Transcript Overview of Chocolate Processing

Blue Heron Middle School
October 2, 2012
How Cocoa Is Grown

 Cocoa pods grow on a tree
 Grown 15 degrees north or south of equator
 A delicate crop, bears fruit in fifth year
 A tree can live 25 years or more
Cocoa Pods

 Rough, leather-like
husk weighing over 2
pounds
 Filled with 30–50 seeds
called cocoa beans
 Seeds contain a sweet
pulp
 Pulp is half cocoa
butter and half cocoa
solids
Picking and Fermenting

 Beans are extracted by farmers
 Harvesting occurs a few times a year
 Beans are fermented under piles of banana leaves
 Fermenting takes five days
 Beans are dried in the sun on bamboo mats
Distributing

 Dried beans are sold to agents who sell to
wholesalers
 Most are used to produce chocolate confections
 Some cocoa butter is used in cosmetics
Making Cocoa Powder

 Beans are roasted in cylinders
 Inside of bean (nib) ground into cocoa mass
 Cocoa butter pressed out of the cocoa mass
 Cocoa powder remains
Producing Chocolate

 Other ingredients are added: sugar, milk, etc.
 Heavy rollers swirl mixture (conching)
 Mixture is heated, cooled, and then heated
(tempering)
 Chocolate is poured into molds
 Used to make candies such as chocolate surrounding
caramel (enrobing)
www.emcp.net/TheChocolateMuseum