how chocolate is made
TRANSCRIPT
CHOCOLATOLOGY
HOW CHOCOLATE
IS MADE
Varieties of Cocoa BeansBean Flavor Pod qnd Tree Origin % of
World’s crop
Criollo Rich and intense, has the widest range of flavors
Soft skinned, reddish color, smaller variety treesDelicate highly prized beans
South America 1%
Forastero Soft beans with a pungent aroma. Usually the base bean
Pod-thick skinned with red-yellow colorTrees are hearty produce a large quantity
West Africa 80%
Varieties of Cocoa BeansBean Flavor Pod qnd
TreeOrigin % of World’s
crop
Trinitario Fine flavored, exhibits Criollo and ForasteroCharacteristics
Hearty withstands infestation well. Small yellow pods,
Trinidad 15%
Arriba/ Nacional
Full smooth cocoa flavor with additional floral and nutty notes
Large green wrinkled pods, beans are large and purple
Ecuador 4%
Where is it grown• Cocoa Trees are grown between 20º North
and 20º south of the Equator in tropical areas with high rainfall
• Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia Brazil and Nigeria are the leading cocoa producing countries
• 90% of the world’s cocoa is grown by smallholders of 50 acres are less which they own or rent
The Cocoa Tree Important factor such as climate , soil
conditions sun and shade all effect on the cocoa beans.
This allows certain flavors to come more to the forefront such as bitterness, fruitiness and bouquet
They are often planted with mature banana tree to give the young plants the needed protection
Cocoa Trees are planted from 1500- 3000 trees per acre and take 2-3 years to get a
first harvest
Trees remain viable for 25-30 years
The Pods start from fragrance free orchid flowers, and develop into pods about 25-30
per tree, weighing in at about 2.5 lbs.
This will occur twice a year
Step : Chocolate pods are harvested and the beans and pulp is removed.
As the cocoa pods ripen they turn from green to red or yellowish in color, they are harvested by hand using a machete
There are about 35-50 beans covered in a sweet pulpy substance inside the pod
Yield are about 132-2,200 pounds per acre
Step : Fermentation and Drying Fermentation is done at the cocoa plantations,
this creates a dry stable, non perishable product The pods are cracked open and the insides are
scooped out and heaped into piles and placed in wooden boxes
They are covered with leaves. It usually lasts 5-7 days. This brings out favorable flavor characteristics
During fermentation the sugar based pulp breaks down, through stirring and draining these piles
Drying
Fermentation needs to be physically halted this is done by drying. If we don’t the cocoa beans will mold and rot due to the high moisture content
There are two methods Natural drying the beans are spread out to 4”
layers for a week in the open air. The natural sunlight will reduce acetic acid content.
This will also brown the beans and reduce moisture content to7-8%
Drying
Artificial Drying, this is only a solution in some cases.
It dries the beans too quickly and create too acidic beans
Step : Bagging and Shipping
After drying cocoa beans are bagged
into 60-70 kilograms bags
They are shipped out to the chocolate
manufactures
The manufacture will mix different beans to achieve the flavor profile they desire
The Chocolate Factory
Once the beans arrive in the factory they are inspected and tested. The samples need to free of pests and molds .
They are tested to see if they past the chocolate manufacture’s strict quality control.
The samples are tested for uniform size, color, shape, volume fermentation and pH level.
In the Factory
Cleaning• They are passed through sieves
and brushing. This removes wood, sand and fibers
Debacterization a short intense steam treatment (446º) is done just before
roasting, to remove unwanted organisms
Roasting
Beans are heated to 230-428º depending on the type of bean
This will:Develop flavor profileReduce unfavorable components such as
moisture and acidUpgrade the quality of the cocoaLoosen shells for easy removalImprove the grindability of the nibs
3 different types of Roasting
Whole bean- done in batches. Through whole bean roasting valuable and irreplaceable flavor components in the cocoa beans are preserved
Nib Toasting- the shell is discarded to save time , but the flavors from the shell are lost
Mass/ Liquor Roasting- dries the beans , raw nibs are ground into a paste and the cocoa butter is set free, resulting in a liquid that contains the fat free solid material distributed in cocoa butter. This is roasted for a very short time. This is quick way to process, but little flavor is developed
Different Kinds of Roasters Continuous Air Roasters-used for whole
bean and nib roasting
Batch Roasters- for nib roasting and tumbling bin is used to
Thin-film roasters-raw liquor roasting. Roasting occurs over a hot surface that dispenses hot air
Step : Shelling and Winnowing
Proper removal of the chocolate shell is a legal requirement and one to insure a quality product
This can be done one of three ways Air roasting-this makes the shell brittle and easy
to break Puffing- The beans are wetted with steam and
when the steam evaporates the shell separates Infrared-Plates are heated to 2000º creates
steam and the shell separates. An advantage is the reduction of unwanted bacteria through this method
Winnowing
The roasted shelled beans are passes through a series of husking screens in
three stages
Each of the these stages has a different size mesh screen to remove unwanted
shell fragments
Step - Blending and Grinding
Before grinding the beans are blended together per the chocolate producer’s unique recipe
Now the nibs (or interior of the beans) are grind down to a point where the cell stuctures of the nibs are destroyed
Step - Mixing
The following ingredients are added to the chocolate : Mass Sugar Dry milk powder( for milk and white
chocolate) Vanillin ( if pure vanilla is used it will be
added at the conching stage
Step : Rolling
This is done in two steps Step one is done through two rollers after the
first step the particle size is 120 microns (I micron= 1/1000 millimeter)
Step This is done through a series of 5 rollers to reduce the particle size to 20 microns
The Mouth cannot detect a particle size below 25 microns. This insures the product will melt in your mouth
Step -Conching
Conching affects three major characteristics of the final couverture Flavor- reduces moisture and undesirable
volatiles
Flow- covers solid microns with a this film of cocoa butter
Texture-forms a fine chocolate
Phases of Couching 1. Dry Conching- The chocolate mass flows
from the rolling process and moves at a slow rotation speed reducing moisture
2. Plasticizing- The speed is increase to high, cocoa butter is added, temperature increases and the chocolate flavor begins to form
3. Liquid Conching- the rotation speed is set in reverse and lecithin (emulsifier) residual cocoa butter and pure vanilla are added. The conch begins to cool
Step -Tempering
Tempering will give
the finished couverture:
Desirable brittle
texture that snaps when
broken
Satin sheen with a
absence of spots
Sufficient contraction
High melting sensation
Less sensitive to temperature
changes, this equates a good shelf
life
Temper, temper….
Tempering machines alternatively heat and cool the couverture while continuously mixing it
Agitation is generally done with a rotary wheel or blade within the a tank
The chocolate is tempered in batches
Step -Molding/piping
The tempered chocolate mass is molded into
bars or pistoles by machine
The molds are passed
along a vibrating belt to settle the
chocolate and to remove
any air bubbles
Then they are cooled the
cooling process is critical to the shine and shelf
life of the finished product
Cooling in Three Stages
The are cooled by air the first stage cools the couverture to 87º and the formation of stable cocoa butter crystals are ensured
The second stage drops the couverture to 50-55º to speed the solidifying process
The third stage brings the temperature of the couverture to 68º in preparation for warmer storage temperatures
Step -PackagingThe couverture is carefully packaged in a way that will protect the product from light, heat and humidity
Couverture should be stored no longer than 18 months at 65º and at about 40% humidity
Source:Des Alpes Methodology-2006 Albert Uster Imports