Chocolate: The Production Of Chocolate In The World

In today’s confectionary industry, chocolate makes up the largest amount of sales whopping in at around $22 billion annually which accounts for over 60 percent of all candy sales. Chocolate is one of the most widely consumed products in the world, with North America being its leading consumer and followed second by Europe. All though most people do not know the unique origins and tedious process required for producing the popular treat.

Cacao which is known as the cocoa bean, comes from the cacao tree or “Theobroma cacao.” Theobroma is a Greek word which translates to “food of the Gods.” The tree is an evergreen which can be found in over 50 tropical countries, and is estimated to be grown by around 2.5 million producers. Around 90 percent of the producers are

The nibs are then ground down to a fine powder and turned into a paste from the heat of the grinding process. The nibs are then turned into a liquid as the fat content in the nibs begins to melt and turns into cocoa liquor. The cocoa liquor which is also known as the cocoa mass, is then mixed with other ingredients such as cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla and powdered milk for milk chocolate. Traditionally the mixing process which is also known as “conching”, is an extended process of mixing the ingredients for long periods of time which can take a few days. Now days, it is common for companies to add soy lecithin, an emulsifier to help blend the ingredients faster and save on costs. Finally, the chocolate is then tempered; a process of cooling then re-warming, cooling it down again and re-warming to create even crystallization of the ingredients. Tempering is what gives the chocolate its final shine and firm snap. The chocolate is then poured into molds for bars and cooled down to be removed from the molds and finally wrapped for