Chocolate

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree, fermented and dried on the farm, then roasted and ground by a maker, and most of it is then sweetened. This page follows that path from pod to finished piece, explains the label terms worth reading, and answers common questions. From here you can browse bars, filled chocolates and cocoa, or look up a maker by name.

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How chocolate is made

Chocolate is made in two stages. On the farm, beans are grown, fermented and dried; a maker then roasts, grinds and shapes them, and both stages set the flavor.

  1. Harvest. Pods grow straight from the trunk and branches of the cacao tree. Workers cut each one free with a sharp blade and crack it open to free the seeds and the pulp around them.
  2. Ferment. The seeds are piled in heaps or boxes and covered with banana leaves. Yeasts feed on the pulp, which starts to drain away by the second day, and turning the pile lets in air. Chemical reactions inside the pile start to develop chocolate flavor and color.
  3. Dry. The beans are then dried, either in the sun or in dryers fired with wood or fuel.
  4. Roast and winnow. The maker roasts the beans to a chosen flavor, then winnows them, which means separating the shell from the meat of the bean. The broken bits of meat are called nibs.
  5. Grind. Nibs are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor. US rules let that paste be sold on its own as unsweetened, bitter or baking chocolate.
  6. Mix and conch. Sugar goes in, often with extra cocoa butter, plus milk powder for milk chocolate, and the mix is ground until smooth. White chocolate leaves out the liquor and is made from cocoa butter, milk and sugar. A heated machine called a conche then stirs it for several hours, and some makers conche for up to 72 hours.
  7. Temper and mold. Tempering steadies the cocoa butter crystals so they are more uniform in size. The chocolate is then poured into molds, left to cool and harden, and wrapped.

Cocoa butter, the natural fat of the bean, is the most expensive of the main ingredients in a chocolate recipe.

How to choose

  • Bean-to-bar. The maker starts with whole cacao beans and carries out every step through to the finished bar, aiming to bring out the flavor the beans already have. The Fine Chocolate Industry Association's glossary says the term caught on in the mid-1990s.
  • Bean type. Fine or flavor cocoa, which usually comes from Criollo or Trinitario trees, makes up just under 5 percent of the world crop. Trinitario began as a cross between Criollo and Forastero, the group behind most bulk cocoa.
  • Origin. A country, region or farm on the wrapper matters because growers shape flavor. The trees they plant, the local soil and climate, and how they ferment and dry the beans all show up in the bar.
  • Couverture. In the EU, couverture is a legal name. Couverture chocolate needs at least 31 percent cocoa butter, against 18 percent for plain chocolate, and milk chocolate couverture needs at least 31 percent total fat.

Styles

  • Chocolate bars

    Solid chocolate set in a block. Bars are the simplest way to taste how bean type, origin and roast change the flavor, square by square.

  • Truffles and bonbons

    Single-mouthful chocolates, most with a filling sealed inside a chocolate coat or shell. Where a bar shows off the bean, these show off the center.

  • Cocoa and other chocolate

    Cacao in other forms, from cocoa powder, made by grinding cacao after part of its fat is removed, to chocolate for drinking.

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Guides and recipes

Chocolate questions

Is there a difference between cocoa and cacao?

They share a root but lean toward different uses. Cacao is a Spanish word taken from cacahuatl in Nahuatl, languages spoken by the Aztecs and other peoples of Mexico, and it names the tree and its dried, fermented seeds. Cocoa is an English reshaping of that Spanish word, used most for the powder and the hot drink. On a package, the ingredient list tells you more than either word on the front.

What are cacao nibs, and how do you use them?

Nibs are cleaned, cracked cacao beans with the shell taken off, and US rules allow no more than 1.75 percent shell by weight. Because nothing is added, they bring cacao flavor and crunch with no sweetness. Scatter them over oatmeal or yogurt, or fold them into cookie dough when you want crunch without more sugar.

Is chocolate dangerous for dogs?

Yes. Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant that dogs break down far more slowly than people, so its effects last longer. Dark chocolate, baking chocolate and cocoa powder carry the most, milk chocolate less and white chocolate very little. Signs usually start 2 to 6 hours after eating, so call a veterinarian right away, even if the dog seems fine.

Why did my melted chocolate turn thick and grainy?

Water is the usual cause: even a few drops in melting chocolate make it seize. Too much heat can also turn it grainy, so keep the chocolate under about 115°F. Steam rising from a double boiler, a bowl set over a pan of hot water, is enough, and so are drips from a lid, so keep that water below a boil. If it seizes anyway, whisking in a tablespoon of warm water sometimes smooths it out.

At a glance

Made from
Dried, fermented seeds of the cacao tree
Tree types
Forastero, Criollo, Trinitario
Fine or flavor cocoa
Just under 5 percent of the world crop
Conching
Several hours, up to about 72
Label terms
Bean-to-bar, origin, couverture, cocoa solids percentage

Sources: International Cocoa Organization; US standards for cacao products (21 CFR 163); EU cocoa and chocolate directive; Fine Chocolate Industry Association; Exploratorium; Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.