How Chocolate is Made
Workers cut ripe cacao bean pods from the cacao tree, split them open, and scrape out the pulp contained inside. After the mass of pulp ferments for a few days, the workers spread it out in the hot sun to dry, separate the seeds from the remainder of the pulp, and ship them to the manufacturer.
Once the bagged seeds arrive at the manufacturer's processing mill they are roasted and the inner kernel of the seed is broken into bits called "nibs." At this point what is done next with the nibs determines the final product.
When the nibs are ground under heavy stone mills, the oil within the nibs is released, and transforms the mass into "chocolate liquor," a thick substance which produces the bitter chocolate used in recipes for baking and for sweet making. The method of producing sweet chocolate follows that of producing bitter chocolate, with the addition of other substances, such as cocoa butter.
Workmen obtain cocoa butter, a by-product of the cocoa making process, by grinding the nibs, and separating part of the fat from the resulting mass. Not only is cocoa butter an essential ingredient in producing sweet chocolate, but also in producing some cosmetics and medicines. Once the cocoa butter is extracted for its various uses, the remaining mass is finely ground to produce cocoa.
Cocoa the drink is made in a different way. The ancient Aztecs prepared the original version by crushing cacao beans, which they boiled with water and various spices, seasoned with pepper, and served cold.
Spanish explorers who stumbled upon this rich Aztec drink stole the recipe, deleted the pepper and added sugar to the crushed cacao beans and water before boiling it. The Spaniards successfully produced their drink this way for almost 100 years until, in the mid 17th century, a Frenchman discovered the art of making solid chocolate from the finely ground cacao beans.
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