Simply Chocolate

Chef Kaviraj Khialani

The cacao tree provides, with its seeds, the raw material for chocolate. A complex process of roasting, fermenting and grinding turns these seeds into chocolate. Where cacao grows, the sweet pulp that surrounds the fresh seeds in their pod is a prized delicacy, whether eaten raw or fermented to form an alcoholic drink.

Cacao Tree And Its Product

The tree is indigenous to the region of Latin America that lies between South Mexico and the Northern Amazon basin. Ripe pods are collected, split and the contents scraped out. The seeds or beans and their surrounding pulp are exposed to the sun making the pulp ferment. This step is essential for good flavour when the beans are used to manufacture chocolate, Fermentation develops 'flavour precursors', breaking down sugar to glucose and fructose and turning some protein into free amino acids and smaller peptides.

After fermentation the beans are dried and exported to manufacturers. They lose 50 per cent of their weight during the average annual yield of a single tree being no more than one kg of dry beans.

Types Of Chocolate

Chocolate confectionery is a mixture of chocolate mass (processed cacao), cacao butter and sugar often with additional of dairy produce and other confectionery.

Block chocolate, for eating or incorporation into other foods or drinks, is the primary manifestation of chocolate confectionery. That is available in three basic types:

• Plain dark chocolate, which is a mixture of chocolate mass, cocoa butter, and sugar
• Milk chocolate, which includes milk solids and has a lower proportion of chocolate mass
• White chocolate, which is not really chocolate as it contains no mass, but is a mixture of cocoa butter, milk, solids, sugar and flavourings.

In continental Europe and North America 'plain' chocolate is subdivided into categories of sweet, semi sweet and bitter sweet. Unsweetened chocolate which is hardened chocolate mass, is used by confectioners and bakers. Nuts, dried fruit, biscuits, waters, and sugar confectionery are often added to chocolate.

Chocolates or pralines as they are called in the parts of continental Europe, are sweetmeats made by coating small pieces of sugar confectionery or nuts with melted chocolate. Popular fillings include fondant flavoured with fruit coffee, or mint, marzipan, toffees or caramel and praline mixed with chocolate to give a nut-flavoured paste.

Chocolate Making Methods

Chocolates can be made by hand dipping. In theory this is simple, the centers being lowered on a special 'dipping fork' into molten chocolate, covered and then deposited on paper to set. There are two automated methods for making chocolates enrobing, in which the centers are transported under a certain amount of molten chocolate, and shell moulding, which is time consuming and therefore more expensive. For this, molten chocolate is deposited in moulds to form the shell, which is then filled, a lid of chocolate seals the filling in before the chocolate is unmoulded. This method gives a better finish and allows for more elaborate shapes than enrobing. It is used for shapes such as Easter eggs and other novelties.

Liqueur chocolates, which magically enclose liquids, can be made using shell moulding, or by depositing the syrup into impressions made in trays of starch left undisturbed for sometime, they syrup 'crusts' (by forming sugar crystals on all surfaces) and can be lifted out and enrobed. Another method for making chocolates with semi-liquid syrup fillings relies on the use of an enzyme to act on solid sugar centers after they have been coated with chocolate.

Other confections include truffles. These are based on ganache a paste of chocolate and cream or butter with flavourings of spirits, nuts, or essences. Chocolate is used for panned sweets either as centers which are coated with thin, crunchy sugar shells, or to cover dried fruits and nuts, for the latter, chocolate is sprayed onto centers rotating in revolving pans, cool air is blown over them to harden them.

Chocolate In Cookery

In Europe and North America chocolate is an important flavouring for puddings, desserts, baked goods and ice creams. It combines well with nuts, fruits, orange, mint, coffee and spirits.

In the form of cocoa, it provides a concentrated chocolate flavour for cakes, biscuits and icings and is sometimes added to pastry. Block chocolate is used for richer cakes, and to flavour creams, mousses, soufflés, sauces and ice creams.

Chocolate must be melted gently, using a brain-marie, a slow oven, or a microwave on a low setting. If it gets too hot (over 44C, 111F) the flavour is impaired and it 'seizes' goes hard and grainy.

The author is the head of department, Food Production, Kohinoor College of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Mumbai. He is also author of Arabic Cookery. He can be reached by e-mail at kaviraj21@hotmail.com.