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Chocolate

Chocolate comes in dark, light, and white varieties with cocoa contributing the brown coloration.
Chocolate comes in dark, light, and white varieties with cocoa contributing the brown coloration.

Chocolate is a common ingredient in many kinds of sweets—one of the most popular in the world.

Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted and ground beans of the tropical cacao tree Theobroma cacao. The beans come from a cacao pod. The resulting product is known as "chocolate", an intensely flavored bitter food; this is the definition of chocolate used in many dictionaries. This product is defined as cocoa in many countries. In the American chocolate industry, cocoa is defined as the solids of the cacao bean, cocoa butter is defined as the fat component, and chocolate is the combination of the solids and the fat. This is usually sweetened with sugar and other ingredients and made into chocolate bars (the substance of which is also and commonly referred to as chocolate), or beverages (called cocoa or hot chocolate).

There are three types of cacao beans used in chocolates. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo, the bean of the Maya. Only 10% of chocolate is made from the Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. The cacao bean in 80% of chocolate is the Forastero. Forastero trees are significantly hardier than Criollo trees, resulting in cheaper cacao beans. Trinitario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero, is used in about 10% of chocolate.

Chocolate, when not produced in "bars" or other geometric shapes, is often produced in the form of small molded forms (usually of animals or people), for example as rabbit- or egg-shaped chocolates, near Easter, and other shapes for Christmas, Saint Nicholas and Valentine's Day. Chocolate "kisses" or roses are other popular shapes.

Additionally, chocolate is often the main ingredient, or a major ingredient, in ice cream, cookies, cake, pie, and other desserts. The word chocolate is of Nahuatl origin.

Different kinds of chocolate

Classification

Chocolate truffles typically have a thin shell of chocolate with a soft center.
Chocolate truffles typically have a thin shell of chocolate with a soft center.

Chocolate is an extremely popular ingredient, and is available in many types. Different forms and flavors of chocolate are produced by varying the amount of the ingredients. Other flavors can be obtained by varying the time and temperture when roasting the beans.

  • Unsweetened chocolate: is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It's unadulterated chocolate: ground roasted chocolate beans with no other added ingredients imparts a strong, deep chocolate flavor in all the sweets you add it to. However, with the addition of sugar, it's used as the base for American style layer cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.
  • Dark chocolate: chocolate without milk as an additive, sometimes called plain chocolate. The US Government calls this Sweet Chocolate, and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.
  • Couverture: is a term used for cocoa butter rich chocolates of the highest quality. Popular brands of couverture used by professional pastry chefs and often sold in gourmet and specialty food stores include: Valrhona, Lindt, Cacao Barry and Esprit des Alpes. These chocolates contain a high percentage of chocolate liquor (sometimes more than 70 percent) as well as cocoa butter, at least 32-39%, are very fluid when melted and have an excellent flavor. In fact, chocolate of this quality is often compared to tasting fine wine because subtleties in taste are often apparent, especially when you taste a variety of semisweet and bittersweet couvertures with different percentages of sugar and chocolate liquor.
  • Milk chocolate: chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added. The US Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids.
  • Semi-sweet chocolate: used for cooking purposes; a dark chocolate with lower sugar content.
  • Bittersweet chocolate: is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which sugar, more cocoa butter, lecithin, and vanilla has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate but the two are interchangeable in baking. The best quality bittersweet and semisweet chocolate is produced as couverture and many brands now print the percentage of chocolate liquor it contains on the package. The rule is the higher the percentage of liquor the more bittersweet the chocolate will be. Generally Europeans favor bittersweet chocolate and Americans opt for semisweet chocolate which has more sugar than bittersweet chocolate.
  • White chocolate: a confection based on cocoa butter without the cocoa solids.
  • Cocoa powder: there are two types of unsweetened baking cocoa available: natural cocoa (like the sort produced by Hershey's and Nestle) and Dutch-process cocoa (such as the Hershey's European Style Cocoa and the Droste brand). Both are made by pulverizing, partially defatted chocolate liquor (unsweetened chocolate) removing nearly all their cocoa butter. Natural cocoa is light in color and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavor. In baking use natural cocoa in recipes which call for baking soda (because it's an alkali). Combining the two creates a leavening action that allows the batter to rise during baking. Dutch-process cocoa has been processed with alkali to neutralize its natural acidity so it's darker often with a reddish cast. Dutch cocoa is slightly milder in taste and deeper in color than natural cocoa. Use Dutch cocoa in recipes that call for baking powder as its leavener (raising agent).

Flavors such as mint, orange, or strawberry are sometimes added to chocolate. A chocolate bar is a bar of chocolate, frequently containing added ingredients such as peanuts, nuts, caramel, or even crisped rice. Other chocolates contain alcoholic liqueurs. It is a common snack all over the world.

The definition of chocolate

Strictly speaking, chocolate is any product 100% based on cocoa solid and/or cocoa fat. Because it is used in a vast number of by-products, any change in the cost of making it has a huge impact on the industry. Adding ingredients is an aspect of the taste. On the other hand, reducing cocoa solid content, or substituting cocoa fat with a non-cocoa one, reduces the cost of making it. There has been disagreement in the EU about the chocolate definition.

  • Some want to see the definition allowing for any cocoa solid content and any kind of fat in chocolate. This would allow a merely coloured and flavoured margarine to be sold as being chocolate. In some countries this happens, and a 50% to 60% cocoa solid dark-chocolate, with no additive, for domestic use, is hard to find and expensive.
  • Others want to stick to something closer to the strict definition above.
Chocolate can be molded, or as in this Spanish art, sculpted.
Chocolate can be molded, or as in this Spanish art, sculpted.

The history of chocolate

The Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a drink called xocoatl, often seasoned with vanilla, chilli pepper, achiote (which we know today as annatto) and pimento. Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the theobromine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cocoa beans were often used as currency. Other chocolate drinks combined it with such edibles as maize gruel and honey.

The xocoatl was said to be an acquired taste. Jose de Acosta, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who lived in Peru and then Mexico in the later 16th century, wrote:

Loathsome to such as are not acquainted with it, having a scum or froth that is very unpleasant to taste. Yet it is a drink very much esteemed among the Indians, where with they feast noble men who pass through their country. The Spaniards, both men and women, that are accustomed to the country, are very greedy of this Chocolaté. They say they make diverse sorts of it, some hot, some cold, and some temperate, and put therein much of that "chili"; yea, they make paste thereof, the which they say is good for the stomach and against the catarrh.

Christopher Columbus brought some cocoa beans to show Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, but it remained for Hernando de Soto to introduce it to Europe more broadly.

The first recorded shipment of chocolate to the Old World for commercial purposes was in a shipment from Veracruz to Seville in 1585. It was still served as a beverage, but the Europeans added sugar to counteract the natural bitterness, and removed the chili pepper. By the 17th century it was a luxury item among the European nobility.

In 1828, Dutchman Conrad J. van Houten patented a method for extracting the fat from cocoa beans and making powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. Van Houten also developed the so-called Dutch process of treating chocolate with alkali to remove the bitter taste. This made it possible to form the modern chocolate bar. It is believed that the Englishman, Joseph Fry made the first chocolate for eating in 1847, followed shortly after by the Cadbury brothers.

Daniel Peter, a Swiss candle-maker, joined his father-in-law's chocolate business. In 1867 he began experimenting with milk as an ingredient. He brought his new product, milk chocolate, to market in 1875. He was assisted in removing the water content from the milk to prevent mildewing by a neighbor, a baby food manufacturer named Henri Nestlé. Rudolph Lindt invented the process called conching, which involves heating and grinding the chocolate solids to a very fine grain ensuring the liquid is evenly blended.

Why chocolate tastes so good

Chocolate melts at mouth temperature.
Chocolate melts at mouth temperature.

Part of the enjoyability of the chocolate eating experience is ascribed to the fact that its melting point is slightly below human body temperature and so it melts in the mouth. Chocolate also releases serotonin in the brain which produces feelings of pleasure in a similar way to sunlight. Chocolate can also explain why the majority of the worlds populus likes spicy foods: the way most people's bodies handle spicy foods is by releasing endorphins.

Physiological effects of chocolate

Lethal toxicity for domesticated animals

In sufficient amounts, the theobromine found in chocolate is toxic to animals such as horses, dogs, parrots, cats (kittens especially), and other birds and small animals because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively [1] (http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/animatedjourneys/livingwithpets/poisoninfo.asp). If they are fed chocolate, the theobromine will remain in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours, and these animals may experience epileptic seizures, heart attacks, internal bleeding, and eventually death. Approximately 1.13 grams (0.04 ounces) of baker's chocolate per kilogram of a dog's body weight is sufficient to see symptoms of toxicity.

Medical treatment involves inducing vomiting within two hours of ingestion, or contacting a veterinarian. Vets commonly treat seizure with diazepam or phenobarbitol, tremor with diazepam or methocarbamol, treat bradycardia with atropine, and treat tachyarrhythmia with propranolol, metoprolol or lidocaine.

The LD-50 (Lethal Dose for 50% of a population) of theobromine in canines is 250mg to 500mg of theobromine per 1 kilogram of body weight [2] (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/210600.htm), although death has been documented at 115mg of theobromine per kilogram of body weight. A typical 20 kg dog will normally experience intestinal distress after eating less than 240 g of milk chocolate, and won't necessarily experience bradycardia or tachyarrythmia unless it eats at least a half a kilogram of milk chocolate. If it does not expel the chocolate from its system because of the fat and sugar content, then it would have a 50% chance of surviving after eating 5 kg of milk chocolate. Dark, sweet chocolate has about 50% more theobromine and thus is more dangerous to dogs.

Chocolate, with enough cocoa butter, flows over a to serve .
Chocolate, with enough cocoa butter, flows over a chocolate fountain to serve fondue.

Health benefits for humans

Recent studies have shown that cocoa or dark chocolate has potent health benefits for people. Dark chocolate is full of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are antioxidants that help protect blood vessels, cardiac health, and prevent cancer. It also has been effectively demonstrated to counteract mild hypertension. In fact, dark chocolate has more flavonoids than any other antioxidant-rich food such as red wine, green and black tea, and blueberries. In fact there has even been a fad diet named "Chocolate diet" that emphasises eating chocolate & cocoa powder in capsules. However, consuming milk chocolate or white chocolate, or drinking milk with dark chocolate appears to largely negate the health benefits. Chocolate is also a calorie-rich food, with a high content of saturated fat, so daily intake of chocolate also requires reducing caloric intake of other foods.

Chocolate as a drug

Current research indicates that chocolate is a weak stimulant due to to its content of theobromine and caffeine.[3]  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15549276) However, chocolate contains too little of these compounds for a reasonable serving to create effects in humans that are on par with a coffee buzz. In the apt words of the pharmacologist Ryan J. Huxtable, "... [chocolate is] more than a food but less than a drug". However, chocolate is a very potent stimulant for dogs and horses; its use is therefore banned in horse-racing. Some chocolate products contain added synthetic caffeine.

Chocolate also contains small quantities of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide and the cannabinoid breakdown inhibitors N-oleoylethanolamine and N-linolenoylethanolamine. Anandamides are produced naturally by the body, in such a way that their effects are extremely targeted (compared to the broad systemic effects of drugs like Tetrahydrocannabinol) and relatively short-lived. In experiments N-oleoylethanolamine and N-linolenoylethanolamine interfere with the body's natural mechanisms for breaking down endogenous cannabinoids, causing them to last longer. However, noticeable effects of chocolate related to this mechanism in human have not yet been demonstrated.


Acne

Although there is apparently no scientific basis for chocolate causing acne, many people find that the consumption of chocolate can result in an outbreak of acne even years after acne has ceased post-puberty.

Chocolate, ranging from dark to light, can be molded and decorated like these chickens with ribbons.
Chocolate, ranging from dark to light, can be molded and decorated like these chickens with ribbons.

How chocolate is made

Harvesting

Firstly, the cacao pods, containing cacao beans, are harvested. The pods are crushed and left to ferment for about six days, after which the beans are split from the pods and dried. Fine chocolate can be produced by drying the beans for about 7 days in the sun. Accelerated or artificial drying is quicker but produces inferior quality chocolate, such as that used in most mass produced products.

The beans are then roasted, graded and ground. Cocoa butter is removed from the resulting chocolate liquor either by being pressed or by the Broma process. The residue is what is known as cocoa powder.

Blending

Chocolate liquor is blended with the butter in varying quantities to make different types of chocolate or couverture. The basic blends of ingredients, in order of highest quantity first, are as follows:

  1. Plain dark chocolate: cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla.
  2. Milk chocolate: sugar, milk or milk powder, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and vanilla.
  3. White chocolate: sugar, milk or milk powder, cocoa butter, and vanilla.

Usually, an emulsifying agent such as soya lecithin is added, though a few manufacturers prefer to exclude this ingredient for purity reasons and to remain GMO-free (soya is a heavily genetically modified crop), sometimes at the cost of a perfectly smooth texture.

Different manufacturers develop their own 'signature' blends based on the above formulas but varying proportions of the different constituents used.

The finest plain dark chocolate couvertures contain at least 70% cocoa (solids + butter), whereas milk chocolate usually contains up to 50%. High quality white chocolate couvertures contain only about 33% cocoa. Inferior and mass produced chocolate contains much less cocoa (as low as 7% in many cases) and fats other than cocoa butter. Some chocolate-makers opine that these "brand name" milk chocolate products can not be classed as couverture or even as chocolate, because of the low or virtually non-existent cocoa content.

Conching

See main article at Conching.

The penultimate process is called conching. A conche is a container filled with metal beads, which act as grinders. The refined and blended chocolate mass is kept liquid by frictional heat. The conching process produces cocoa and sugar particles smaller than the tongue can detect, hence the smooth feel in the mouth. The length of the conching process determines the final smoothness and quality of chocolate. High quality chocolate is conched for about 72 hrs, lesser grades about 4-6 hrs. After the process is complete, the chocolate mass is stored in tanks heated to approximately 45-50° C until final processing.

Tempering

The final process is called tempering. Since cocoa butter exhibits a polymorphous or unstable crystal formation, the mass must be cooled very carefully to encourage the crystals to stabilise in the right order to produce the desired properties of snappy bite, tender melt and a good gloss in the finished product. This is achieved by the tempering process. Firstly, the mass is cooled in stages from about 45°C to about 27°C and rewarmed to about 37°C followed by cooling down to its solid state.

The chocolate is then ready for sale as couverture (used for coating chocolates, biscuits and other coated products) or as the finished product, such as solid chocolate bars.

Storing

Chocolate is very sensitive to temperature and humidity. Ideal storage temperatures are between 15 to 17 celsius (59 to 63 Fahrenheit), with a relative humidity of less than 50%. Chocolate should be stored away from other foods as chocolates act as sponges to different aromas. Ideally, chocolates are packed or wrapped and then placed in proper storage areas with the correct humidity and temperatures.

Chocolate in the media

Significant chocolate makers

Popular or historically significant chocolate makers include:

See also

Further reading

  • The True History of Chocolate, by Sophie D. Coe & Michael D. Coe, Thames & Hudson, 1996.
  • Naked Chocolate, by David Wolfe and Shazzie, Rawcreation, 2005.

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