Chocolate Making
The process of chocolate making is very long with great skills needed to get the exact taste one desires. All methods have been formed from literally thousands of years of practice, and millions of hours of hard work. The entire process of chocolate making is one to be admired with details steps leading to a remarkable reward, chocolaty goodness. Thought of as an art, the technique used varies from person to person leaving everyone with their signature chocolate flavor.
Chocolate Making Step 1: Gathering and Drying Cacao Beans
The first step to chocolate making is the only one that will remain the same. Collecting the cacao beans from the cacao tree is something that all chocolatiers must do, no matter what technique they plan on carrying out. Cacao trees grow only in tropical setting making the quest for cacao beans even more exciting. To begin chocolate making you will first need to dry the cacao beans. This is usually done by drying in the sun for about a week but some have to manually dry them in machines due to their climate.
Chocolate Making Step 2: Washing the Cacao Beans
When chocolate making, all cacao beans must be washed to remove various debris that become embedded in the beans during harvesting. Not washing cacao beans could destroy the possibilities of chocolate making. This is usually done very gently as damaging the skins of cacao beans will make roasting very difficult.
Chocolate Making Step 3: Roasting the Cacao Beans
Cacao beans must then be roasted at a special temperature depending on the various flavors the chocolatier would like to bring through. This is typically done in large machines that heat to extreme temperatures. The temperatures and amount of time used to roast cacao beans greatly varies with almost all chocolatiers perfecting their own method.
Chocolate Making Step 4: Grinding the Cacao Beans
Chocolate making includes a series of grinding that also determines the ending result of flavor and consistency in the chocolate. After placing the cacao beans in a grinding machine, the cacao beans are grinded slowly to create fine pieces. Once grinded into fine pieces, they are then grinded again. This process continues until the grinded cacao beans became a cacao paste. This paste will soon be chocolate!
Chocolate Making Step 5: Blending in the Flavors
Now comes for the most exciting step in chocolate making, blending in the desired flavors. Some of the basic ingredients added to all chocolate are milk, sugar, and vanilla flavoring. To get an even blend chocolate must be put into a blender going at a slow pace for up to 48 hours. Many chocolatiers blend their flavors for weeks to make certain that the flavors are evenly distributed.
Chocolate Making Step 6: Perfecting the Consistency
Chocolate making then involves a tedious task of putting the chocolate paste through a process called ‘conchage’. This is done by putting the chocolate paste through a machine that presses it flat and evens out the texture. Some chocolatiers do this many times before approving the chocolates consistency.
Chocolate Making Step 7: Preparing to Solidify
Preparing the chocolate to be turned solid is yet another crucial step in chocolate making involving great mastery. The chocolate must be cooled to 45 degrees Celsius while continuously stirring very slowly. Most have a special time for their own ingredients, flavors, and consistency but typically this is done for 24-48 hours.
Chocolate Making Step 8: Solidifying Chocolate
The final step in chocolate making is pouring the chocolate into the mould of choice. After cooling down to room temperature the chocolate is finally ready for the best step to chocolate making, eating it!