Chocolate Processing

Chocolate Facts
- Chocolate is a key ingredient in many
foods such as milk shakes, candy bars,
cookies and cereals.
- It is ranked as one of the most
favourite flavours in North America
and Europe (Swift, 1998).
- It is processed from cacao
(Theobroma cacao) beans.
- The main alkaloid found in cocoa and
chocolate that is responsible for its
taste is theobromine (xantheose).
- Researchers have found that having
sex, eating chocolate, learning a
language and acquiring a wider
vocabulary all stimulate the same part
of the brain (the ventral striatum).
- Health benefits of chocolate
consumption include reduced stroke
risk, good heart health, better
digestion, diabetes prevention, skin
protection, quiet coughs, mood
booster, improved blood flow,
improved vision, better cognitive
function.
History of Chocolate Processing
-It may have originated in the foothills
of the Andes in the Amazon and
Orinoco basins of South America,
current day Colombia and Venezuela.
- Cocoa products were first consumed
between 1400 and 1500 BC.
-The cocoa bean was a common
currency throughout Mesoamerica
before the Spanish conquest. Emperor
Moctezuma and his nobles were said
to drink 50 cups of chocolate daily.
- The cacao plant was first given its
botanical name by Swedish natural
scientist Carl Linnaeus who called it
Theobroma ("food of the gods") cacao.
- Chocolate was introduced to Europe
by the Spaniards, and became a
popular beverage by the mid 17th
century.
-They also introduced the cacao tree
into the West Indies and the
Philippines.
-It was also introduced into the rest of
Asia and into West Africa by
Europeans.
- In the Gold Coast, modern Ghana,
cacao was introduced by an African,
Tetteh Quarshie.

Chocolate Economics
Top 10 Producers (in order): Cte
d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria,
Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico,
Dominican Republic, Peru
Top 10 Consumers (in order):
Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, UK, Belgium
Norway
, Germany, Ireland,
Iceland, Austria
Cocoa Harvesting and Processing
1. Plucking and opening the Pods
2. Fermenting the cocoa seeds
3. Drying the cocoa seeds
Manufacture of Chocolate
1. Roasting and Winnowing the Cocoa
2. Grinding the Cocoa Nibs
3. Blending Cocoa Liquor and Molding
Chocolate
Basic Blends:
Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Dark
Chocolate

Other Varieties:
Raw chocolate, Bittersweet chocolate,
Semisweet chocolate, Couverture,
Semi-sweet chocolate chips, Tempered
couverture chocolate, Cocoa powder
and Dutch-process cocoa, Compound
chocolate, Modeling chocolate, Native
Tablea
Environmental and Sociological
Aspects:
1. Herbicide Resistance
2. Deforestation
3. Impact on Biodiversity
4. Solid Waste from wrappers and
packaging
5. Increase of carbon footprint
6. Slave Labor

References:
"CMA Chocolate Manufacturers
Association"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20080102
020816/http://www.chocolateusa.org/S

toryofChocolate/MakingSenseofCacao.
asp)
"Types of Chocolate Products (from
Hershey.com)"(http://web.archive.org/
web/20090126124820/http://hersheys.
com/nutrition/chocolate.asp)