Ingredient: Chocolate
Category: Confectionery
Season: All
Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Native to lowland tropical South America, Cacao has been cultivated for three millennia in Central America and Mexico.
The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavour.
After fermentation the beans are dried; cleaned, roasted and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs.
The nibs are then ground resulting in pure chocolate in fluid form; chocolate liquor. The liquor can be further processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
Pure unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions.
Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar.
Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. "White chocolate" contains cocoa butter; sugar and milk; but no cocoa solids (and thus does not qualify to be considered true chocolate).
Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavours in the world.
Gifts of chocolate moulded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter; coins on Hanukkah; Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas and hearts on Valentine's Day.
Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages to produce chocolate milk and hot cocoa.
Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain.
Scientists claim that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure.
Dark chocolate has recently been promoted for its health benefits, including a substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals, though the presence of theobromine renders it toxic to some animals.
The three main varieties of cacao beans used in chocolate are criollo, forastero and trinitario
Criollo
Representing only five percent of all cocoa beans grown, criollo is the rarest and most expensive cocoa on the market and is native to Central America, the Caribbean islands and the northern tier of South American states.
There is some dispute about the genetic purity of cocoas sold today as Criollo, because most populations have been exposed to the genetic influence of other varieties.
Criollos are particularly difficult to grow, as they are vulnerable to a variety of environmental threats and produce low yields of cocoa per tree.
The flavour of Criollo is unique. It is described as delicate yet complex, low in classic chocolate flavour, but rich in "secondary" notes of long duration.
Forastero
The most commonly grown bean is forastero, a large group of wild and cultivated cacaos, most likely native to the Amazon basin.
The African cocoa crop is entirely of the Forastero variety.
They are significantly hardier and of higher yield than Criollo.
The source of most chocolate marketed, forastero cocoas are typically strong in classic "chocolate" flavour, but have a short duration and are unsupported by secondary flavours, producing "quite bland" chocolate.
There are exceptional forasteros, such as the "Nacional" or the "Arriba" varieties, which can be very complex flavours.
Trinitario
Trinitario is a natural hybrid of Criollo and Forastero. Trinitario originated in Trinidad (hence the name) after an introduction of (Amelonado) Forastero to the local Criollo crop.
These cocoas encompass a wide range of flavour profiles according to the genetic heritage of each tree.
Nearly all cacao produced over the past five decades is of the Forastero or lower-grade Trinitario varieties.
The share of higher quality Criollos and Trinitarios (so-called flavour cacao) is just under 5%.
Harvesting
Harvesting cacao beans is a delicate process.
First, the pods containing cacao beans, are harvested.
The beans with their surrounding pulp are removed from the pod and placed in piles or bins to ferment for three to seven days.
The fermentation process is what gives the beans their familiar chocolate taste.
The beans must then be quickly dried to prevent mould growth; weather permitting, this is done by spreading the beans out in the sun.
Chocolate liquor
The dried beans are transported from the plantation where they were grown to a chocolate manufacturing facility.
The beans are then cleaned (removing twigs, stones, and other debris), roasted, and graded.
Next the shells are removed to extract the nib.
Finally, the nibs are ground which releases and melts the cocoa butter producing chocolate liquor.
Chocolate made with enough cocoa butter flows gently over a chocolate fountain to serve dessert fondue.
Three things that can be done with the chocolate liquor at this point:
It can be solidified and sold as unsweetened baking chocolate.
Cocoa butter can be removed from it and the result is cocoa powder.
There are several mechanisms for removing cocoa butter from chocolate liquor.
These include using hydraulic pressure and the Broma process.
Cocoa butter can be added to it to make eating chocolate.
Blending
Types of chocolate:
Chocolate liquor is blended with the cocoa butter in varying quantities to make different types of chocolate or couvertures. The basic blends of ingredients for the various types of chocolate (in order of highest quantity of cocoa liquor first), are as follows:
Dark chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla
Milk chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
White chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
Different manufacturers develop their own "signature" blends based on the above formulas but varying proportions of the different constituents are used.
The finest, plain dark chocolate couvertures contain at least 70% cocoa (solids + butter), whereas milk chocolate usually contains up to 50%.
High-quality white chocolate couvertures contain only about 33% cocoa.
Producers of high quality, small batch chocolate argue that mass production produces bad quality chocolate.
Some mass-produced chocolate contains much less cocoa (as low as 7% in many cases) and fats other than cocoa butter.
Some chocolate makers say that these "chocolate" products should not be classified as couvertures, or even as chocolate, because of the low or virtually non-existent cocoa content.
Vegetable oils and artificial vanilla flavour are often used in cheaper chocolate to mask poorly fermented and/or roasted beans.
Pleasure of consuming chocolate
Part of the pleasure of eating chocolate is due to the fact that its melting point is slightly below human body temperature: it melts in the mouth.
A study reported by the BBC indicated that melting chocolate in one's mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than that associated with passionate kissing, and also lasted four times as long after the activity had ended
Labeling
Some manufacturers provide the percentage of chocolate in a finished chocolate confection as a label quoting percentage of "cocoa" or "cacao".
It should be noted that this refers to the combined percentage of both cocoa solids and cocoa butter in the bar, not just the percentage of cocoa solids.
Chocolates that are organic or fair trade certified carry labels accordingly.
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