The Straight Goods on Chocolate: Part Five

Cacao pods are first harvested from the tree by cutting the pods from the branches with a machete or knocking them to the ground with a stick. The beans are removed from the pods along with the surrounding pulp and placed in piles or bins to ferment. It is this fermentation process that gives chocolate its characteristic taste. According to Wikipedia, it is extremely important that the beans are harvested when they are fully ripe. If the beans are unripe, they will have a low cocoa butter content, or else there will be insufficient sugars in the white pulp for fermentation.

After fermentation takes place, the beans must be quickly dried to prevent mold growth. Climate and weather permitting, this is accomplished by spreading the beans out in the sun for five to seven days. The dried beans are then transported to a chocolate manufacturing facility, where the beans are cleaned, roasted and graded. The step involves removing the nibs from their shells. The nibs are then ground and liquefied, which is chocolate in its pure form: Chocolate liquor. The liquor is usually further processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

Chocolate liquor is blended with cocoa butter in a variety of amounts to make different types of chocolate. Conching is a further refining step that involves keeping the chocolate mass at a high temperature by use of frictional heat. High quality chocolate is conched about 72 hours, while lesser grades are conched for four to six hours.

The final process is called tempering. This is an extremely complex subject that I will not attempt to explain here. For further information, I suggest you consult Wikipedia on the subject.