How Chocolates are made?

This video is a brief introduction of the process of making chocolates.

:by me

1.   Extraction & Fermentation

Cocoa beans are removed from their pods after they are harvested. After the beans are dried, they are then extracted and fermented naturally in open heaps for about six days.

* The finest chocolate is produced when the drying process is done NATURALLY by the sun for 7 days or more.

2. Roasting

The next process is shared with coffee in that the beans are first graded, then roasted. Roasting times depend on the type and size of the beans, like coffee this can also affect the final flavour of the chocolate.

3. Light Crushing separates the kernel or 'Nib' from the shell or husk (like shelling a nut), the husk is then separated or 'winnowed' out and discarded.



4. Alkalisation

Cocoa Nibs are put through an alkalisation process to help develop flavour and colour.

5. Milling

The Nibs, are then finely milled and liquefy in the heat to produce cocoa liquor. When cocoa liquor, otherwise known as cocoa mass, is allowed to cool and solidify.

6. Blending

Cocoa Liquor or Cocoa Mass is blended back with cocoa butter in varying quantities to make different types of chocolate:

The finest plain or dark chocolate should contain 70% or more Cocoa .
The best Milk Chocolate contains 30% or more Cocoa
The best White Chocolate contains 30% or more Cocoa Butter.

In addition most chocolate contains a sweetener, usually sugar, this is because without some kind of sweetener, chocolate would be so bitter as to be virtually inedible. The other most commonly added ingredients are natural Vanilla for flavour and Lethicin (usually made from Soya) as an emulsifier.

7. Refining and Conching

The blended Chocolate then goes through a refining process involving heavy rollers, this grinds down and blends the particles to smooth and improve the texture.

Mostly, but not always, this is followed by the penultimate process called “conching”, a conch is a type of container in which the refined and blended chocolate mass is continually kneaded and further smoothed, the fractional heat produced by this process keeps the chocolate liquid. The length of time given to the conching process determines the final smoothness and quality of chocolate. The finest chocolate is conched for a minimum of a week.

8. Tempering

After the refining and conching process are completed, the chocolate is stored in heated tanks at about 46°c (115°f). It is then cooled to between 29°c (84°f) and 31°c (88°f) and warmed up again to between 30°c (86°f) and 32°c (90°f). The chocolate must go through such process to encourage the stable crystal formation needed to produce the desirable properties for good tasty chocolate.

* Well tempered chocolate has a good shiny gloss, a snappy or brittle bite and a smooth tender melt on the tongue, coating the palate with long lasting flavour and generally tasting wonderful.

References:

1.      The images in the video are provided by Google Images.

2.      The song is from 02-klaus_badelt-the_medallion_calls-fntx

3.       How Chocolate is Made. (2004). Retrieved April 30, 2011, from aphrodite-chocolates: http://www.aphrodite-chocolates.co.uk/history_chocolate.htm