How to make Chocolate

You need to begin with getting cocoa pods from which we can get cocoa beans. These pods have to be crushed and the pulp surrounding it needs to be extracted. This pulp has to be then fermented in a natural way for about six days. The fermentation can be done in boxes or in open heaps after the beans have been dried.

The fermentation can be done by artificial means but the quality is affected. The artificial methods are mainly used while making chocolates in bulk. The beans are then graded and roasted thereafter.

The time that the beans should be roasted for depends on the type and the size of the beans. The roasting affects the flavor of the chocolate that will be made. After crushing the beans lightly, the kernel or the nib is separated from the shell. The husk is then is discarded after being separated.

Many manufacturers at this stage add the nib through an alkaline process to enhance the flavor and the color of the chocolate which is not done by purists. These purists like to make the finest chocolates without this alkalization and leave the color and the flavor on the quality of the beans and its natural processing.

The fat content in these nibs or as it called cocoa butter is very high. The nibs are milled finely and liquefied in the heat of the milling process to make cocoa liquor. After this the cocoa liquor is allowed to cool and solidify.

Some of the cocoa butter is reserved if the end product is chocolate. The other part of the liquor is then pressed to make cocoa butter. The retained liquor is then blended with chocolate butter and other required ingredients to make the final product we all wanted. Chocolate. So it is not that difficult to make chocolates - a sin we all love to commit.

Cacao
Marabel Cocoa Farms - cocoa beans Sanchez and Hispaniola cocoa beans producer and importer from the Dominican Republic.