Cocoa Beans, Chocolate Liquor and Cocoa Butter

[FrideyB]

Hello! When you crack the shells, do you grind them along with the cocoa beans? Or are the shells and cocoa beans split, and only the bean used? Also, after you grind it so it becomes very small, what sort of liquid do you use, to make it pourable? I understand that you should avoid water in such a mixture, but what happened between the powder and the liquid? Then you grind the liquid, and press it. Is it possible to do this the same way as you make berry juice? With the same equipment?

[CacaoCucinaTV]

@FrideyB Hello Fridey, the shells are removed in a process called "winnowing", so that only the center or "nib" of the bean is used in the chocolate making process. The cocoa bean itself is a little over 50% fat (cocoa butter), so that when you grind the beans, the heat, friction and reduction of particle size will eventually transform the mass into a paste or thick liquid substance which is called "chocolate liquor". From there, you add sugar, additional cocoa butter and...

[CacaoCucinaTV]

@FrideyB ....viscosity modifiers (though many artisan producers do not choose to use these additives) to formulate the basic dark chocolate recipe. You may also press the chocolate liquor and extract the fat (cocoa butter) to use either as an ingredient, or in industrial applications, in cosmetics etc. Yes, you can produce your own chocolate from bean-to-bar using some very simple devices. Some web resources for you to explore in this regard would be The Chocolate Life and Chocolate Alchemy.

[CacaoCucinaTV]

@FrideyB some additional resources would be The Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) and the chocolate makers, confectioners and writers that we follow on our Twitter (@cacaocucina) and Facebook (Cacao Cucina) accounts. Thank you for the interest! Addam

[CacaoCucinaTV]

Thanks. @MrBooYaKaBooYaKa3601 the cocoa bean itself is made up of a little more than 50% fat (cocoa butter). During grinding, the heat & friction kick the fat above its melting point and it begins to flow as particle sizes decrease. You want to steer clear of water in the mix.

[MsBoobookitty1]

Wow, thanks for this video; it was so inspiring.

[CacaoCucinaTV]

There are a variety of machines on the market, all sizes. Or you could go old school and grind the liquor by hand.

[MrBooYaKaBooYaKa3601]

@CacaoCucinaTV So u add water to the mixture after grinding

[MrBooYaKaBooYaKa3601]

Do u have to use that machine to make chocolate liquor or is there a other way