Chocolate is a globally revered treat that has a unique flavor and magical mood-boosting powers. It is used to prepare a huge variety of desserts and drinks, since its composition is ideal for culinary and confectionery experiments.
Chocolate base
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cocoa tree - cocoa beans that mature for 4 months and have an astringent, bitter taste that is completely different from the taste of chocolate. Cocoa beans are divided into three groups: Asian, African and American, and their quality is noble and consumer. It is from the "consumer" cocoa beans that more than 90% of the world's chocolate products are made. The noble varieties include some Trinitario and Criollo species, which have a subtle multi-hue aroma and delicate taste, while the consumer varieties include most Trinitario and Forastero varieties, which have a tart bitter taste and a rougher aroma.
To give cocoa beans a unique chocolate flavor, they are subjected to complex processing processes.
The ripe fruit of the cocoa tree is divided into two parts, the seeds are removed from the pulp and wait for several days until they ferment, after which the seeds are dried in the sun, which halves their size, and also gives them a brown color and a softer taste. Then the cocoa beans are packaged in bags and sent to European and North American factories, where they are cleaned, sorted and roasted in rotating drums. The quality of the future chocolate depends on the quality of roasting the beans - for example, elite varieties of cocoa beans are fried at a fairly low temperature, as a result of which they acquire the most delicate aroma.
Cooking chocolate
Excess fat is removed from the crushed cocoa beans, processed with a hydraulic press and cocoa butter and cocoa liquor are obtained, to which powdered sugar and vanilla are added. Then all this is crushed, conched and cooled-heated to obtain a hard and shiny chocolate bar. Aerated chocolate is also foamed before this, saturating the cocoa mass with nitrogen and carbon dioxide, which, when released, form the famous "bubbles".
If the cooking technology is violated, the surface of the chocolate bar becomes covered with a whitish coating over time.
The finished chocolate mass is poured into heated molds, other ingredients (grated nuts, raisins, candied fruits, waffles, milk powder) are added, if necessary, and placed in a refrigerator. After cooling, the chocolate is wrapped in foil, which protects the chocolate bar from moisture, light, air and dust. Before that, chocolate candies are dipped in icing or liquid chocolate, and candies with an alcoholic filling are made using starch molds, syrup and, in fact, the filling itself.
