Compositions and ingredients of all kinds of chocolate
Compositions and ingredients of all kinds of chocolate
Chocolate is one of the most delicious and enjoyable foods in the world.
This substance has many fans all over the world due to its invigorating properties and sweet taste. So that it is said that about 3 million tons of chocolate are consumed all over the world every year. In the rest of this article, we will learn about the history of chocolate, types of chocolate and how to make it. Stay with Baraka until the end of this article to introduce you to the combinations of various chocolates.
History of chocolate
The raw material for chocolate production is cocoa, whose history goes back to South America, Central America, and Mexico. It is estimated that cocoa has been cultivated in this area for at least three thousand years. Archaeological evidence indicates the cultivation and edible use of this substance in Honduras around 1100 years before Christ. In 1828, the Dutch invented a method by which they extracted the fat from cocoa beans and prepared cocoa butter from it, and made cocoa powder from the remaining cocoa beans. Also, in another method, chocolate was made alkaline, so that the bitterness of chocolate was taken to a great extent.
It is interesting to know that contrary to the negative publicity that has been made about the harmfulness of chocolate in recent years, this food has many benefits due to the richness of cocoa. Cocoa contains caffeine, theobrombin, and theophylline tannin stimulants, which, in addition to nutritional role, have a medicinal role due to the stimulating effect it creates in kidney glomeruli. Chocolate prevents the formation of kidney stones and, to a large extent, the formation of urinary tract stones.
Dark chocolate ingredients
Dark chocolate consists of a large percentage of solid cocoa and a small amount of sugar. The best dark chocolate has 60 to 70 percent cocoa solids. Although there is dark chocolate up to 90%, which has almost no other addition than cocoa powder. The properties of dark chocolate are very high due to the low use of sugar.
Milk chocolate
This type of chocolate, which is more popular among people, contains sugar and milk in addition to 30-40% solid cocoa. Milk chocolate ingredients include one part of cocoa liquor, two parts of whole milk powder and four and a half parts of sugar. This mixture contains 15% butterfat from milk, and because of this, milk chocolate is generally heavier and fattier than bar chocolate.
White chocolate ingredients
White chocolate has a light color that is sometimes white and sometimes cream. The percentage of fat, sugar and milk used in this type is very high and it is good for people who have a strong interest in sweets. The taste of the extract used in this chocolate is milder than other chocolates. The main ingredients of white chocolate include cocoa butter, milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Another difference that distinguishes this type of chocolate from the rest is that there is no solid cocoa in the composition of white chocolate and only cocoa powder can be used to produce white chocolate.
Fruit chocolates
These types of chocolates are basically the same as milk or dark chocolate, with the difference that flavorings are used in them. The most popular flavorings for dark chocolate are lemon, mint and orange, and strawberry for milk chocolate. Also, in addition to flavoring in all kinds of chocolate, hazelnut, almond and walnut kernels are usually used.
How to make chocolate
Making chocolate is a long and laborious process that begins with planting cocoa beans and collecting its fruits. The fruits of this tree bear fruit twice a year. After the fruits are ripe, the pods are opened and the cocoa beans are removed. Each pod usually contains 40 to 50 cocoa beans. After removing the cocoa beans, it is placed under a banana leaf for a while to allow the fermentation process to take place. Fermentation takes about five to eight days, and then these seeds are spread on mats for 6 days to dry completely.
To ensure complete drying, the seeds are rotated regularly during this period, and when they are sure that the seeds are completely dried, it is time to transfer them to the factory. In factories, they often mix existing cocoa beans together. For example, cocoa beans from Ghana have a strong flavor and are therefore combined with other beans to create a mild flavor.
At this stage, the seeds are cleaned and processed against heat. As a result, the shells of these seeds are easier to peel. Then the heated cocoa beans are sieved to remove the husks and any roots caused by sprouting in them. During the roasting process, a very pleasant aroma rises from the cocoa beans, which helps determine the quality of the final product. Now that the cocoa beans are ready, they are made into powder and more chocolate can be produced by mixing milk powder, sugar and cocoa butter into the obtained cocoa liquid. Also, by mixing different additives, you can produce all kinds of chocolate.
Conclusion
As we said, how to prepare chocolate depends on its types. The composition of chocolate may vary according to its type, such as milky, bitter, white, etc. If you want to get more information about different types of chocolate, visit the Baraka blog and use the site's educational articles. You can also visit the product pages to buy high-quality chocolate.