IANXXI'S Chocolate Page

WHAT IS COCOA?
Cacao, Theobroma cacao, is a tropical evergreen tree in the family Byttneriaceae. It is native to Central and South America and is cultivated extensively for its seed, which is the source of COCOA, CHOCOLATE, and cocoa butter. Cacao is a wide-branched evergreen that grows up to 7.5 m (25 ft) tall and bears seedpods up to 30 cm (1 ft) long and 10 cm (4 in) thick, with a hard leathery shell. Pods contain as many as 40 seeds, or beans, some up to 2.5 cm (1 in) wide.

Several species of Theobroma are cultivated in tropical America. The principal species used for cocoa, is grown throughout the wet, lowland tropics, especially in south-east Asia, South America, and West Africa, where the trees are planted under the shade of taller trees. They usually bear fruit 4 years after they have been planted. Workers harvest cacao beans with knives. After extraction from the fruit, the beans are placed in piles, covered with banana leaves, and allowed to ferment; afterward they are dried to prevent moulding. They are then sacked and shipped to chocolate or cocoa manufacturers. Cacao beans were once used as money by the people of Mexico and Central America.

There are three broad types of cocao plant: FORASTERO and CRILLO plus TRINITARIO which is a hybrid of Forastero and Crillo. Within these types are several varieties.

FORASTERO, which now forms the greater part of all cocoa grown, is hardy and vigorous producing beans with the strongest flavour. AMELONADO is the Forastero variety most widely grown in West Africa and Brazil. It has a smooth yellow pod with 30 or more pale to deep purple beans.

CRILLO with its mild or weak chocolate flavour is grown in Indonesia, Central and South America. Crillo trees are not as hardy and they produce softer pods which are red in colour, containing 20-30 white, ivory or very pale purple beans.

TRINITARIO plants are not found in the wild as they are cultivated hybrids of the other two types. Trinitario cocoa trees are grown mainly in the Caribbean area but also in Cameroon and Papua New Guinea. The mostly hard pods are variable in colour and they contain 30 or more beans of variable colour but white beans are rare.

Cocoa is finely pulverised de-fatted, roasted CACAO kernels, to which natural and artificial spices and flavours may be added. It is commercially manufactured by pumping hot CHOCOLATE liquor (semi-liquid ground cacao kernels) into hydraulic cage presses where, under extreme pressure, part of the fat, or cocoa butter, is removed. The fat content of cocoa varies from less than 10% to 22% or more for breakfast or high fat cocoa. Cocoa may be Dutch-processed by mild alkali treatment to change and darken colour and improve flavour. Cocoa is the flavouring ingredient in many confections, baked goods, ice creams, puddings, and beverages. It is also used to flavour some tobaccos and pharmaceuticals.

HOW IS CHOCOLATE MADE?
Workers cut the fruit of the cacao tree, or pods open and scoop out the beans. These beans are allowed to ferment and then dry. Then they are cleaned, roasted and hulled. Once the shells have been removed they are called nibs. Nibs are blended much like coffee beans, to produce different colours and flavours. The manufacture of chocolate begins with a thorough cleaning of the beans. Beans are blended to achieve delicate nuances of flavour and then roasted. When cooled, the cacao beans are broken and winnowed by separating the nib from the shell in an air current. The waste shell is totally removed. The clean, cool cacao nib is ground under rotating stones, discs, or rollers. The resulting chocolate liquor, more than 50 percent fat (cocoa butter), is liquid above 32 deg C (90 deg F).

With a proper mix of chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter and milk solids (for milk chocolate) the production of chocolate begins. These ingredients, automatically weighed and conveyed to large mixers with S-shaped blades are thoroughly blended and then conveyed to large five-roll refiners. These heavy machines with rollers from 100 to 150 cm long and 30-40 cm in diameter, crush the mixture four times. The particles are reduced to microscopic fineness to produce the smoothness typical of eating chocolate.

The chocolate is then conched, a unique process that completely mixes the chocolate at high temperatures: 54-71 deg C, while exposing it to a blast of fresh air. During conching, complex chemical changes take place that further develop the chocolate's delicate flavour. The addition of vanilla or other natural / artificial flavours provides a further flavour note. Lecithin, an emulsifier derived from the soybean, is also added; this establishes the precise viscosity necessary for proper flow in moulding or coating. From there different varieties of chocolate are produced.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOCOLATE
Here's the recipe for making a real chocolate beverage. Important steps are in boldface.

Ingredients
1-2kg (2-4pounds) of cocoa beans.
A manually operated grinder.

Roasting cocao beans

·         Roast the green cocao beans over an open fire, while stirring, until they 'pop' (only 75% should be popped or the beans will burn)

·         Peel as quickly as possible while hot (cold beans are harder to peel)

·         Grind the beans with a pestle and mortar (the resulting oil that will be produced has a bitter taste)

There are now two alternatives: With oil, which gives you a richer, yet bitter flavour and without oil a milder form will result:

With oil (crude cocoa tablets)

·         Spread aluminium foil or greaseproof paper on a tray, make small piles of the paste and allow to them rest overnight

·         In the morning they should be hard tablets

·         Remove them from the aluminium foil/greaseproof paper

Without oil (crude cocoa powder)

·         Put the paste inside a fine cloth, close the cloth up and squeeze until the oil comes out (similar to making fresh curds and whey): the more that is squeezed out the better.

·         What is left should be similar to a cocoa powder

Mayan "xocoatl"

·         Add the crude powder or the chocolate tablets (broken down in a pestle and mortar) and add to cold water

·         Bring to a boil over a medium heat while stirring
The Mayans were said to have added local herbs also; but what they might have been as far as I know as been lost in antiquity and no doubt no longer exist!?

Aztec "Cacahuatl"

·         Add the crude powder or the chocolate tablets: broken down in a pestle and mortar and add to cold water (the Aztecs are said to have refined the Mayan "xocoatl", by grinding the powder finer than the Mayans)

·         Add some chilli water (chop chillies and soak in boiling water to make a 'tea'), vanilla beans/pods and honey

·         Let the mixture boil while stirring constantly, when it starts to get bubbly quickly remove the pan from the stove top and allow to cool slightly

·         Place back on the flame and continue to stir to the boil again

·         Repeat the cooling and re-boiling

·         Repeat again: this aerates the chocolate which enhances the flavour

Chef notes
You should now have a drink similar to the Aztec drink, which should be: finely ground, soft, foamy, reddish, bitter and spicey No amounts are given, as it is very much a case of producing them to suit your individual taste...Bon appetite and enjoy!



WHAT KINDS OF CHOCOLATE ARE THERE?
Depending on what is added to (or removed from) the chocolate liquor, different flavours and varieties of chocolate are produced. Each has a different chemical make-up, the differences are not solely in the taste. Be sure, therefore, to use the kind the recipe calls for, as different varieties will react differently to heat and moisture.

Unsweetened or Baking Chocolate
Simply the cooled and hardened version of chocolate liquor. It is used primarily as an ingredient in recipes, or as a garnish.

Bitter Chocolate
When it contains more than 35% chocolate liquor

Semi-sweet chocolate
Also used primarily in recipes. It has 15% chocolate liquor, extra cocoa butter and sugar added. Sweet cooking chocolate is basically the same with more sugar for taste.

Milk chocolate
Is chocolate liquor with extra cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla added. This is the most popular form for chocolate. It is primarily an eating chocolate.

Cocoa
Chocolate liquor with much of the cocoa butter removed, creating a fine powder. It can pick up moisture and odours from other products, so keep cocoa in a cool, dry place, tightly covered.

White chocolate
Somewhat of a misnomer. In the United States, in order to be legally called 'chocolate' a product must contain cocoa solids. White chocolate does not contain these solids, which leaves it a smooth ivory or beige colour.

White chocolate is primarily cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla. There are products on the market that call themselves white chocolate, but are made with vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter. Avoid-these cheap imitations. White chocolate is the most fragile form of chocolate; pay close attention to it while heating or melting it.

Decorator's chocolate or confectioner's chocolate
Isn't really chocolate at all, but a sort of chocolate flavored candy used for things such as covering strawberries. It was created to melt easily and harden quickly, but it isn't chocolate. If you want quick and easy, use decorator's chocolate. If you want the real thing, use real chocolate and patience.

WHAT IS COUVERTURE?
Couverture is a special kind of chocolate that has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate, anywhere from 33% to 38% for a really good brand. This type of chocolate is used as a coating for things like truffles ("couverture" is French for "covering") There are two ways of coating candies, either by hand dipping into melted chocolate or enrobing, gently pouring chocolate over the treat.

WHAT IS THAT WHITE, BLOTCHY STUFF ON MY CHOCOLATE BAR?
A white, filmy residue on chocolate is called a bloom. It occurs when some of the cocoa butter in the chocolate separates from the cocoa solids, usually when the chocolate is stored in a warm area. If you buy a chocolate bar and find it has bloomed, don't let the sales person convince you the taste has not been altered.

CAN I FREEZE CHOCOLATE TO EAT LATER?
Freezing chocolate isn't such a great idea. When you freeze it, then thaw it out, it will have a greater tendency to bloom. Chocolate is best kept at around 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a nice pantry or dark cabinet. Kept at this temperature, chocolate (assuming it isn't covering fruit or other perishables) has a shelf life of about a year.

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