different crystalline structures, each with its own melting point. These melting points vary from 17.3°C (form I) to 36.6°C (form VI). The most desireable form is V, with a melting point between room temperature and body temperature, 33.8°C. Form V melts on the tongue to release the coated cocoa solids and provides the smooth and creamy sensory experience associated with quality chocolate.
Separated cocoa butter is added to chocolate liquor together with sugar, vanilla flavor, and lecithin (an emulsifier). This mixture is stirred until it is homogenous in texture before entering the conching chamber. A rolling cylinder, the conch, grinds the chocolate particles to a texture so fine that it feels smooth. This process can take a few hours or several days depending on a number of factors including the types of beans in the chocolate, other ingredients, and more. The agitation and aeration of the liquid chocolate during conching accentuates and develops the full flavor of the chocolate, and is therefore one of the most critical parts of chocolate manufacturing. This chocolate is bittersweet or semisweet in nature. By adding milk solids prior to the conching step, one may produce milk chocolate. Using only cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, milk solids, and lecithin one might create white chocolate.
Once couverture chocolate is made, it must be heated and cooled in a precise manner to create the ideal form V crystals in the cocoa butter. This process is known as tempering, and is critical to all quality chocolate use.
Next -> More information about How to temper chocolate
