What Makes Chocolate Taste So Heavenly ?

Chocolate manufacturers produce a great variety of chocolates — from fine couvertures used by luxury chocolatiers to compound coatings used for mass production. Here are some processes and ingredients which give chocolate its heavenly taste.

Processing

1. Fermenting. Cacao seeds or cocoa beans are removed from the pods and placed in large heaps or piles for fermentation, which takes about a week. During this time, the shells harden, the beans darken, and the rich cocoa flavor develops. After drying, the beans are cleaned.
2. Roasting. The dried cocoa beans are roasted in large, revolving roasters at very high temperatures. It takes about 5-35 minutes at temperatures between 120-160 degrees C (250-325 F). The beans initially exposed to a high temperature, then the temperature is gradually lowered, and the roasting stop when the beans start to crack (but not burn).
3. Cracking and Winnowing. With a hulling machine, the shells or husks are then separated from the inside - called the “nib”. This is the part of the bean actually used to make chocolate. To winnow the nibs, stir them gently while blowing them until the husks are blown away.
4. Milling. It is a grinding process, while separating the remaining husks, which turns the nibs into chocolate liquor - a smooth, dark stream of pure chocolate flavor, which contains no alcohol.
5. Mixing. A milk-sugar mixture, which has been slowly dried until it turns into a thick, taffy-like material is then mixed with the chocolate liquor. Lecithin and spices can also be added at this stage. This new mixture is dried into a coarse, brown powder called chocolate crumb, which is used to make milk chocolate. Cocoa butter is added to the crumb which brings out the rich taste and creamy texture. The crumb travels through special steel rollers which grind and refine the mixture, making it smoother and becomes a thick liquid called chocolate paste.
6. Conching and Refining. The paste is poured into huge vats called conches. Once inside the conche, large granite rollers smooth out the gritty particles from the crumb. This process can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to complete. By definition, conching affects the characteristic taste, smell and texture of the chocolate, while refining reduces the size of the cocoa solids and sugar crystals.
7. Tempering. It is cooling in a controlled manner to the right texture and consistency. Other ingredients, like almonds or peanuts, can be mixed into the paste during tempering or added directly to the moulds. This is the process that ensures that the chocolate will be shiny, rather than matte and soft enough to melt in hands.
8. Moulding or Modeling. Chocolate is moulded while it is still at about 90 degrees, then it is vibrated to remove air bubbles and allow the chocolate to settle evenly. Finally, the liquid chocolate is gently chilled into a solid candy bar. Remove the chocolate from the molds when the chocolate is hardened. The molded chocolate should have a glossy appearance and should snap cleanly in two under pressure.

Ingredients

1. Cocoa Liquor. It is made from ground cocoa nibs, which contain cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The flavor of the chocolate is determined by its origin, fermentation, roasting and conching, and by the blending of cocoa beans by the chocolate manufacturer.
2. Cocoa Butter or Substitutes. Cocoa butter brings to chocolate its “mouth-feel” by distributes the flavor around the mouth. It also produces a slight “cooling” sensation in the mouth. The cocoa bean contains approximately 50 - 53 percent cocoa butter and more cocoa butter is usually added to a better quality chocolate. In the manufacture of compound chocolate coatings tropical fats such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil are used in place of cocoa butter to reduce costs, improve production time (no tempering) and increase storage limits.
3. Sugar. It is functioned like salt to chocolate. A little enhances the flavor of the cocoa liquor, but too much makes it unpalatable. High-grade cane or beet sugar is used in chocolate.
4. Milk. There are different milk products used in the manufacture of milk chocolate. These include pasteurized whole milk, condensed milk, dry milk powder, dry cream powder, or milk crumb (a process that brings a rich caramelized flavor to the milk chocolate).
5. Soy Lecithin. It is an emulsifier and stabilizer added during conching in order to improve the texture of the chocolate.
6. Spices and Other Ingredients. Spices such as Vanilla, cinnamon, cassia oil and other essential oils can be added to chocolate for its flavor. So do nuts such as almond, peanuts or cashew nuts.