how the production of powdered chocolate occurs, this delicious mixture of powdered cocoa and sugar.
We are going to talk in this text about a product that is widely used by most people almost every day: powdered chocolate. It is a basic ingredient for many recipes, such as the delicious brigadeiro. But it really stands out when it comes to use in milk. Who can resist chocolate milk, right?
Certainly you and your friends have several indications on how to use this delicious powder, but does everyone know how the production of chocolate powder occurs? Do you know where it starts? If your answer was no to the questions, we will resolve this issue at this point.
The production of powdered chocolate and other types of chocolate has the same origin. The fundamental raw material for its production is cocoa, a fruit (of different colors, which can be green, yellow, purple or orange) produced by a plant approximately eight meters high: the cacao tree.
Cocoa has 20 to 50 seeds inside. These seeds, in turn, are generally ovoid in shape; 2 to 3 cm long, in addition to being covered by a white pulp with a sugary flavor. The white pulp has the purpose of producing jellies, juices and vinegar, for example. The cocoa bean (almond) is used for the production of chocolate in general.
Amount of almonds (seeds) present in cocoa
After harvesting in the cacao tree, the seed is immediately separated from the pulp and undergoes a sun drying process that lasts around eight days. During this period, the objective is to remove all liquid material and prevent the germination of new seeds.
Then, the dried seeds are stored in an electronic oven that performs a procedure called roasting, which roasts the cocoa seeds slowly. During this process, the aroma of cocoa becomes more acute due to the complete withdrawal of water.
Soon after roasting, the seeds are cooled, passed through a shredder and ground in a mill. In this phase, the seeds are completely disintegrated and form, due to the high fat content, a mass with a pasty characteristic, the liquor.
Substances called alkalis (such as sodium carbonate) are added to the liquor to decrease acidity, and then it is packed in a device that promotes a press in the mixture and results in the separation of two products, one called cocoa butter and the other , cocoa pie. For the production of chocolate powder, cocoa cake is used.
Cocoa cake goes through a grinding and sifting process, which gives rise to cocoa powder. The last step in the production of chocolate powder is the addition of sugar.
