How is Chocolate made?

Chocolate Making Process Step-By-Step

• The word chocolate or chocolati came into use in 1900 BC. It was originally a bitter drink.
• Chocolate is made from cacao or cocoa beans which are sorted and sifted for purity . The cacao tree is found only within 20 degrees latitude of the Equator.
• First, the pods are split open to take out the beans. The cocoa fruit has a rubbery texture to it. It consists of a sweet pulp and thirty white seeds that attain a reddish color on drying. Drying or sweating is very critical as the pulp transforms into liquid and leaves behind the seeds.
• To make one pound (1/2 kg) of chocolate, 400 beans are needed.
• Next, the beans are fermented for 2- 8 days. This makes them less bitter.
• Then, the beans are dried and shipped to factories, where they are first cleaned.
• The beans are then roasted at 290 degrees F for a couple of hours. Now, they start smelling like chocolate! The beans become darker in color and their skin is peeled off. The nibs or the essence of the cocoa beans are left, which are used.
• The nibs are ground to form a dark paste called chocolate liquor.
• Unsweetened chocolate is pressed to get cocoa butter.

Chocolate Recipe : How to Make Chocolate

1. To make cocoa which we mix with milk and drink: The chocolate liquor is smashed by a massive hydraulic force and excess cocoa butter is removed. The cocoa butter is used in cosmetics. The fat free chocolate liquor is dried and made into cocoa.
2. To make chocolate which we eat: The chocolate liquor is mixed with sugar (remember how bitter it was) to make it sweet.. Cocoa butter is added for chocolate’s unique melt in the mouth feel.
3. Using a conch machine, (the chocolate making machine looks like a conch) this paste is made into a chocolate. Different chocolate makers add a variety of flavors to develop different kinds of chocolate.
4. The longer the chocolate stays in the conch machine the more expensive it is.
5. White chocolate is chocolate paste that has condensed milk added to it.
6. Eating dark chocolate reduces the chances of one having a heart attack.
7. Raw chocolate contains more vitamins and minerals than processed chocolates.

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• How to Make Chocolate Pudding