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Chocolate the solid, sensuous and addictive substance known all over the world
today originated in the heart of Central America. The Olmecs and the Aztecs who
lived in an area similar to the Ivory Coast were first known to use cocoa, which
grew wild in Central America. They were followed by other Mesoamerican
(Central American) peoples like the Maya and then the Aztecs from the 10th
century AD to the 1500s. These civilizations established themselves where the
present-Mexico is, begun to cultivate the tree-from which the chocolate is
derived. After these civilizations disappeared, the Aztecs replaced them and
started a brew made from cacao bean.
Despite the eras between them, they all believed that a cup of ‘XOCO - ATL’
(bitter water made from ground cocoa beans) eased fatigue and stimulated brain
power. Cocoa beans were, therefore, valuable and used as currency. 100 beans
could buy a slave; 4 bean a rabbit, etc. Who says that ‘money doesn’t grow on
trees?
1519: Probably the most crucial moment in the history of chocolate. Hernán
CORTES (a Spanish explorer and one of Columbus’ ambassadors) met
Montezuma in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). Montezuma was the flamboyant Aztec
Emperor who became renowned for the vast quantities of foaming ‘xoco latl’ he
used to drink before visiting his harem of wives. This started the legend of
chocolate and sex! Chocolate was Montezuma’s Viagra!
Montezuma was convinced that the fair-skinned, bearded man (Cortes) was their
god and savior, ‘Quetzalcoatl’, returning from the wilderness. Cortes was
showered with gifts, including cocoa. This misjudgment proved Montezuma’s
downfall. His people turned against him and he was killed. Cortes and the
Spanish went onto destroy most of the Aztec nation. Mexico City was born.
1527: Cortes took cocoa ‘home’ to the SPANISH COURT. The Spanish kept it a
secret luxury for over a century - taxing it so highly that, like the ancient
Mexicans, only the rich could afford it.
1615: Chocolate crossed to the FRENCH court through the marriage of Anne of
Austria (daughter of Philip 11 of Spain) to Louis X111.
Based on its perceived medicinal properties the use of chocolate, still as a drink,
was spread by MISSIONARIES across CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA and
EUROPE.
1650 (approx): Chocolate finally came to ENGLAND. The Chocolate Houses of
London were born and helped spread news of the drink. It was still taxed so
highly that, like Mexico and Europe, it was exclusive to the rich.
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For the next 200 years, chocolate was still mostly drunk for its physical and mood
enhancing qualities. Consequently, it became an important medicine
for apothecaries. This was the foundation for the great interest taken by the
QUAKERS who worked in this field because many other trades were prohibited
to them on moral and religious grounds.
Chocolate started to appear as eating chocolate in the form of pastilles. It was
during the 18/19th century that chocolate began its long, slow journey from a
gritty, fatty drink into the refined product we know today.
Early 18th Century: Walter Churchman and company - later to become the great
JS FRY - invented a water powered engine to mill chocolate.
Early 19th Century, Holland: VAN HOUTEN created the world’s first ‘chocolate
press’ that separated cocoa butter from cocoa powder. Shortly afterwards, he
developed the ALKALISATION OF COCOA with the addition of potash. This is
still known today as ‘Dutching’.
1824: Quaker John CADBURY opened his shop in Birmingham.
1847: The grandson of the great Joseph Fry invented a way of mixing cocoa
butter with cocoa paste to produce the world’s FIRST CHOCOLATE BAR.
The three great Quakers of the time, George CADBURY, Joseph ROWNTREE
and Joseph Storrs FRY created an immensely wealthy industry producing cocoa
and chocolate (to drink) as an alternative to the demon alcohol (gin in particular).
They made an enormous contribution to the quality of chocolate - cutting out
adulteration which was rife in Victorian times and revolutionizing working
conditions in their factories and the community.
BOURNVILLE was created by Cadburys as a utopia for its chocolate factory
workers. Likewise, Rowntree and Fry also felt it essential to reward their workers
with the best possible living and working conditions. This way, not only could
they fulfill their true philanthropic ethos but it was also good for business.
Swiss Rodolphe LINDT discovered CONCHING, by accident, when an assistant
left the machine on all night!
1875: Another Swiss, Daniel PETER, discovered a way of mixing milk with
chocolate to create THE FIRST MILK CHOCOLATE using condensed milk
manufactured by his friend Henri NESTLE
1905: Cadbury DAIRY MILK was launched.
1909: After six years of intensive but unsuccessful negotiations with the
Portuguese Government, prompted by news that the sources of their cocoa
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beans were slave-driven, British Quaker chocolate companies, led by Cadbury,
persuaded the chocolate makers of Europe to boycott cocoa from enslaved
plantations in Portuguese West Africa.
20th Century chocolate comes of age and grows into a major industry worldwide
as machinery and processes improve production quantities but arguably at the
expense of quality.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a breathtaking revival of fine quality chocolate from
chocolate houses across Europe including Cacao Barry (now Barry Callebaut,)
Valrhona, and l’Opera. Even in the States, not renowned for its fine chocolate,
entrepreneurs such as Scharffenberger helped to raise the profile of good
chocolate.
21st Century: From 4 oz per person per week we now eat on average just under
7 oz per person per week. The confectionery industry is worth over £5 billion in
UK alone, of which chocolate accounts for £3½ billion.
Today, in London, we have many of the world’s finest chocolate houses on our
doorstep. I hope you’ll find the time to discover them all.
Food of the Gods
Chocolate, of course, is primarily cocoa or ‘cacao’ (pronounced ka-ka-wa) as it is
correctly known. Cacao grows on trees that the Swedish botanist, Carle von
Linné, named ‘Theobroma Cacao’ at the beginning of the 18th century.
Theobroma Cacao means ‘Food of the Gods’ and is one of the many reasons we
Cocoa beans
There are two distinct species of cacao bean used in the manufacture of
chocolate: the criollo –“native bean” and forastero-“foreign bean”.
The criollo is cultivated mainly in the countries where cacao originated,
Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, as well as Trinidad,
Jamaica and Grenada. It is the most delicate and prized for its flavor and aroma.
The criollo is always used in combination with other varieties and represents 10
to 15 per cent of the world’s production.
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The forastero is a much hardier and higher-yielding bean. It is mainly grown in
Brazil and Africa. It accounts for 80 per cent of the world’s production. The
forastero is stronger, more bitter than the criollo and is mainly used for blending.
The amenolado variety, known as the “Arriba bean”, is grown in Ecuador. Its
delicate flavor and fine aroma are considered equal to the world’s best beans.
The trinitario is the best known of several hybrid beans. It began life in Trinidad
after a hurricane in 1727. It was a result of cross-breeding. It has the robustness
of the forastero and delicate flavor of the criollo, and it is used mainly for
blending.
Where and how do they grow?
Cacao grows in the wild on trees, some 20 metres high (3-8 metres under
cultivation), in parts of the world that are within 20º north and 20º south of the
Equator.
The largest producers are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Brazil and South
American countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador.
Map of the Chocolate World: Source ICCO
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Cultivating and processing
Growing
The cocoa bean grow in large pod on the cocoa tree-Theobroma Cocoa – an
evergreen which has its root in tropical areas lying between 20° north and 20°
south of the equator. The tree refuses to grow where it is too hot, too cold or too
dry, and it requires shelter from wind and sun. It also need protection from wild
animals which delight in picking its pods, and easily succumbs to various rots,
wilts and fungal diseases.
The cocoa tree grows about the size of an apple tree and start bearing fruit in its
third year. If well care for, it will continue to do so until at least its twentieth year.
The glossy dark green leaves resemble Laurel leaves, grow to nearly 30 cm/ 12
inch long. The small pale pink flowers grow in dense clusters straight out of the
trunk and main branches on little raised cushion, a feature technically known as
“cauliflory”.
After pollination, the flowers take about five month to develop into cocoa pod. It
is a colorful crop –the pod range from bright red, green, purple or yellow,
changing hue as they ripen. Ripe pod are about 20 cm/ 8inch long, oval and
pointed each containing 20 to 40 beans, embedded in soft white pulp.
Harvesting the cacao beans
To determine that the pods are ready to be picked,
the experience picker assesses the color of the pod,
the sound it makes when tapped. The pod are
removed from the tree by cutting through their stalk,
those within reach with a cutlass, and those on higher branches with a curved
knife fixed to a long pole. To prevent damaging the “cauliflory” cutting must be
done with extra care, because they continue to produce the flowers and therefore
the fruit.
Each cacao tree only produces enough beans for 1kg chocolate per year. The
tree has tiny delicate flowers from which cocoa pods hang. Pods (that look like
rugby balls) grow directly from the lower branches and trunk. The pods weigh
between 200-800g and ripen after 5-6 months. Each pod contains 25-40
seeds. The seeds are about the same size as an olive and form a shape similar
to a giant corn on the cob.
The taste of the freshly picked beans resembles sweet, milky lychees and
pineapple but after a few hours they become very bitter and inedible.
Fermenting
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The next stage is to split the pods with a cutlass, taking care not to damage the
precious beans. These are scooped out, together with their surrounding pulp,
and formed into a conical heap on a carefully arrange mat of banana leaves.
When the heap is completed the leaves are folded over, and yet more of these
giant leaves are added to enclose the heap completely. The fermentation
process starts which lasts for up to six days.
At This moment, the mysterious chemical process begins. Bacteria and yeast
present in the air multiply on the sugary pulp surrounding the beans, causing it to
decompose to an acidic juice. The process raises the temperature of the heap
and under these conditions magical changes take place within the bean itself.
The color changes from purple to chocolate brown and the familiar cocoa smell
begins to emerge. The first crucial stage in developing beans of superior quality
begins as well.
Drying
After fermentation, the beans need to dry for ten to twenty days. Therefore,
they are spread on bamboo mat or wooden floor. They are regularly turned to
keep them well aired and to prevent mould forming. Naturally drying beans in the
warm tropical sun gives the best quality cocoa.
From bean to brew
The drink that was created by the Aztec is completely different from what we
know today. Theirs was bitter, greasy and serve cold. They used a grinding
stone –metate- that crushed the husk and made the drink very bitter and there
were no sugar added. Their recipes also included different flavorings compare to
today recipes: chilly, allspice, cloves, vanilla, a type of pepper, various flowers
petals, nuts and annatto.
The Spanish had sweet tooth therefore the recipes start to change for them.
Sugar was now added by Oaxaca nun, sweet spices such us cinnamon and
aniseed. Thus, the bitter Aztec drink begun its transformation to the delicious
beverage we know today
From Drink to Confectionery
In the early days, the chocolate drink was very rich. It contained a fatty
substance known as cocoa butter. Many attempt were made to separate out the
greasy cocoa butter with know avail. In 1828 a breakthrough came- a Dutch
chemist name Coanraad Van Houten patented a new and extremely efficient
hydraulic press. His invention was able to extract about fifty per cent of the
cocoa butter present in the “liquor” ( the paste product after grinding the beans),
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leaving behind a refined, brittle, cake-like residue that could then be pulverized to
a fine powder.
Van Houten added alkaline salts to the powder in order to mix it with water easily.
The process-known as Dutching- darkened the color of the chocolate and
lightened the flavor.
Having separated out the butter from the bean, the manufacturer start melting the
cocoa butter and combining it with a blend of ground cocoa bean and sugar. The
resulting mixture was smooth and malleable paste that tolerated the added sugar
without becoming gritty; the fat helped to dissolve it. The paste was also thin
enough to be poured into a mould and cast, and it is from this concept that
“eating chocolate” was developed.
During the sixteenth century chocolate begun its journey into the countries of
Europe as colonists exploited their new world discoveries. Spain creates
“chocolaterias” all over their country. It became the fashion to visit them in the
afternoon to drink a cup of there foaming fragrant brew, accompanied by
“pistoste”, fried bread, to dip in it. This process spread all over Europe from the
Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and back to America.
Contemporary manufacturing
1701: manufacturing process start to take hold in Spain. After preliminary
roasting, dehusking and grinding, the cacao mass was ground again to a fine
paste with plenty of sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, musk and annatto. The chocolate
was formed into blocks, along the lines of modern block chocolate.
Cleaning and grading
Cocoa beans arrived at the chocolate factory the same way the left the
plantations. They have been fermented and dried but are still a raw material with
edible part enclosed inside the hard skin, which is dusty with the remains of the
dried pulp. They go through five major steps before they can be roasted.
First step: preliminary cleaning to remove any stone or other objects during
the packing. This is done through a sieve.
Second step: They bean then pass on a moving belt to storage hoppers.
Third step: pass on another conveyer belt to the cleaning and grading
machines.
Fourth step: they beans are carefully inspected, and any undesirable material
still clinging to the beans.
Five steps: the cleaned and grated beans are collected either in container or
passed on another continuous conveyer belt to the roasting machines.
Roasting for flavor
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Roasting is a crucial part of the process and serves several functions. First,
the flavor and aroma is developed, and enriched the color. Roasting also dries
the husk surrounding the “nib”, or edible inner part of the bean, making its
removal easier, and dries the nib itself so that it is ready for grinding. The degree
of roasting is extremely important.
Different types of beans need different roasting temperature, depending on their
texture and flavor; the mild varieties are usually roasted at lower temperature
than stronger types.
After roasting, the beans are cooled as quickly as possible to prevent further
internal roasting.
Winnowing
The beans are passed through the husking and winning machine which crack
open the roasted beans, and blows the lighter husk away from the heavier pieces
of nib.
Blending
The blending process, specified quantities of different varieties of cocoa nibs
are weighed and transferred to a cylindrical blender before they are fed into the
grinding machine. Eating chocolate requires the utmost skill from chocolatier
since knowledge of the characteristic flavors impacted by different beans is only
acquired by years of experience. There are subtle differences of flavor in each
type of bean, and the final flavor is obtained by blending two, three or more types
of beans after roasting. The chocolatier needs to determine the proportion of
strong and mild cocoa beans necessary to produce a blend that will result in a
satisfying chocolate.
Grinding
Once in the grinding mill, the nib pass through a series of rollers, giving some
coarse particles that turn into warm paste because of the frictional heat of the
grinding action. Then follow a second grinding to bring the particles down to the
require size, usually between 25 and 50 microns (0.001 in). Large particles
result in coarse grainy chocolate, while very finely ground particles will produce a
pasty and slightly sticky chocolate. After grinding, the cocoa mass or “liquor”
flows out of the machine into shallow metal containers.
Different bean blends
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*The parting of ways
At this stage, further treatment of the liquor depends on whether it is to be
made into cocoa powder or eating chocolate. For the cocoa powder the next
step is the exaction of a larger proportion of the cocoa butter. This is pressed out
of the liquor, and the residue is formed into cakes, which go through one more
grinding. Some cocoa is “dutched” which helps to make cocoa powder easier to
mix with water.
Sometimes a wetting agent is added, especially to the “instant” varieties of cocoa
intended for use as a cold drink; it makes it easier to mix with cold water or milk.
The wetting agent is usually Lecithin, a vegetable fat found in egg yolk and soy
beans. Chocolate destined to eating is treated very differently from cocoa
powder.
How fine chocolate is made
Chocolate making is both a science and an art that
requires technical expertise and creative
expression from the chocolate-maker.
The pods are harvested and smashed open with a machete. The pods then lie
cut open to ferment and dry in the sun. The seeds are scooped out and left to dry
in the sun. They are stirred regularly.
They are then shipped and transported to the chocolate maker where...
The Chocolate Making Process begins...
Mixing
Cocoa beans used for manufacturing eating chocolate are processed in a
different way from beans used in cocoa manufacture.
First, a carefully selected blend of roasted and ground nibs, the edible centre of
the bean, is mixed with pulverized sugar and enriched with cocoa butter, not
necessary extracted from the same batch or nibs.
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The mixture then goes to the “melangeur” a round machine with horizontal
rotating base on which run heavy rollers. After mixing, the chocolate paste that is
discharged from the melangeur resembles well-kneaded dough.
When manufacturing milk chocolate, powdered milk or evaporated sweetened
milk is added to the rest of the ingredients in the mixer.
Refining
The chocolate paste is ground between a series of five rollers, each
succeeding roller rotating faster than the previous one. The paste enters the first
pair of rollers as a thin film, which is then taken up by the next pair, through a
carefully adjusted gap-rather like making pasta with a machine. By the time the
paste emerges from the fifth roller it is wafer-thin. The finest quality chocolate
needs further treatment known as “conching”.
Conching
The conching machine was invented 1880 by the Swiss chocolatier, Rudolfe
Lindt-Conche (French for shell) and is derive from the shape of the machine, a
large shell-shape container. The function of the machine is to agitate the liquid
chocolate gently over a period that may be as long as seven days. It is a vital
process, in which the flavor of the chocolate is developed and mellowed, and
residual bitterness is removed, and the texture reaches that essential stage of
velvety smoothness. Quality producers will continue conching for up to a week,
sometimes adding extra cocoa butter to make the chocolate smoother still.
During conching, various flavors are added, such as vanilla, cloves or cinnamon.
Vanilla is almost always used and dates back to the days of the Aztecs. Pure
vanilla extract is used for the best quality chocolate.
Tempering
Once the conching stage is completed, the chocolate is fed into tempering
kettles where it is stirred and carefully cooled but still remains liquid. This is a
tricky process since cocoa butter contains various types of fat, all with different
melting and setting points. If the chocolate mass cooled too slowly, some fat will
remain liquid and separate from the mass, creating a bloom on the surface when
the chocolate finally solidifies. Tempering causes rapid cooling resulting in
amore even distribution of various fats.
After tempering, chocolate to be made into bars is pumped into molding
machines, while chocolate to be used as coating is pumped into enrobing
machines.
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Molding
Liquid chocolate is also molded into hollowed-out shapes which are sometimes
filled with small chocolate. Because of the contact with smooth tinned surfaces
of the mold, good quality chocolate has a high degree of gloss, which adds to its
attraction.
Enrobing
Enrobing is the tricky process of coating confectionery centres. Liquid chocolate of a
slightly “thin” consistency is pumped into enrobing machine where it is agitated once
more and maintained at a temperature just enough to keep it liquid. The centres
themselves have to be warm when they enter the coating chamber, but not so warm that
they lose their shape. The danger of cold centre is that it is likely to expand when it
comes in contact with the warm coating, resulting in burst chocolates. Enrobing is the
process used only for top quality chocolates in their luxury packaging but also for the
mass-produced candy bars that are bought as snacks around the world.
How to recognize good chocolate
So, how do we recognize good chocolate? As with most good things, the more
senses that your chocolate appeals to, the better.
Appearance: Chocolate should be flawless with a smooth texture and evenly
colored. ‘Black’ is not necessarily an indicator of good chocolate. It tends to
indicate that the beans have been over-roasted. There should be no cracks, air
pockets or streaks (caused by being subjected to various temperature changes)
in your chocolate.
Aroma: Your chocolate should smell good as you unwrap it with a complex
fragrance. It should be sweetly fragrant but not overpowering. You may detect
vanilla, berry, caramel or roasted nuts. It’s bad to have no smell at all. If you can’t
smell, you can’t taste! Burnt, musty, chemically or medicine-y smells are not
good.
Touch: Your chocolate should feel silky and not sticky. It should just begin to
yield to the warmth of your finger. Remember it is the only food that melts at body
heat.
Sound: Take a piece and break it. It should snap cleanly. If it crumbles, that’s not
good. Your chocolate should be solid all the way through with no blemishes.
Mouth feel & texture: Most of our taste buds are on the front of the tongue and
this is chocolate’s biggest test! If it doesn’t start to melt straight away, it is
probably a sign of poor quality. The taste explosion should begin now - it should
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be smooth and buttery, gently dissolving into a creamy liquid, filling the mouth
with its complexity of flavors. It must not be grainy or ‘gluey’. If it’s ‘waxy’ or
‘clacky’, it sometimes means the cocoa butter has been replaced with vegetable
fat. This is not real chocolate.
Flavor: Everybody has their own body chemistry so you might taste any one or
all of the flavors. Essentially, though, chocolate is going to be bittersweet, fruity
and spicy with a good balance of acidity and should be subtle rather than
overpowering.
Aftertaste: You want the flavor to linger for several minutes (good chocolate
The Difference between Dark, Milk and White
Chocolate
It can be difficult to detect as many flavors in milk and white chocolate as we can
in dark chocolate. This is due to their low cocoa content, the milk and the
overpowering presence of sugar which can kill tastes and aromas.
Recently, however, a number of manufacturers have improved their milk
chocolate using a higher proportion of cocoa solids and, therefore, less sugar.
These are worth hunting out.
Dark chocolate
Plain chocolate –also known as bittersweetPlain or bittersweet chocolate must contain a minimum of 34 per cent cocoa
solid, but generally speaking, the higher the proportion the better the chocolate.
Nowadays, as our taste and awareness of chocolate grows, 60 per cent is the
preferred minimum, while for chocoholics can be anything from 62 to 85 per cent
is even more desirable.
High quality dark chocolate contains a correspondingly small proportion of sugar.
Adding sugar to chocolate has been compared with adding salt to food. If the
chocolate contains nuts, 55 per cent is fine as the nuts bring a bitterness that
needs more sugar to compensate.
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You need just enough to enhance the flavor but not so much that the flavor is
destroyed. Quality chocolate contains pure vanilla, an expensive flavoring
sometimes called Bourbon vanilla, extracted from a type of orchid grown in
Madagascar. It also contains the minutest amount of Lecithin, a harmless
vegetable stabilizer.
Desirable flavors and aromas: Bitter-sweet, butter, acidity, fruit, toasted,
caramel, almonds, hazelnuts, spice, citrus, orange peel, berries, leather, tannin,
herbs, jute, tea, tobacco, freshly mown hay, clover, wild herbs, floral, earthy.
Undesirable: Astringent, musty, smoked, fatty, metallic, acid, medicinal,
cardboard, smoky.
Couverture
This is high-quality chocolate in the professional league, used mainly for coating
and baking. Couverture usually has minimum of 32 per cent cocoa butter, which
enables it to form a much thinner shell than ordinary chocolate
Milk Chocolate
To some aficionados, milk chocolate is not real chocolate.
Aim for 30-40% cocoa content for milk chocolate. 20% usually means the
chocolate is too sweet.
White Chocolate
Contains no cocoa solid, some added sugar, flavoring and milk. It is mainly sold
for its novelty or to provide an attractive color contrast.
Desirable flavors and aromas: Brown sugar, milky, creamy, cocoa, vanilla,
honey, and caramel, nutty, malt etc.
Undesirable: Smoked, fatty, rancid, pungent, cardboard, acid, damp, and
astringent.
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Taste, quality and presentation
The taste of real chocolate
Nothing tastes as good nor stimulates and satisfies our tastes as much as
chocolate. Nothing in the world has such a complexity of flavors and smells. Like
fine wine, the aromas are important to recognize for tasting real chocolate at its
best.
The food writer and intellectual, Alan Davidson, claims in his paper on “Taste
Aromas and Flavors” that smell and taste combine to create flavor (which is why
we all taste things differently). He believes that “it is the flavor that is so exciting
about chocolate. Often the chocolate-eater will first get the aroma of the
chocolate before it reaches the taste sensors of the mouth. This aroma sets off a
stimulus that is further supported by the taste buds. These two combine to
create a flavor that is wonderful, to say the least”.
There are a few useful elements that will help you to taste real chocolate:
Aroma: The cocoa bean has over 400 distinct aromas, at least twice as much as
any other gems of nature. The rose, a heavenly creation if ever there was one,
has only fourteen. The gastronome’s staple, the onion, only has half a dozen.
Chocolate’s primary smells are distinguished by the variety of the bean that make
up its aroma. Secondary characteristics, caused by factors such as fermentation,
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drying, blending, roasting and different manufacturers’ techniques and recipes
form the final tastes and bouquet.
Flavour: Humans can perceive many combinations of only four flavors: sweet,
sour, bitter, and salt. The flavors, from where most of the chocolate experience
comes, are located on different parts of the tongue:
Sweet (at the front of the tongue)
Sour (front/sides)
Bitter (back)
Salt (back/ sides)
Everybody has their own body chemistry so you might taste any one or all of the
flavors mentioned but, essentially, chocolate is going to be bitter-sweet, Nothing
tastes as good nor stimulates and satisfies our tastes as much as chocolate.
Nothing in the world has such a complexity of flavors and smells. Like fine
wine, the aromas are important to recognize for tasting real chocolate at its best.
Then allow the chocolate to melt in your mouth. Don’t be afraid to use the rest of
your mouth (the roof, the tongue, etc) to experience and indulge in the true
pleasure of real chocolate.
Aftertaste: The flavor should linger for several minutes with a clean aftertaste
and no residue. It should certainly not be overpoweringly sweet. Robert Linxe,
the French champion of great chocolate, maintains that you should be able to
taste a good chocolate some 45 minutes after you have eaten it.
The taste of chocolate is complex as a result of the presence of over 300
different chemical compounds, including theobromine and methyl-xanthine (two
mildly-addictive caffeine-like substances) and phenylethylamine, a stimulant
similar to the body’s own dopamine and adrenaline.
Many of these chemical compounds are identical or similar to those found in
fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and other substances. That’s why chocolate
enthusiasts compare the aromas of different chocolates to melon, citrus, cherry,
berry, raisin, honey, peach, vanilla, butterscotch, mint, bell pepper, grass, green
olive, clove, liquorice, cedar, coffee and wine.
We’re not being fanciful here! There’s a chemical correlation underlying the
comparison and this helps explain the rich metaphorical language used to
describe a chocolate’s sensory characteristics
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Assessing quality
All our sense-sight, smell, sound, touch and taste- come into play when
assessing the quality of plain chocolate. There are several point to watch for:
Appearance: the chocolate should be smooth, brilliantly shiny and pure
mahogany-black in color.
Smell: the chocolate should not smell excessively sweet.
Sound: the chocolate should be crisp and make a distinct “snap” when broken
into two. If chocolate splinters, it is too dry; if it resist breaking, it is too waxy.
Touch: chocolate with high cocoa butter content quickly start to melt when
held in the hand-this is a good sign. In the mouth, it should feel ultra-smooth with
no hint of graininess, and it should melt instantly.
Taste: chocolate contains a kaleidoscope of flavors and aromas which
continue to develop in the mouth. The basic flavor are bitterness with a hint of
acidity, sweetness with a suggestion of sourness, and just a touch of saltiness
which helps release the aromas of cocoa, pineapple, banana, vanilla, and
cinnamon.
Storage
Humidity and heat are chocolate’s greatest enemies; both can cause “bloom”
to appear on the surface. Heat-induced bloom is the result of cocoa butter
crystal rising to the surface and recrystalizing. The flavor is unaffected but the
appearance is spoiled.
Humidity-induced bloom is more damaging. It is a result of sugar crystals being
drawn to the surface, where they dissolve in the moist atmosphere and
eventually recrystalize to form an unpleasant grey coating.
As the texture and taste of the chocolate deteriorate, too, the dust bin is the best
place for the chocolate that has suffered in this way. The ideal temperature for
storage is 10-15°C (50-60°F), slightly warmer than the refrigerator, and the
humidity should be 60-70 per cent. Chocolate also absorb surrounding odors
easily and should be kept in an airtight container.
Flavorings and fillings
Every chocolate manufacturer has a secret condiment or blend of flavoring that
he or she claims give their product a unique character. Filling and flavoring from
the same tropical latitude as the cocoa bean itself-vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom,
coffee, rum, ginger, even pepper and chili- are the ones most commonly used.
Secret flavoring
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Every chocolate consuming country has its favorite flavorings. Italy prefers its
chocolate mixed with hazelnuts, almonds or chestnut. France likes a nutty flavor
too, but strongly flavor dark bitter chocolate is also popular there. Spain like
spiced chocolate, and filling such as almonds and dried fruits. America prefer
mostly milk chocolate, often with whole peanut or almonds embedded in it; while
Britain like vanilla.
Physiology and Psychology
Chocolate’ therapeutic powers.
The therapeutic properties of chocolate were much written about in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. The Aztec beliefs in the power of chocolate traveled with it. We
now know that it is the fat and carbohydrate in chocolate which provide fuel for the body,
and the fat content means that chocolate is digested slowly, thus maintaining a feeling of
fullness and satiety. Even the iron content, which helps transport oxygen to the brain,
may result in greater mental alertness
Nutritional analysis
Refer to chart.
Containing no milk, plain chocolate provides roughly half the protein of white
and milk chocolate, and much less calcium. Protein is vital for the growth repair
and maintenance of the body.
Real Chocolate and Health
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Just as quality wines have been welcome additions to a healthy diet, recent
scientific research has highlighted the potential beneficial properties of real
chocolate as part of a balanced diet.
Heart disease: Real chocolate, with a high cocoa content, has been noted to
contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular disorders. Chocolate contains
cocoa butter which, like olive oil, reduces cholesterol.
Real chocolate is also high in a number of vitamins and minerals such as fluoride
which can be good for your teeth and potassium (also found in bananas) which,
again in balanced quantities, help muscles and nerves function correctly,
especially the heart.
Blood pressure: Flavenols (natural chemicals found in cocoa drinks and, to an
extent, in chocolate) boost the production of nitric oxide which is crucial for
regulating blood pressure. Research at Harvard Medical school has shown that
the benefits can be as great as those of aspirin.
Deep vein thrombosis: According to research at the University of California
Davis, flavenols reduce the chances of catching this condition. A 50g bar of
chocolate contains the same concentration of flavenols as two glasses of red
wine, 4 cups of tea, six apples or seven onions.
Chocolate and Weight: Real chocolate does not contain the processed sugars
and fats that contribute to obesity. Most real chocolate contains cane sugars or
natural sugars from fruit. They should also contain no vegetable fats apart from
that naturally arising from the cacao. As part of a healthy lifestyle, real chocolate
is a wonderful product for you to enjoy.
Good chocolate, with a minimum of 60% cocoa, therefore, can be eaten in the
knowledge that it offers potential health benefits as well as pure hedonism. At
the very least, as we all know, feelings of pleasure reduce stress and certainly
make for a healthier and more enjoyable life.
The Mayans believed that chocolate brought knowledge and good judgement.
Perhaps, on this evidence, they were right after all.
.
Newsagent Chocolate and Real Chocolate
Commercial chocolate can contain such low amounts of cocoa solids and many
real chocolate-lovers claim we have been ‘taste washed’ in the UK, growing up
on chocolate whose true flavors have been gagged and destroyed by large
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additions of sugar and artificial flavors. Sugar, like salt, used in excess merely
kills the taste of the original product. In addition to lower quality cocoa beans and
mass production techniques, this can often lead to a single “chocolate-type” of
flavor and a higher fat product.
Excess sugar also tends to be addictive, that shortly after eating it, you feel great,
consumed by a surge of energy, followed by a low when the sugar rush runs out.
So, if you are a lover of newsagent chocolate and feel the need for a “chocolate
lift”, it is likely to be the sugar to which you are addicted and not the chocolate.
The aim of the true chocolatier is to give you a mouthful of glorious chocolate
with a sublime mouth feel. Intensely dark real chocolate with tangs of spice, fruit
and cocoa should fill your mouth and give you that unequalled feeling of being so
good that you never want to swallow it.
That’s a true chocolate ‘addiction’. Cocoa contains naturally occurring chemicals
like theobromine and phenylethyalanine which the brain reproduces when we get
excited by falling or being in love.
The transition from commercial chocolate to sophisticated high cocoa solid
chocolate can be a wonderful journey but take it slowly. Once you have
discovered your preferred beans and flavors, you may find you can no more eat
a piece of the sugary chocolate confectionery on which many were weaned than
eat the paper in which it’s wrapped!
Naturally, it’s a matter of personal taste and there is, no doubt, room for both in a
person’s list of favorite foods. It’s like comparing lumpfish roe with caviar. There
is very little comparison and, having tried both, you may still prefer the lumpfish
roe but at least you have tried to appreciate the qualities of the other.
The same is true for wines. Table wine does not compare with the Grand Crus of
Burgundy and Bordeaux but both have a time and a place. There is a real case
for judging fine chocolate like fine wine. The better the quality of grape and
methods of cultivation, then the better the wine. So it is true for chocolate and the
more we understand about it, the more we will appreciate it.
Chocolate as an aphrodisiac
Chocolate has long been considered to have aphrodisiac qualities since the
exploits of Montezuma and there will always be a relationship between the two
given the pleasures both bring and the words used to describe them. It’s difficult
to write about true chocolate without mentioning the flavors and textures that
literally caress the tongue and enchant the taste buds. Just the thought of
popping an exquisite chocolate into your mouth and letting its flavor
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gently melt into a warm, sensual liquid is enough to trigger feelings of
pleasurable anticipation.
Scientifically, chocolate contains phenylethyalanine, a stimulant similar to the
body’s own dopamine and adrenaline. Phenylethyalanine strikes the brain’s
mood centres and induces the emotion of falling in love.
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