Many people love chocolate. But, not many people know the science, the flavor, the art, and the creativity behind it. Most people only know that chocolate tastes good and brings joy.
Mygift giftcardmall has different types of chocolate. They include white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, ruby, bittersweet, and many others.
They differ in flavors, colors, and textures. The way they are made and the ingredients used also make a difference.
They all undergo the same process only that at some point, sugar, vanilla, milk, and other ingredients are added to white and milk chocolate.
The place and time of harvest and the process in which the chocolates are made doesn’t make a difference in the finished chocolate product. All of them are good in their own ways.
What is chocolate made of
Depending on the type of chocolate, there are different ingredients used. However, the main ingredient used in all of these types is the cocoa beans. Dried and fermented.
Chocolate ingredients include cocoa butter. This is found in the cocoa bean. It is a natural fat added to chocolate to give a smoother texture and enhance flavor.
Lecithin is another ingredient popular in chocolate making. It is a compound found in soy and is used to make all the ingredients blend nicely together, and enhance texture.
Dark chocolate is made from pure cocoa mass/liquor and cocoa butter. Sometimes very little amount of sugar is added and lecithin used. Add sugar and milk in this to make milk chocolate.
White chocolate uses cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder. It does not contain any cocoa mass/liquor. That is why some people say it is not real chocolate. Don’t be confused however. White chocolate is real chocolate too because cocoa butter is used.
How is chocolate made
Here is a step by step guide to help you understand how chocolate is made, from harvesting to wrapping and packaging.
Let’s begin with the harvesting of cocoa beans. Cocoa pods are usually harvested two times a year. Depending on place and region, harvesting times vary. The process of making chocolate begins as soon as harvesting.
The pod is cut open and the white pulp found in the cocoa bean is scooped out, which takes us to the next step, fermenting.
The pulp is placed in containers to ferment. It takes between 5 and seven days for the process to fully complete.
This is also where the flavor of the chocolate starts developing.
After fermenting, the cocoa beans get dried by spreading them out in the sun. at this stage, beans could put into sacks for transportation. It is therefore important to make sure that they completely dry to prevent mold.
Steps that follow include roasting, cracking and winnowing, grinding, tempering, molding and then wrapping and packaging.
Dark chocolate and white chocolate
Dark chocolate is made purely from the cocoa mass. On rare occasions, sugar and lecithin may be added. This is why dark chocolate are claimed to be the best and has the most health benefits.
White chocolate on the other hand is made out of cocoa butter, sugar, milk powder, vanilla, and other ingredients. These ingredients make it sweeter and smoother. They however are said to have fewer health benefits than dark chocolate.
