How chocolate is made.

How chocolate is made

Mix:

1. Cocoa beans (0.5 kg or 1 pound is a good amount to start)
2. Cocoa butter
3. Cocoa fat free powder
4. sugar
5. Lecithin
6. 1 vainilla pod (optional)

Roasted cocoa beans.

• Roast the beans will improve the taste of chocolate, also to sterilize and make it easier to break. This is what you need to know to do this:
• Extends the grains in a single layer on a baking sheet. Start with a roast of 18 minutes in a preheated oven at 120 ° C (250 ° F). They will be ready when they start to crack and when they actually have chocolate flavor (but let cool before tasting!).
• In general, Expose grains at a high initial temperature and then the temperature drops gradually. Stop roasting when the grains begin to crack (but not burn). You can accomplish this in your oven or using a toaster clothing. The temperature and duration will depend on how many grains go to roasting, but test 5-35 minutes at temperatures between 120 and 160 ° C (250-325 ° F).
• For roasting larger quantities of cocoa beans, you may want to invest in a barrel, which turns on a gas grill.
• Read tips and warnings below regarding roasting.

Broken grains.

• Broken grains. After roasting, you must break the grains stripped of all bark and throwing them, during which they removed the shell.
• For small batches, breaks the grains with a hammer and remove the shells (which should be loose after proper roasting) by hand.
• For larger batches, use a thick type Corona mill or purchase a specialized mill to break the grains and stripped of all bark. (In case you 're wondering what a meat grinder will not work).

Throws the nibs.

Once you've broken grains, get rid of the leftover shells. Stir beans gently with your hands or a spoon as they apply air with a hair dryer or a small vacuum until the shells disappear.

Grinds the nibs to turn them into cocoa liquor.

Enter nibs in the grinder or juicer a handful at a time, making sure to do it gently (not forcefully) or the engine could overheat. Cocoa liquor will pass through the screen and a mixture of shells and liquor pass through the spout. Enter this mixture into the juicer again until only the shells out the spout.

Measure remaining ingredients you'll need

Cocoa butter: up 20% of the amount of cocoa liquor

Sugar: 15 to 20 % (for bittersweet chocolate) and 75 to 80 % (for very sweet milk chocolate ) the amount of cocoa liquor

Free powdered milk fat: for a milk chocolate, using the same volume (not weight) cocoa liquor or slightly less.

Vanilla (optional): Open the pod and soak it in the cocoa butter for about an hour.

      Refines chocolate

• Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in the oven at about 50 ° C (120 ° F).
• Mix them with dry milk powder, sugar and lecithin.
• Pour the chocolate mixture in the grinder, aiming a blow dryer regularly for 2 to 3 minutes to keep the chocolate melted during the first hour (until the friction created by grinding keeps
• the liquid chocolate without requiring an additional heat).
• Continue refining for at least 10 hours and no more than 36 hours, until the chocolate has a smooth and balanced flavor, but make sure no excess refining or become gummy.
• To take a break from refining (at night while you sleep, as mentioned in the warnings), turn off the mill, place the bowl covered in a preheated oven at 65 ° C (150 ° F) but off and leave it there for the night. The chocolate should not solidify, but if it does, remove the lid and turn the oven to about 65-80 ° C (150-175 ° F) until melted. (However, be careful not to let the bowl itself melt).

Tempers chocolate.

• Melt the chocolate carefully. You can do this in the oven if you are using larger amounts of chocolate, or you can use a double boiler on the stove. The choice is yours; just make sure the chocolate does not burn (do not let stir). Always melts over 680 g (1.5 pounds) of chocolate, because less than that could be difficult.
• When the chocolate is melted at a temperature of about 45-50 ° C (110-120 ° F) , I Transfer it to a dry, cool bowl and stir until the chocolate temperature drops to about 38 ° C ( 100 ° F) . Use a thermometer to sweets to measure temperature. The chocolate in the bowl should be kept at the same temperature while you work with it out of the bowl.
• Pour about one third of the contents of the bowl on a hard, nonporous countertop or other surface (the granite or marble works best) . Spread the chocolate with a spatula and then turn it back together.
• Continue doing this until the chocolate is at about 30oC (85 ° F), which should take about 10 to 15 minutes. By the time the chocolate cools to that point, it should be a thick, viscous mass.
• Add some chocolate 38 ° C (100 ° F) of the bowl to make the chocolate becomes workable again. Gently stir the chocolate.
• Return the chocolate to the bowl with the chocolate of 38 ° C (100 ° F) . Stir gently and try not to create bubbles.
• Check the temperature of chocolate. It should be around 32 ° C (90 ° F) , but never above 33 ° C ( 92 ° F) . If this happens, you may have to temper the chocolate again.

Molds the chocolate while it is still 32 ° C (90 ° F) .

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