Category: chocolates

The Making Of Chocolate

Chocolate is gathered from the cacao plant. The plant itself produces pods or fruits that contain beans from which cocoa is produced. These cacao plants thrive well in tropical to dry areas in the world. Thus the Ivory Coast in Africa is the foremost producers of the cacao beans in the world. There are other areas that have a huge say in the world’s market for cocoa beans but none of these beat Africa.

Chocolate was initially consumed as a beverage in the regions of South America. Some of the earliest proofs of chocolate consumption dates back to 1100 BC in Honduras. The Mayans were also noted to have consumed vast amounts of this beverage during the civilizations peak.

The Process Of Producing Chocolate

Cocoa beans are usually fermented before anything else. Fresh cocoa beans cannot be consumed directly after they are harvested. A fermentation period of at least five to six days is recommended to be able to get the most out of the cocoa beans. During the fermentation period, the beans are supposed to be stirred occasionally to evenly distribute the heat produced by the beans during the fermentation process. After the allotted period of fermentation, the beans are then dried out in the sun for some time and then shipped off to various buyers all over the world.

In the chocolate factories, the dried cocoa beans are roasted to achieve their famous brown color and to bring to fore the smell and taste of chocolate. Most factories keep their roasting duration and process a secret so as to have a unique taste or flavor of their product. After the roasting process, the beans are shelled and then cut down or crushed to chocolate nibs. The nibs are ground to produce cocoa liquor. This cocoa liquor is then processed in such a way that separates the cocoa butter from the solids. Cocoa butter is an essential part of producing chocolate.

Cocoa butter is then processed and ground. The finer the result of the grinding the better tasting the chocolate shall be in the end. The presence of cocoa butter is necessary in producing fine chocolate products. Some products have less or no cocoa butter at all thus diminishing the taste of the product. The remaining cocoa butter is mixed with some sugar and some of the solids at exposed to high temperatures, a process called conching. The tempering process then follows, which is a cooling process. The correct cooling process is vital in the consistency of the product. The result is then poured in to moulds to produce a chocolate bar or other forms and then packaged and labeled for sales.

Producing chocolate can be difficult without the correct knowledge. Using quality ingredients and processes can help to make the products finer then most averages confections.

Benefits Of Organic Chocolate Bar

Chocolate has always been touted as healthy as long as consumption is kept in moderation. This is in spite of the fact that some chocolate bars are manufactured or produced in an inorganic way. So, it follows that an organic chocolate bar should have more benefits compared to one that is inorganic.

Organic Methods

An organic chocolate bar is actually produced without the use of chemicals that can affect the state of the environment and that of the consumers negatively. The method of producing the organic chocolate bar from the cocoa tree is vastly different from other commercial methods that involve processes that require chemicals. Even in the growth of the cacao tree, there has to be organic pesticides or a natural way of controlling the pests that plague the tree. This assures the consumers that the food that they consume has not had any exposure whatsoever to dangerous chemicals even as the ingredients are being grown and cultivated.

The fermentation process of the cocoa beans should also be free from factors that may affect the organic quality of the organic chocolate bar. So the fermentation, the drying and the roasting of the cocoa beans should have no exposure to chemicals.

Organic Dark Chocolate

The dark variety of organic chocolate bars are said to have the most benefits to offer consumers compared to any other variety of chocolate. Among the benefits that we get from an organic chocolate bar are the high amounts of antioxidants in the form of phenols. These help to reduce the risk of cancer as well as promote a healthy heart. The dark kind of chocolate probably has the same amount of antioxidants as blueberries and flavonoids in green tea.

An organic chocolate bar can also act as a feel good food by raising the levels of serotonin and endorphin which are factors to euphoric feelings. Chocolate can also have calming properties through a compound known as anandamide.

Other Reason To Go Organic

The other reason why organic chocolate bars are better is because the production and manufacture of these help to lessen the impact of dangerous chemical to the environment. Since organic farmers do not use harmful chemicals and elements to grow and maintain their crops and trees, this means the environment is exposed less to the chemicals. It is not only the environment who directly benefits from the organic chocolate bar but also the workers and the farmers who have fewer chances of exposure to the dangerous pesticides and fertilizers.