What is Chocolate?
Many people all over the world ask the question, what is chocolate?. Well, because chocolate is our passion here at Ilzes Chocolat, and being the official chocolate information site, then we are able to answer and satisfy the cravings to this very important question. 'We have a comprehensive chocolate glossary for you to read up on, as well as catch up on our extensive facts on the history of chocolate to find out how this wonderful sweet all began. Theobromo cacao', meaning 'food of the gods', was prized for centuries by the Central American Mayan Indians.
The Aztecs introduced cocoa to the Spaniards, who took it back to Europe in the 16th century. But, as it was very expensive, only the rich could afford it. Modern chocolate manufacturing allowed more people to buy chocolate and Ilze's are among them.
You are now able to buy and taste for yourself one of our heavenly Chocolate Gifts.
Ingredients
The flavour of chocolate differs depending on the ingredients used and how it is prepared. Real chocolate is made from cocoa and its ingredients include cocoa butter, an expensive part of the cocoa bean. Compound chocolate is made, instead, with vegetable oils and doesn't have the same fine qualities as real chocolate. Only the best ingredients are used to make delicious Ilze's chocolate.
'Theobromo cacao' – The Cocoa Tree
A little like an apple tree in size and shape, the cocoa tree grows best under the canopy of tropical rainforests. A native of the central and South American rainforests, cocoa trees are now cultivated in many tropical locations around the world. The cocoa tree has broad, dark leaves about 25 centimetres long, and pale-coloured flowers from which bean pods grow.
Cocoa beans
The cocoa tree bears two harvests of cocoa pods per year. Around 20 centimetres in length and half a kilogram in weight, the pods ripen to a rich, golden-orange colour.
Within each pod are 40-50 beans covered in a sweet white pulp. The coco a beans are purple in colour and two centimetres long. The raw beans undergo a lengthy process to prepare them for chocolate making.
Processing the cocoa bean
Processing cocoa beans ready for chocolate making involves six to seven main steps:
Fermentation: After harvest, the beans are fermented in heaps or 'sweating' boxes for about two days. During fermentation the cocoa pulp clinging to the beans matures and turns into a liquid.
Drying and bagging: Fermented cocoa beans are dried either in the sun or artificially.
Winnowing: The dried beans are cracked and a stream of air separates the shell from the nib, which is the part used to make chocolate.
Roasting: The nibs are roasted in special ovens at temperatures between 105 and 120 degrees Celsius. Roasting helps develop the chocolate flavour and aroma, removes moisture and darkens the colour to a rich, dark brown.
Grinding: The roasted nibs are ground to produce a fluid called cocoa mass, the main ingredient for chocolate making.
Pressing: The cocoa mass is pressed in powerful press machines to extract the cocoa butter, vital to making chocolate. A cocoa solid called presscake is left, and when this is milled it makes cocoa powder, which is used for drinking chocolate and cooking.
There is a final process which is called tempering: Uncontrolled crystallization of cocoa butter typically results in crystals of varying size, some or all large enough to be clearly seen with the naked eye. This causes the surface of the chocolate to appear mottled and matte, and causes the chocolate to crumble rather than snap when broken. The uniform sheen and crisp bite of properly processed chocolate are the result of consistently small cocoa butter crystals produced by the tempering process. This provides the best appearance and texture and creates the most stable crystals so the texture and appearance will not degrade over time. To accomplish this, the temperature is carefully manipulated during the crystallization.
The fats in cocoa butter can crystallize in six different forms (polymorphous crystallization). The primary purpose of tempering is to assure that only the best form is present.
The cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder are then quality inspected and shipped, ready to be made into chocolate.
And because variety is the spice of life...
Ingredients like fruit, nuts, liquor, nougat and biscuit or anything your imagination desires are used in ranges of tasty treats.
Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. "White chocolate" contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids (and thus does not qualify to be considered true chocolate). Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Scientists claim that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure. Dark chocolate has recently been promoted for its health benefits, including a substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals
Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and hearts on Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and hot chocolate.
Chocolate liquor: The dried beans are transported from the plantation where they were grown to a chocolate manufacturing facility. The beans are then cleaned (removing twigs, stones, and other debris), roasted, and graded. Next the shells are removed to extract the nib. Finally, the nibs are ground which releases and melts the cocoa butter producing chocolate liquor.
Chocolate liquor is blended with the cocoa butter in varying quantities to make different types of chocolate or couvertures. The basic blends of ingredients for the various types of chocolate (in order of highest quantity of cocoa liquor first), are as follows:
*Dark chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla
*Milk chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
*White chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
However this is just a guide line because different manufacturers develop their own "signature" blends based on the above formulas, but varying proportions of the different constituents are used.
The finest, plain dark chocolate couvertures contain at least 70% cocoa (both solids and butter), whereas milk chocolate usually contains up to 50%. High-quality white chocolate couvertures contain only about 33% cocoa.
High-quality chocolate is conched for about 72 hours, lesser grades about four to six hours. After the process is complete, the chocolate mass is stored in tanks heated to approximately 45–50 °C (113–122 °F) until final processing.
Storing
Chocolate is very sensitive to temperature and humidity. Ideal storage temperatures are between 15 and 17 °C (59 to 63 °F), with a relative humidity of less than 50%. Chocolate should be stored away from other foods as it can absorb different aromas. Ideally, chocolates are packed or wrapped, and placed in proper storage with the correct humidity and temperature. Additionally chocolate should be stored in a dark place or protected from light by wrapping paper. Various types of "blooming" effects can occur if chocolate is stored or served improperly. If refrigerated or frozen without containment, chocolate can absorb enough moisture to cause a whitish discoloration, the result of fat or sugar crystals rising to the surface. Moving chocolate from one temperature extreme to another, such as from a refrigerator on a hot day can result in an oily texture. Although visually unappealing, chocolate suffering from bloom is perfectly safe for consumption.