How Chocolate is Made

Chocolate is an essential element in the world of desserts. But did you know that the chocolate bean is actually extremely bitter? It started off in the forests of the Aztecs, being an essential part of their rituals. They're the ones that actually discovered it, and used it as a consumer product. It first started out as a hot, bitter drink, meant for the wealthy, and eventually turned into currency. When the Spanish explorer, Cortez arrived, the Aztecs thought he was a God, and treated him to chocolate.  He took the ingredient back to Spain, and it became extremely popular. They added sugar to the chocolate drink to suit their taste. The news of chocolate spread in France, and they added condensed milk to the chocolate drink, and it became hot cocoa. In the 1800's, technological advancements allowed chocolate to become solid, and around the same time, the Swiss added dried milk to chocolate, creating milk chocolate. (sokol, 2006)


From Bitter to Sweet

• First, the pods of that come from the cacao tree are plucked and opened. The beans are inside the pods. "The pods are about the size of a football. (The World Atlas of Chocolate).
• The beans then go through a fermenting process. "They are either placed in large, shallow, heated trays or covered with large banana leaves. If the climate is right, they may be simply heated by the sun. Workers come along periodically and stir them up so that all of the beans come out equally fermented. During fermentation is when the beans turn brown. This process may take five or eight days (The World Atlas of Chocolate)."
• The beans are dried after being fermented so they can be shipped to the manufacturers. The farmers place them in trays and leave them in the sun to dry (The World Atlas of Chocolate)."

Manufacturing

• The cocoa beans are inspected and cleaned, and are roasted afterwards (World Cocoa Foundation).
• Once the beans have been roasted and shelled, the heat from the processor causes the cocoa butter in the nib (the center of the bean) to melt, which is "cocoa liquor" (World Cocoa Foundation).
• The cocoa liquor is then fed in hydraulic presses that remove the cocoa butter (but leave 2 - 4%), which is stored in a liquid form (World Cocoa Foundation).
• Then, to manufacture the chocolate, the cocoa liquor is mixed with cocoa butter and sugar. To make milk chocolate, sweetened condensed, or powdered milk is added, depending on their preferred taste (World Cocoa Foundation).
• The liquor is blended with sugar and pre-condensed milk, and dried on heated rollers to produce the actual European flavors (World Cocoa Foundation).
• After that mixing process, the reduced product is placed in "conches", which are large agitators that stir the mixture under heat, which causes the chocolate mixture to become extremely smooth (World Cocoa Foundation).
• The chocolate is complete. It is then "shipped in tanks or tempered and poured into molds for sale in blocks to confectioners, dairies, or bakers. It may also be converted into proprietary bars for sale direct to the consumer market (World Cocoa Foundation)."

Did You Know?

• More than twice as many women crave chocolate than men (Food Editorials.com).
• Almost half of the world's chocolate is consumed in America (Food Editorials.com).
• A cocoa pod contains about 42 beans. About 270 pods are needed in order to make one pound of chocolate (Food Editorials.com).
• A dark chocolate bar has approximately 10-15g of sugar. A glass of orange juice has about 22g of sugar (20-20 Site, 2012).
• Chocolate is a natural form if anti-depressant. It produces serotonin –a chemical that elevates the mood. It is also referred to as the "happy chemical." Now that is a happy fun chocolate fact (20-20 Site, 2012).

Sources:


sokol (2006, Feb 6 ). Youtube: Chocolate Production [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tez9RZZIwC8

World Cocoa Foundation (n.d.a.). How Chocolate is Made. Retrieved from http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/learn-about-cocoa/tree-to-table/how-chocolate-is-made.asp


The World Atlas of Chocolate (n.d.a.). The Production of Chocolate. Retrieved from http://www.sfu.ca/geog351fall03/groups-webpages/gp8/prod/prod.htm


20-20 Site (2012). Fun Chocolate Facts. Retrieved from http://www.2020site.org/fun-facts/Fun-Chocolate-Facts.html


Food Editorials.com: The Yummy Food Guide (2012). 20 Chocolate Facts. Retrieved from http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/snacks/chocolates/20_chocolate_facts.html