Chocolate

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Introduction

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Chocolate is one of the world’s favorite treats. It is all around us. Recently, a movie came out called, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and many may have went to see it with friends and family.Obviously with a Hershey center only a few miles away from our town, chocolate is a demand by consumers in the valley. Hershey has decided to close their doors to visitors, so we must rely on research to know how that sweet dessert is made. There are Five major components to the making of chocolate. This would consist Harvesting, fermentation, roasting, preparation of the bean by winnowing,and grinding, and lastly mixing ingredients to make chocolate.

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Harvest

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First, Cacao beans are harvested from the Theobroma Cacao,a tree with a Greek meaning , describing food from the Gods. Chocolate has been known to have high status for centuries, probably because of it’s rich taste. These trees are found in tropical jungles all around the world. The best time to harvest cacao beans is November to January and May to July. With machetes, farmers cut down fruit from the tree. This fruit is then later cracked open, and the beans are taken out. Each fruit holds anywhere from 20 to forty beans. At first these beans are very colorful, anywhere from yellow, orange, or red. Because beans from certain countries have a distinct taste, factories separate beans by their country until they can blend them evenly

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Fermentation

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Next, the beans are put through fermentation. This takes about six days. During this time, the beans are placed in boxes or between banana leaves. Here the beans’ sugar turns into alcohol, and they begin to turn brown. The beans must then be dried, which takes about 14 days. Beans may be placed in the sun, or on wood burning heat. Although wood burning heat is faster, the smoky taste will not fade away, therefore this method is not as often used. A rotating roaster is another method, which just consists of metal containment and heat, which is more practical and used by factories like Hershey’s.

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Roasting

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After fermentation, the beans are ready to be roasted. This develops the cacao flavor and smell. This process is done carefully because if the beans are over roasted, they become bitter and useless. The beans have to be watched closely during this time because they may finish roasting anywhere from 10 minutes to 115 minutes.

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Winnowing

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Fourth, the cacoa bean shells are removed. This is called winnowing. Winnowing separates the shell from what is called a nib,which is the inside of the bean, that is used to make chocolate.

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Grinding

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Along with shelling, the beans are also grinded. The beans are grinded between two stones which creates cacao liquor. This creates a smooth, dark, stream of pure tasting flavor. The liquid contains no alocohol whatsoever. After grinding, this liquor is ready to turn into chocolate.

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Mixture of ingrediants

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Finally, sugar is added to the liquor. The liquid is grinded again to reduce mass particles. It is then stirred at 180 degrees farenheight, and causes friction within the substance. The friction actually polishes the leftover cocao particles which creates a smooth taste in the treat. The longer stirring and heating occurs, the better the taste of the chocolate. Milk and cocoa butter are added to the liquor to finish the chocolate. Hershey’s uses whole milk, where it is pasteurized and dried to create a thick taffy like material.

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Conclusion

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These are the five branches to making chocolate. I hope you learned some interesting information, like that cocoa beans come from a fruit, and that these beans go through a long process before becoming a special treat. So next time you eat chocolate, enjoy because those beans went through a lot to satisfy you!