Chocolate
A fermented, roasted seed, and what is done to it.
Chocolate is made from the seeds of Theobroma cacao, a tree of the tropical understorey that grows only within about 20 degrees of the equator. Cacao was used in Mesoamerica for at least 3,000 years, primarily as a bitter drink; sweetened solid chocolate is a much later European development.
From pod to bar
- Harvest — pods are cut by hand; they do not ripen uniformly, so mechanisation is difficult.
- Ferment — seeds and pulp are heaped for several days. This is where chocolate flavour precursors actually form; unfermented beans do not taste of chocolate at all.
- Dry, then ship.
- Roast — develops flavour further.
- Winnow — shells removed, leaving nibs.
- Grind — nibs become cocoa liquor, which separates into cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
- Conch and temper — extended mixing smooths texture; controlled cooling sets the cocoa butter in the right crystal form.
Why tempering matters
Cocoa butter can crystallise in six forms, and only form V gives a glossy surface and a clean snap. Untempered chocolate sets dull and crumbly, and develops the pale bloom seen on old bars. Tempering is precise thermal control, which is why it is the step home makers find hardest.
Types
Dark is cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar. Milk adds milk solids. White contains cocoa butter but no cocoa solids, which is why it is pale and why some argue it is not chocolate.
Production ethics
Most cocoa is grown by smallholders in West Africa, principally Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The sector has documented problems with child labour, low farmgate prices and deforestation. Certification schemes address parts of this with mixed independent assessment, and price is the underlying issue.