The process of Making Chocolate
...ods’ thick shells are then opened using a special long knife called a machete. After that, workers scoop out the pulp-covered cacao seeds and discard the shells. An expert and fast worker can break and open about 500 pods in one hour! Step 1-3: fermenting the seeds Cacao seeds are then kept into boxes and covered with banana leaves for three to nine days. During this period, the seeds will ferment giving the seeds their chocolate flavor. And when the seeds turn into rich, deep brown color, the farmers will know that the fermentation process is completed. We must also notice that without this step there would be no flavor at all. Step 1-4: drying the seeds Fermented seeds must be first dried before they are shipped to chocolate factories. Throughout this step, chocolate farmers will simply spread the seeds and leave them under the sun light. Drying the seeds will usually take about a week, after that the seeds will lose almost half of their original weight. Step 1-5: packing the seeds By this step, cacao seeds are ready for packing. Farmers will fill the seeds into special kind of sacks and send them to the awaiting buyers. The harvesting step is now over, and the next step of manufacturing chocolate will follow. At this stage, cacao seeds are transformed into chocolates and other cocoa products. Step 2: Manufacturing chocolate This stage also contains several sub steps: Step 2-1: sorting and cleaning the cacao seeds Once the manufacturers receive the shipment, they carefully keep start sorting the cacao seeds according to the country of origin. Next, the seeds are then taking for cleaning to make sure that all remaining bits of pulp are removed. Once the cleaning process is over, the seeds are weighed in order to prepare them for the blending which is a complex process using special formulas. Step 2-2: roasting the cacao Roasting is the key to amazing chocolate flavor. Seeds are fed into big ovens under the temperatures of 250°F or more to release the rich scents and delicious taste. This step lasts from 30 minutes to two hours, depending upon the mixture of seeds. By the end of roasting, cacao beans turn to a deep brown color very similar to the color of coffee beans. This step brings out the color as well as the flavor. Step 2-3: cracking, fanning, and winnowing the cacao Once the seeds have cooled after the roasting process, the giant winnowing machine can start its job. Inside this machine, there are several cones that crack and open the seeds rather than crushing them to get the thin shells out. Giant fans then blow away these empty shells. Then the remaining broken seed bits, called “nibs”, are passed for sorting. Step 2-4: grinding the cacao nibs Nibs are made of 53% cocoa butter and 47% pure cocoa solids, and to separate these two substances lots of work should be done. Separating these two substances takes work. In this step, the nibs crushed using heavy steel discs. This process generates thick paste out of nibs, called chocolate liquor. This chocolate liquor contains cacao butter. Step 2-5: pressing the chocolate liquor Chocolate liquor contains cocoa butter (fatty yellow substance), throughout this step chocolate liquor is placed in huge pressing machine that squeezes out the cocoa butter, in order to add it to milk or to use it in cosmetics and medicine. Once cocoa butter is remove...