FoodWorks-International® 

Chocolate is made from Cacao beans a product of the Cacao tree. The pods from which the beans are extracted are normally a pulp mess inside. once the seeds have been extracted they are usually piled into a heap and covered, then left to ferment, which kills the germs of the seed which would normally germinate and grow again.

The process also will affect the color of the seed and allow it to darken a little from a natural off white color to a light brown color as well as remove some of the natural bitter flavor.

Further flavor and color are added through a gentle roasting process of the beans.

The process of roasting allows the beans to be separated from the outer shells to which they are then milled or ground into a uniform particle size.

The friction developed during the milling or grinding process allows the vegetable fat of the beans to melt by about 50 percent. This is called the cocoa butter. What is now present after this process is a thick brown bitter liquid called chocolate liquor: Which is really the ground particles of chocolate suspended in a melted fat.

When this product is cooled the chocolate liquor solidifies into what is a more familiar form of bitter chocolate.

FDA requirements are that unsweetened chocolate of this nature contain between 50 and 58 percent fat.

During another process the fat and the chocolate particle that was suspended  will be separated out and mixed

with various quantities of sugar and other ingredients. These end products will go to the making of the vast number of chocolate items that we will find on the market.

Chocolate in this form will melt between 80° and 98° F. this being just below the temperature of the human body.

This will allow chocolate to retain a firm brittleness at room temperature, yet will melt in the mouth pleasantly when consumed.

Semisweet chocolate is a combination of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, an emulsifier and possibly

a hint of vanilla flavoring. When this product is melted properly it will have a more fluid consistency

with a satin, gloss appearance. Unsweetened chocolate will not have such a fluid consistency.

This product will be ideal for dipping and coating other products or being just formed into small squares and

then hardened through cooling again.

This chocolate will only contain around 35 percent of fat and therefore will have different characteristics when applied to cooking techniques.

Substitution of sugar and unsweetened chocolate in order to gain a higher fat content would be a great way to

think but in truth will not work.  Many manufactures of chocolate will create a product that has a greater quantity of Chocolate liquor and less sugar for their bittersweet product and possibly call it semisweet.

It all has to do with flavor, sweetness and fat content. Confectioners are very aware of this when it comes to working with the many brands of chocolate on today's market.

Sugar is used to reduce the percentage of fat in chocolate.

15 percent of chocolate liquor is more the common quantity used by the manufacturers of chocolate

confections,

Milk chocolate will contains around 10 to 35 percent of chocolate liquor. This is because of the milk

solids will reducing the percentage. also allowing for a milder and less biter flavor profile

Dark Chocolate will contain a larger quantity which will be around 30 to 80 percent.

Chocolate that is required for molding into bars o coating items must be put through two important processes

These are called conching and tempering

Conching is were the chocolate mixture is needed in heated tanks at a controlled temperature between 130°F.

and 190°F. for as long as five days. This process will aerate the chocolate driving of much of the moisture and volatile acids and creating a smooth very flavorful product.

after the conching process the chocolate is then tempered and kept as controlled temperatures while it cools in

order for the tiny fat crystals, to crystallize. Somewhere in the region of forty millionths of an inch in size.

Anything larger would create a grainy product in appearance,  such as Mexican chocolate.

The different degrees of conching and tempering along with the varying other ingredients such as cocoa butter

that are added, will produce the more than 20 different manufactured commercial grades of chocolate that

can be found within today's market.