How to make chocolate

The original ratio of mixing or way to crush and smelt  varies with the individual.

So various taste of chocolates are made if it was made by the same cacao.

Way to crush
Cacao were crushed into about 10~30μm. The feel of chocolate result from the size of cacao piece. If the cacao pieaces are too large,you feel rough when you eat. And if they are too small,
you feel they remain in your mouth. Viscosity or feel of chocolate varies even if  amount of oils and fats is same  because the surface area of cacao pieaces varies with size of them.

Way to smelt
It is the most important condition that heat and consistency of chocolate dough in way to smelt.If a degree of smelting is low level, you may feel messy or bad smell .And the level is too high, taste of chocolate is vanished.So, producters smelt carefully to keep the best condition of taste.

Tempering
The temperature affect  taste of chocolate.There are six kinds in crystallization of cacaobutter.
There are five types of temperature that chocolate melt from 17 ℃(typeI) to 34℃(typeVI),and if you use the same ingredients, feels on the tongue are different with the types.It is said that typeV is the best.The ratio of each types of chocolate crystals change with change of temperature,and feel on the tongue and quality is also change. The temperature is changed  with the process,so there are many combination of them.Establishment and plan of temperature is an important know-how,many big companies initimate them secretay.

The famous producing districts of cacao and chocolate

Cacao beans grow up well in right on the equator, the reregion which is the high temperatures and humidity.So Africa ,Middle South America and Southeast Asia account for 70 perent of production of cacao.In this areas, I will introduce some of them.

01 Cote D'ivoire : It is the most biggest producing district now. It produces cacao beans which will become main beans.

02 Ghana : It was the most biggest once.It produces cacao beans which taste mild.

08 Venezuera : The best quality cacao, ''Maraibo cacao'' are roduced in only this country.

12 Equador : It is famous for Forastero ''aliva''.These beans are suit for flavor beans and world-famous for its high value and quality.

16 Brazil : It can't get cacao thesedays and is famous for ''Vabia'' taste sour.

  Indonesia: It producesmore and more cacao thesedays. It is the biggest country in Asia.

Kinds of chocolates

Classificaion of chocolate by proportion of cacao and milk

Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar.

Milk chocolate : sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. 

White chocolate : it contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, but no cocoa solids.Although its texture is similar to milk and dark chocolate, it does not contain any cocoa solids.Because of this, many countries do not consider white chocolate as chocolate at all.

Dark chocolate : it has been promoted for unproven health benefits, as it seems to possess substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals, and is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture.

Sweet chocolate : it is required a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties. Dark chocolate has also been said to reduce the possibility of a heart attack when consumed regularly in small amounts.

Semisweet chocolate : it is a dark chocolate with a low sugar content.

Bittersweet chocolate : it is chocolate liquor to which some sugar , more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin have been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking.

Unsweetened chocolate : it is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It is unadulterated chocolate.And  the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor.

Raw chocolate : it often referred to as raw cacao, is always dark and a minimum of 75% cacao. Because the act of processing results in the loss of certain vitamins and minerals (such as magnesium), some consider raw cacao to be a more nutritious form of chocolate.

History in Japan

]In Edo era
 In 1797(Kansei 9)　March 30th,a prostitute who lived in Nagasaki was presented six chocolates by a Dutchman. And then she reported and presented that Yamatoji.The Dutch might bring chocolate(drink) when they were assigned to Japan. Many Dutchmen lived in Nagasaki Dejima presented their used beddings or tools to prostitutes when they returned to their country.

In Meiji era
 In 1873,it is said that a mission of Iwakura inspected chocolate factory when they visited France. The first chocolate in Japan was sold by Fugetudou, and its advertisement was written in Japanise ''貯古齢糖''.

In Taisyou era
 In 1918,Morinaga started to make chocolate from cacaobeans.

During and after the war
By 1940s, imporatation of cacao stopped because of WWⅡ.So Japanise substituted fat of Kikuimos ,lily bulbs(because their flavor are similar to its of chocolate) ,and d-glucose for cacao in order to make ''Gluchocolate''.1945,when Japan lost in WWⅡ, a lot of chocolate were brougt by the occupation foreces of America.The word ''Give me chocolate!'' many children chanted like a incantation in those days is symbol of times occupied by America.
After the war, various chocolate sweets were sold.In 1960,the imporatation of cacao was allowed to sell freely.And in 1971,imparatation of chocolate swwets was also allowed, then  we come to get many kinds of chocolates now.

History

The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica.2000 BC, in Amazon, Cocoa, from which chocolate is created, is said to have originated in the Amazon at least 4,000 years ago. Cultivation, use, and cultural elaboration of cacao were early and extensive in Mesoamerica.Chocolate is made from cacao fremented, roasted and broken into pieces. American aboriginal people put vanilla or red pepper into liquid made of cacao and drunk it as luxuries, medicines and tonics.But, in 16th centry, Euporean got cacao after conquering Aztecs. Then a Spanish monk spread the existence of chocolate. After that, chocolate was liked by from the novelty and nobility to the oridinaly people.They came to use sugger or milk substitute for red pepper.Chocolate drink changed bitter into sweet, so it became the luxury food in 17 th centry. And they developed the prosess of making modern chocolate bar.In 1828, in Dutch,the cocoa press is invented by Coenraad van Houten (He is creater of the Van Houten).The press lead to reduced prices and helped to improve the quality of the beverage by squeezing out part of the cocoa butter. Drinking chocolate had a smooth consistency and a more pleasing taste.In 1830,solid eating chocolate was developed by J. S. Fry & Sons, a British chocolate maker.In 1849, Cadbury brothers exhibited chocolate: The exhibition was at Bingley Hall at Birmingham, England.In 1938, during World War II,the U.S. government recognized chocolate's role in the Allied Armed Forces. It allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans which would give many weary soldiers the strength to carry. Chocolate has even been taken into space as part of the diet of U.S. astronauts.
A Mayan chief forbids a person to touch a jar of chocolate

About cacao

Theobroma cacao also cacao tree and cocoa tree, is a small (4–8 m or 15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. Its seeds are used to make cocoa powder and chocolate. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the domestication of the originally wild Theobroma cacao tree. One is that wild examples were originally distributed from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon basin, with domestication taking place both in the Lacandon area of Mexico and in lowland South America. But recent studies of Theobroma cacao genetics seem to show that the plant originated in the Amazon and was distributed by humans throughout Central America and Mesoamerica.
The tree is today found only growing wild in the low foothills of the Andes at elevations of around 200–400 m (650–1300 ft) in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. It requires a humid climate with regular rainfall and good soil. It is an understory tree, growing best with some overhead shade. The leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm (4–16 in) long and 5–20 cm (2–8 in) broad.The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches; they are small, 1–2 cm (1/2–1 in) diameter, with pink calyx. While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, Forcipomyia midges in the order Diptera. The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long and 8–10 cm (3–4 in) wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g (1 lb) when ripe. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to prepare a refreshing juice. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50%) as cocoa butter. Their most noted active constituent is theobromine, a compound similar to caffeine.The scientific name Theobroma from Greek θεοβρῶμα means "food of the gods". The word cacao itself derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word cacahuatl, learned at the time of the conquest when it was first encountered by the Spanish. Similar words for the plant and its by-products are attested in a number of other indigenous Mesoamerican languages.
Although I eat chocolate usually,I didn't know cacao is not fruit but seed.And I have thought cacao should have long time to grown,but unexpectedly,they grow in only six months.I was shocked at my ignorant of chocolate...