After being picked, cocoa fruits are opened to expose the beans covered in a white paste. These are left to ferment over five days, which then allows farmers to leave the beans out under the sun. This ‘sweats’ the beans as they dry up from leftover humidity. The beans are now ready for trade, processing, and manufacturing
Cocoa is processed and consumed in numerous ways. It holds both industrial and culinary values.
Cocoa Beans: The nibs themselves are flavorful and, to certain quantities, can be dressed and served as a luxurious snack.
Cocoa Liquor: Cocoa liquor comes from pressing the beans into a cocoa paste, which is then melted into liquor. Liquor in this sense refers to the liquid form of cocoa, and not in the alcoholic sense. Though alcoholic forms for cocoa liquor remain popular in many cultures.
Cocoa Butter: Cocoa liquor is cooled and pressed until the nutritious fat is extracted - cocoa butter! Also called Theobroma oil, cocoa butter is used in many cooking recipes and industrial goods. Healthy in value, pharmaceutical uses of cocoa butter include skin cream and lotion.
Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is the ‘other half’ of cocoa butter as it is the remainder of pressed cocoa liquor. Often used in flavoring and confectionary coatings, cocoa powder is a popular processing of cocoa beans.
Chocolate: Chocolate as its commonly understood comes from mixing cooled cocoa liquor with other ingredients (such as sugar, milk, and flavors) and pressed into gustatory food. Famous renditions of cocoa in chocolate are bars, cakes, and spreads. Important distinctions remain between chocolate and cacao goods, as their respective processing methods and tastes vary. Regardless, chocolate and cacao products are famous for good reason !
Pure Cocoa: Raw Chocolate
Cocoa aficionados make the keen distinction between chocolate (notably milk chocolate) and raw cocoa goods. Even within raw cocoa distinctions are made, ie. between cocoa and cacao goods. Important processing methods exists however. Cacao products are not roasted, whereas cocoa is. Cacao hence retains more of the original nutritional value of the cacao (cocoa) bean. The two also have distinct taste differences: cacao has a richer, darker taste than cocoa products.
Beyond the cacao v. cocoa dilemma, chocolate goods are built to varying levels of cocoa. Milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, where do they all fit? White chocolate has no cocoa and holds only chocolate flavoring in it. Milk chocolate holds cocoa, and mixes it with substantial amounts of milk and sugar to give it a light and sweet taste. Dark chocolate holds a higher concentration of cocoa, and as such has a darker color. While mixed with milk and sugar, dark chocolate does this at a much reduced amount than milk chocolate.
Finally, we have raw chocolate, which some go as far to not even call chocolate: raw cocoa. Raw chocolate goods are pure cocoa products made from pressed and ground cocoa beans into a thick paste. This paste is then formed and cooled into its solid taste. Popular raw chocolate products are pure chocolate bars and truffles.
Notable confectioners of raw chocolate include the Rrraw Cacao Factory in France.
Courtesy of Barry Callebault via Youtube