Chocolate chow chow

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Raw, unprocessed chocolate tastes bitter and dry, but chocolate that’s been fermented, dried, and roasted, and had a bit of sugar and cream added to it, tastes divine. People around the world enjoy the decadent flavor of chocolate on its own and in an enormous variety of foods. More than half of all the chocolate we consume comes from West African countries, primarily Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Chocolate is derived from the fruit of the cacao tree, which grows exclusively in tropical climates. These lumpy berries, or pods, are full of up to 50 sour seeds, or beans, covered in white pulp.

The pods are harvested by hand and cut open to remove the cocoa beans which are then placed in covered trays where they ferment for several days. After fermentation, the beans are uncovered and left out to dry. Next, the beans are taken to the chocolate factory, where they are cleaned and debris is removed. The beans are roasted in large, rotating ovens.

The roasting draws out flavor and removes the beans from their hulls. Roasted beans go into a winnowing machine, which cracks the beans and removes hulls. The remaining part of the bean is called the nib, and that’s the piece that becomes edible chocolate. The nibs are ground down under a series of rollers to create a thick paste called chocolate liquor. At this point, chocolatiers have creative freedom to create chocolate to their tastes. According to the FCIA, ingredients separate fine chocolate from that of average quality. Additional flavors or ingredients like nuts can be added later.

What are the types of chocolate? Historically, fine chocolate falls into three main categories: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate, Williams explained. Dark chocolate is made with chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar and vanilla. Milk chocolate includes the same ingredients as dark chocolate plus milk fats and milk solids. White chocolate is made with the same ingredients as milk chocolate, except it does not include the chocolate liquor.