BPA225 Chocolate and Confectionary Artistry

Manufacturing of Chocolate

Veronica Ramos
 Manufacturing of Chocolate

The industry in chocolate is huge, but not many know how it is made or where it comes

from. Currently, there is a $34.5 billion industry for confections in the United States. Chocolate

sales contribute approximately $21.1 billion; about 60% of the industry. Every year chocolate

prices are increasing due to high demand and climate change providing smaller harvests. It is a

great industry to get into but learning how it is produced before hand may give an advantage.

Making chocolate starts with the Cacao tree, or the beans from the fruit that grows on

them. This tree grows in the hot climate 20 degrees North and South of the equator. It is grown

often in Africa, the West Indies, and Central and South America. In the United States, it can be

grown only in Hawaii. Most of the world’s chocolate comes from trees grown in West African

countries, such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana. It can take new cacao trees 3-5 years to yield a

crop and it must be hand picked to determine which are ripe.

After harvesting the beans from the cacao fruit, they are then fermented and dried.

Fermentation is typically done by laying down banana leaves on a flat surface, piling cacao

beans on top and then covering them with more banana leaves. It can also be done in a box with

holes in the bottom and the beans get stirred and put into another box every two days. The

fermentation process can take from six to ten days. Once the beans turn from a purple color to a

red color, they are properly fermented. Next, the beans get dried for five to ten days. To do this,

they are placed on a wood board off the ground in a place where they get a lot of sun. They must

be protected from rain so there is typically a cover that can be placed overtop the board. In areas

where the climate is more humid, a concrete slab over a fire is used to dry the beans.
 Once finished fermenting and drying, the beans are sorted to remove any bad beans or

debris and sold. After purchasing raw beans from a supplier, they should always be resorted for

any missed debris. Other than debris, raw beans also carry the threat of E. coli and Salmonella.

Although it is rare for an outbreak from cacao beans to occur, proper handling and storing should

be utilized. It is also common for tropical moths to lay eggs on the surface of cacao beans.

Therefore, until ready to use the raw beans, keep them stored in a sealed bag or container in a

refrigerator. When ready, they are roasted to kill any bacteria and moth eggs. Roasting the beans

also help develop the flavor of the beans and to reduce moisture. Usually, the beans are roasted

in an oven at 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 60 minutes. The amount of time they are

roasted depends on the type and origin of the beans and the flavor wanting to be obtained.

Next comes winnowing, grinding and pressing the beans. Winnowing is the process of

putting the beans through a rolling machine with a wire mesh to remove the shell from the bean.

The shell contains a toxic amount of heavy metals so only a 1% shell content is allowed in the

finished chocolate product. Once all the shells have been removed, the beans are ground and

turned into a paste called chocolate liquor. They are ground to a particle size of at least 100

microns. Part of the chocolate liquor then gets pressed by approximately 65 tons of force for one

to two hours to remove the fat, or cocoa butter, from the beans. Cocoa butter makes up 50% of

the cacao bean. The leftover product is called a press cake and can be further processed into

cocoa powder.

The next step in processing the cacao beans is refining. In refining, other ingredients that

turn chocolate liquor into chocolate are added and the particle size is reduced to no less than 20

microns. These ingredients include sugar, extra cocoa butter, and whole milk powder. It is put

throw several types of machines for different ingredients. There are some machines that allow
conching to occur, the next step in the process. Conching includes heat, airflow and agitation that

takes up to several hours or days to complete. It provides the chocolate with even more flavor

and texture.

The last two steps to producing chocolate are sifting and aging. During sifting, he

chocolate gets vibrated through screens to remove any large pieces. One of those large pieces is

typically the germ, which is a hard stem from inside the cacao bean that makes the chocolate

have a gritty texture and is bitter. A powerful magnet can also be passed over the chocolate to

make sure there are no residual heavy metals. Lastly, the chocolate is aged. Aging provides the

chocolate with a rounder or more pronounced flavor. This can take up to two or more months

depending on the type of cacao bean used. Large manufacturers, such as Hershey’s, use the

length of time between when the chocolate is first made and when it is sold at a store for the

aging process.

In conclusion, if going into a specific industry, knowing the manufacturing process

should be the first step. Although it is a huge industry, manufacturing chocolate may take up to a

few months to several years. It is a long process to create the flavors of chocolate that are desired

but, considering the demand for chocolate, a great final product pays off in the end. The

satisfaction of making something that people will enjoy is also worth the effort.
 References

Chocolate Industry Analysis 2018 - Cost & Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from

https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/chocolate-industry-analysis-2018-cost-trends/

Greweling, P. P. (2013). Chocolates and confections: Formula, theory, and technique for the artisan

confectioner. Hoboken: Wiley.

Laiskonis, M. (2015, August 24). Bean-to-Bar: Chocolate in 10 Steps. Retrieved March 19, 2019,

from https://www.ice.edu/blog/chocolate-10-steps

Processing Cocoa Beans. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2019, from

http://www.fao.org/3/ad220e/AD220E06.htm