A
chocolate is either a coarse or processed food which is made from cacao beans or from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. The chocolate has become one of the most popular types of food and flavors around the world. It is consumed mostly in the form of sweet chocolate that merges
cocoa solids, cocoa butter or the fat component of the cacao bean and sugar.
Main varieties:
The cacao beans used to produce a chocolate has three main varieties which are the
criollo, forastero and trinitario. The criollo variety has only 5% of all cocoa beans grown in Central America, Caribbean Islands, and the northern South American states. Cacao planters say criollo is difficult to grow and has low yields per tree, making it as the rarest cocoa in the market. The
forastero is the most grown bean which is both wild and cultivated and indigenous to the Amazon Basin in South American countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, Guyana, Venezuela and Peru. The forastero variety is found in Africa, where it has higher yields per tree than the criollo. The
trinitario variety is a hybrid of criollo and forastero but for the last 50 years or so, most of the cacao beans produced are said to be of lower-grade type.
Production process:
The
production of chocolates involves certain processes. After the beans are dried they are then brought to a chocolate making facility. There, after being cleaned, the shells of the beans are removed to extract the nibs. Then they are ground and liquefied next, to produce a pure chocolate in the form of thick paste or chocolate liquor. This liquor is processed further into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The
chocolate liquor is then mixed with cocoa butter in varying quantities to make different types of chocolate, or those that are rich in cocoa butter. The penultimate process in making chocolates is done in a conche, which is a container filled with metal beads that act as grinders to refine and blend the chocolate mass. Finally, it is tempered to produce a uniform luster and crisp of a truly good chocolate.
Types of chocolates:
The ingredients are blended into certain
types of chocolate according to the quality of the cocoa liquor. These types are the dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. The
dark chocolate is made of sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor and in some cases, vanilla. The
milk chocolate is composed of sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk or milk powder and vanilla. The
white chocolate has in it sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder and vanilla. The other types include Semi-sweet chocolate which is dark chocolate with less sugar;
Bitter-sweet chocolate which contains chocolate liquor, less sugar, more cocoa butter, and vanilla; Unsweetened chocolate which is pure chocolate known as baking chocolate in the form of pure, ground roasted chocolate beans; and Raw chocolate, which is oftentimes referred to as raw cacao which is dark, consisting of at least 75% cacao.
Product forms:
Among the popular numerous product forms of the chocolate are the
chocolate bar , candy bar, peanut chocolate, gold coin chocolates, chocolate balls, chocolate cookies, and chocolate muffins.
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