What you need to know about chocolate. Educational program for chocolate
work.
I know that some home cooks prefer not to bother with theory, but immediately start practicing. There are also those who first look for a "proven recipe", but then, on the go, they try to change it in their own way, without even trying to cook it according to the original. They call it "I love experiments" :)
Chocolate is a product that needs to be experimented with wisely. This is always emphasized by all chocolatiers, confectioners and ordinary chefs. Even adding banal cocoa powder or chocolate drops to the dough, you should calculate how much you need to take the remaining ingredients, in what proportions. Not to mention the fact that some culinary specialists do not know anything at all about the properties of chocolate: what it is, how its different types differ from each other, at what temperature each type melts, which one is better suited for adding to the dough, and which one - for glaze.
As one famous bird said, "it's better to lose a day, and then fly in 5 minutes":) Studying the properties of chocolate - as well as studying any culinary theories before practicing - is not a waste of time at all! And I am convinced of this all the time.
In order to learn how to work with chocolate, it is not necessary to start by studying its history, although this is also sometimes important. In addition, it's interesting :) For example, it would not be superfluous to know (link is active) and what was added to the cakes until chocolate bars appeared. Such nuances often help to understand how best to create an appropriate modern dish.
If there is no desire to study history, then it is better to take a good book, where, in addition to the practical part, i.e. recipes, there is a theory. There are many such books: the "chocolate library" is not limited to the books of William Curly and Servo Sebastian, translated into Russian, and besides "Le Larousse du chocolat" Pierre Erme has other works. Moreover, such literature is full not only in English. And if someone has the opportunity to study foreign-language literature in the original, then it is best to start, of course, with it.
A big plus in this case is 1) acquaintance with different traditions; 2) the absence of translation errors that occur in Russian-language publications; 3) the authors of such books are known: this is not Russian-language "tabloid literature" that does not have authorship, compiled from Internet recipes, and even without a single photo.
I really respect and Pierre Herme and Alain Ducasse, but they are French, and that says it all :) French desserts are often complex...and incomprehensible. There are confectioners and chocolatiers who teach theory with very simple examples. Nevertheless, such dishes in the end turn out to be spectacular, exquisite, and even prepared from available materials and at a minimum cost.
As I said, now there are a lot of foreign books about chocolate. Naturally, there are also very simple books, similar to the "tabloid" Russian ones, but these are almost never found in online stores and online libraries, so the risk of stumbling upon them is very small.
The "solidity" of any book is checked very simply: firstly, this can be seen from the publisher; Secondly, according to the preface or afterword, where the creative path of the authors is often described or their parting words are given; third, by the names of these authors it is easy to find other information on the Internet. For example, if this is some kind of chef or culinary writer, then he either has his own website, or they write about him in the press, or he has already published some books before, or there are even separate articles about him in the corresponding online encyclopedias ( in Wikipedia or in special culinary).
I can divide books about chocolate into several groups.
You can create your own list of such books by keywords, for example, by visiting such a large online store as "Amazon" (a link with a search for the word "chocolate" opens in a new window). Naturally, this list also includes works of art.
Photos are given for example and are taken from open sources on the Internet. All publications, the covers of which I show here, are in my electronic library. In fact, I have, of course, much more books on all the sections listed here. Naturally, I also have paper books, but storing and transporting an electronic library is much more convenient :) And now publishers and authors of modern books, in addition to paper versions, also create electronic ones: for many readers, this turns out to be both more convenient and cheaper.
History of cocoa and chocolate, including books from chocolate manufacturers that tell about the emergence of a particular brand.
Science, medicine, technology
Books published by culinary institutes, confectioners and chocolatiers
Books devoted only to chocolate pastries and desserts
Books dedicated to various pastries and desserts, including festive ones. Including - collections of various culinary recipes from world chefs.
There are even books on chocolate for vegetarians and specifically for vegans. In fact, not a single cookbook dedicated to pastries or desserts is complete without chocolate :) Even on the covers of such books, as can be seen from the last collage, it is the "chocolate" photo that is most often published to attract attention.
Chocolate attracts, it's true. You can understand it and become a true connoisseur of it, not just by testing the taste of various purchased tiles of the "bitter-sweet" type, but also correctly, with intelligence and knowledge of theory, using them in your kitchen.
Article prepared for
This paper discusses the history of the emergence of chocolate, the positive and negative effects of this product on the human body. The work contains experimental and practical parts. A more colorful presentation will allow you to protect your project work. The presentation contains a photo report of the experimental part of the project. The author of the work is Julian Lavrova. This project was presented at the regional scientific research conference "Think. Create. Dream." and shared the first place with Karina Yapparova's project "What does it cost us to build a house?!"
MUNICIPAL BUDGET GENERAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
PREOBRAZHENSK SECONDARY SCHOOL №11,
LAZOVSKY DISTRICT, PRIMORSKY KRAI
research project
"Secrets of a favorite treat"
The project was prepared by:
2nd grade student "A"
Lavrova Yuliana
Project Manager:
primary school teacher of the 1st quarter category
Tsyrkova Maria Alexandrovna
1. Relevance …...……………………………………………………………………………………...3
2. The history of chocolate …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. The effect of chocolate on the human body …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Production of chocolate …..………………………………….……………………………6
5. Interesting facts about chocolate ………………………………………………..8
6. Experimental part …………………………………………………………………..9
7. Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………….11
8. Literature ………………………………………………………………………………………...12
The relevance of the project.
At the lesson of the world around us, we talked about products that are useful for humans. It turned out that not all the foods we love are good for the human body. I am a terrible sweet tooth, more than anything in the world I love chocolates. But my mother always tells me that it is harmful, that you can get fat, that my teeth will deteriorate, and even acne may appear. It became very interesting to me whether this is true, so I decided to find out whether chocolate is good or bad for our body.
The purpose of my project:
Learn about the effect of chocolate on my body.
My project goals:
Conduct a sociological survey of my classmates and adults.
Learn about the history of chocolate.
Conduct a study of the effect of chocolate on the human body.
Try making chocolate at home.
Hypothesis: I think chocolate is healthy because it tastes so good.
Object of study: chocolate.
I decided to start my work with a survey of my classmates and adults around me. The survey was attended by: my classmates - 28 people. Adults (teachers and parents) - 10 people. A total of 38 people were interviewed. I asked them four questions:
Do you love chocolate?
What kind of chocolate do you prefer bitter, milk, white?
Do you think chocolate is harmful or beneficial?
What do you know about the origin, benefits and dangers of chocolate. Poll results. 
After we analyzed everything, I concluded that both children and adults love chocolate very much, but they know practically nothing about its origin, and they are not sure whether this delicacy is healthy.
2. The history of chocolate
Chocolate- a confectionery product made using cocoa fruits. Word "chocolate" comes from the word "chocolatl" - the name of a drink made from cocoa beans, literally - "bitter water". prr The history of chocolate began approximately 4 thousand years ago with Egyptian desserts described in the papyri that have come down to us. The world learned about chocolate when the ancient Mayan and Aztec tribes discovered the wonderful properties of cocoa. The Indians prepared "bitter water" from some tree fruits, which they called "cacahuatl". In science, this tree is called "theobroma cocoa", which in translation from the language of the Indians means "the divine drink of cocoa." This is a small tree, not higher than 8 meters. This tree has a curious feature - its fruits do not grow at the ends of branches, such as apples, pears or oranges, but sit directly on the trunk. In the fruits, under the protection of the fleshy shell, flat reddish or brownish seeds lie in even rows. These are the so-called "beans" of cocoa. The Maya distinguished themselves by throwing cocoa beans on the ground. The sun set them on fire, and one of the poor gathered the grains and threw them into a cup of water. Got the first chocolate. The rich people saw how the poor people drink “kakava” and took away the cup of “kakava” from the poor. They proclaimed the drink sacred and declared that it was bad luck for commoners to drink "kakava". Soon they made chocolate money, for just 10 chocolate grains you could buy a rabbit, and for 100 you could buy a strong slave. iiiiiAccording to legend, cocoa seeds came to earth from paradise, so it gives strength and wisdom to all who eat its fruits. The Maya Indians, and then the Aztecs, for many centuries mixed ground and roasted cocoa beans with water, and then hot peppers were added to this mixture. This resulted in a bitter, spicy, frothy, high-fat drink that was drunk cold. tttttIn Europe, a drink made from cocoa was discovered in the 1520s. The first European to try it was the Spaniard Ferdinando Cortes. After drinking only a cup of drink, he realized that the "chocolatl" would bring him fame in Spain, so he loaded the whole ship with cocoa beans. The Spaniards kept the recipe for chocolate a secret for a long time. They added cinnamon, sugar, and nuts to the drink, and they stopped adding hot chili peppers. In this case, chocolate was usually consumed hot. But already in the 17th century, chocolate became known throughout Europe. Tttt The first café serving chocolate was opened in London in 1657. Chocolate was the drink of the rich. In 1700, the British thought of adding milk to the mixture, so milk chocolate appeared. The first chocolate factories in Russia were opened in the middle of the 19th century.
3. The effect of chocolate on the human body.
Well, now let's move on to the main question of my project: "What effect does chocolate have on our body?"
Benefits of chocolate.
Stimulates the working capacity and creative activity of a person.
It can relieve anxiety and lift your spirits.
Dark chocolate in moderate doses can prevent cardiovascular disease. Protects against atherosclerosis.
Chocolate contains vitamin F, which lowers blood cholesterol levels and reduces the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes.
One bar of chocolate contains more potassium, calcium, minerals and vitamins B1, B12 and PP than one green apple.
Dark chocolate is very high in iron.
Cocoa butter contains substances that destroy bacteria that destroy tooth enamel and cause caries.
The harmful effects of chocolate.
You can get fat, because chocolate is a high-calorie product - 100 grams of chocolate contains from 400 to 700 calories (white chocolate is much more caloric than black).
Enhances the work of the sebaceous glands, so if you eat chocolate every day, acne may appear.
May cause allergic reactions in the body.
What did we see? It turns out that the positive effects on the body are much greater than the negative ones. Moreover, negative consequences for the body can occur only if there is too much chocolate.
From studying theory, I decided to move on to practice. With the help of the Internet, I learned how chocolate is made in confectionery factories.
4. Chocolate production
Before cocoa beans growing on trees become chocolate, they go through several stages of processing. Let's consider each of them in more detail.
Stage 1. Harvesting cocoa beans.
Workers cut pods from trees with small knives tied to long poles. They break the pods and take out the cocoa beans.
Stage 2. Fermentation and drying.
Cocoa beans are placed in wooden boxes and covered with banana leaves for fermentation. Then the cocoa beans are laid out for a week to dry.
Stage 3. Cocoa control.
After drying, the cocoa beans are sorted, tested and classified according to their quality.
Stage 4. Sorting and cleaning.
Cocoa beans are sent for cleaning, then they are weighed.
Stage 5 Roasting.
After cleaning and sorting, they are roasted in large ovens. Already in the oven they turn brown. The roasting process lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Stage 6 Splitting up.
After roasting the cocoa beans, they are crushed and the husks are separated in special machines.
Stage 7. Pressing cocoa mass.
Cocoa - the mass is placed under a huge press, which squeezes cocoa - butter, leaving the cake. Giant mixers crush cocoa - a mass to form grated cocoa.
Stage 8. Chocolate production.
When cocoa powder is heated, "chocolate liqueur" is obtained. It is treated with alkali, from which the chocolate becomes thicker and more delicious. Then all the ingredients are mixed together (sugar, milk, cocoa mass, cocoa butter) until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
Stage 9 Tempering chocolate.
The chocolate is heated, then cooled, heated again and cooled until the cocoa butter crystallizes. The temperature gives the chocolate a shine.
10 stage. Molding.
The finished chocolate mass is poured into molds and cooled. The result is a favorite chocolate.
5. The most interesting facts about chocolate.
Fact 1:
Chocolate even has its own day. July 11th is the official World Chocolate Day. This holiday was invented by the French in 1995.
Fact 2:
"Multiverk" is the name of a Berlin company. She releases chocolate records that you can eat after listening.
Fact 3:
Theobromine makes chocolate toxic to animals.
Fact 4:
In 2011, a huge slab of chocolate with a total weight of about 5.5 tons was made in Chicago. For its production, it took about 800 kilograms of cocoa butter and 600 kilograms of cocoa powder.
Fact 5:
A little later, this record was broken in England, where an even larger chocolate bar was made - weighing 5.8 tons. It took 50 people to make it.
Fact 6:
New York confectioners have created the world's tallest chocolate tower. For a tower 6 m 40 cm high, it took more than 1 thousand kilograms of dark chocolate, and the construction took more than 30 hours.
Fact 7:
The heaviest chocolate bar was made in Italy. His weight reached 2280 kilograms.
6. Experimental part.
Experiment #1
Confirmation of the sensitivity of chocolate to temperature changes.
Research on dark and white chocolate.
Description of the experiment:
I took 2 vials. I poured 1 measuring spoon of dark chocolate into test tube No. 1, and poured a spoonful of white chocolate into test tube No. 2.
Tubes No. 1 and No. 2 placed in water at a temperature of +35 degrees.
The white chocolate melted faster than the dark chocolate.
Conclusion: White chocolate melts at lower temperatures.
Experiment #2
Detection of fats in chocolate.
Description of the experiment:
Pieces of chocolate of three types (dark, white and milk) I wrapped with filter paper and pressed on them. Grease stains appeared on the filter paper. I dropped 1 drop of manganese solution (KMnO4) on the stain. The stain turned brown. This is an oxidation reaction.
I compared the stains obtained from white, milk and dark chocolate.
Conclusion: White chocolate contains a large amount of cocoa butter, milk chocolate has an average amount, and dark chocolate has the least amount of cocoa butter. So it's more useful.
Experiment #3
Dark chocolate research
Description of the experiment:
I poured 1 measuring spoon of chocolate into a test tube, added 2 ml of distilled water. The contents of the tube were shaken several times and filtered. To the filtrate (solution after filtration) was added 1 ml. alkali solution and 3 drops of copper sulfate. She shook the vial again. The solution turned bright blue.
Conclusion:A bright blue color of the solution occurs, which means that sugar is present in the chocolate.
Experiment #4
"Modeling Sugar Bloom".
Description of the experiment:
The long-term experiment was carried out for two weeks.
I sprinkled several chocolate cubes with water, wrapped in foil and placed in the refrigerator (not in the freezer compartment) for 1-2 weeks. A white coating appeared on the surface of the chocolate.
Then I carefully removed this plaque with a knife, placed it on a glass slide and examined it under a microscope at high magnification.
I washed the resulting crystals with distilled water, filtered and added 3 drops of alkali solution and 3 drops of copper sulfate.
The resulting solution turned bright blue, which is typical for sucrose.
Conclusion: The white coating on chocolate is sucrose. The resulting blue solution is a chemical reaction for sucrose. We have confirmed that graying of chocolate is the formation of sugar crystals from changes in the storage temperature of the chocolate.
Experiment #5
Making chocolate at home.
Having studied the history of chocolate, the theory of chocolate creation, having carried out experiments and researches, I decided to try to make chocolate at home.
Milk chocolate "Gentle"
Ingredients:
Cocoa powder 4 tablespoons;
Butter - 50 grams;
Sugar - 1 teaspoon;
Milk - 100 grams.
In a suitable bowl, first you need to pour the milk and heat it over medium heat. Next add sugar and cocoa powder. In the meantime, the butter is melted in a separate container in a water bath, and then poured into a bowl with the main mixture, which, after adding the oil, should be brought to a boil. After that, the fire should be reduced and the chocolate should be cooked for another 2-3 minutes. The prepared composition is then poured into molds and put in the refrigerator.
7. Conclusion.
As a result of the work done, I came to the conclusion that
Chocolate is the most natural product, which means it cannot be harmful!
The healthiest is dark chocolate.
Chocolate has a beneficial effect on human health if it is used in food in acceptable doses.
Reasonable use of chocolate can not harm our health at all, and sometimes even helps us cope with the disease. The exact "dose" has not yet been established. However, everyone unanimously agrees that a few tiled squares or two chocolates will not bring any harm.
8. Used literature.
"Everything about everything." Encyclopedia for children. (compiled by G. Shalaev. vol. 7, 12 - Moscow, 2006
"What. Who it". Encyclopedia for children. Volume 3. - Moscow, 2005
Educational magazine for girls and boys. "Children's Encyclopedia". No. 5, 2008
Chocolate is a name given to certain types of edible products that are obtained from cocoa beans. The latter are the seeds of a tropical tree - cocoa. There are a variety of interesting facts about chocolate, telling about its origin, healing properties, contraindications, types and methods of application.
Chocolate is a delicious delicacy that everyone loves, from the smallest gourmets to the elderly. This dish is idolized, holidays are organized in its honor, museums are opened and entire exhibitions are dedicated to it. Therefore, there is something to be said about chocolate.
A bit of chocolate history
Chocolate first appeared among the Olmecs and Maya. But how exactly this product arose, where it came from, who exactly opened it to the world, no one knows to this day. But there is a version according to which chocolate comes from Mexico. The supreme god of the Aztecs - Quetzalcoatl - had a magnificent orchard. A wide variety of plants grew in it. Among them were completely unsightly cocoa trees, and their fruits had a bitter taste and an unusual appearance. The king thought for a very long time how to use these tasteless fruits, and what to do with the trees themselves.
And one day, one thought came to him: God peeled the cultures, crushed them to a powdery state and filled them with water. Quetzalcoatl liked the resulting drink very much, as it inspired joy and gave strength. The drink was called "chocolatl" and after a while became widespread among the Indians. As a result, the name "drink of the gods" was granted to the new dish. Christopher Columbus, who visited Mexico, was honored to taste this nectar.
Interesting facts about chocolate are also connected with After all, it was thanks to her that this product came to Europe. When the future queen was 14 years old, she married King Louis XIII of France. In a foreign land, the girl experienced incredible longing. In order to somehow create the atmosphere of her home and cheer herself up a little, she drank hot chocolate, which she brought with her from her country. Anna also brought a huge amount of outlandish fruits that had never been seen before in France and a maid who knew the recipe for making chocolate. Later, the princess taught her husband to use the new drink. The nobility tried with all their might to get food and drinks, which the king himself indulged in. This is how chocolate began to spread across the European continent.
Richelieu, Casanova and chocolate
Famous historical figures such as Cardinal Richelieu and ladies' man Casanova are also associated with some interesting facts about chocolate. The French cardinal, suffering from many ailments, drank a chocolate drink on the advice of his doctor. Every morning, Richelieu consumed chocolate, not knowing that the doctor was secretly adding drugs to it. Soon the cardinal recovered. It is not known what gave a greater effect - drugs or chocolate, but the product has since become the best drug.
Lovelace Giovanni Casanova also began his day with a cup of delicious drink and was sure that he owed his undying "male power" to him. Casanova treated his mistresses with black liquid chocolate to warm them up a bit.
Everything about chocolate
We will try to give all the most interesting facts about chocolate below. So, the first chocolate bar was made in 1842 by the English factory Cadbury. Today, Côte d'Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa. About 40% of all world deliveries of the product fall to the share of this state. Every year, worldwide revenue from sold chocolate exceeds 83 million US dollars. But this is not the limit - economists say that demand will grow by another 15-20% in the near future.
Cocoa trees grow in Central and South America, Southeast Asia and West Africa. To make 400 grams of chocolate, you need to use approximately 400 cocoa beans. Dark chocolate is healthier. The white and milk variety will not bring as much benefit as their dark "relative" will.
Many, many years ago, only the elite sections of society could afford to eat a sweet treat from cocoa beans. In Barcelona in 1870, the first mechanical machine was designed to make chocolate.
chocolate benefits
Even Indian tribes noticed the benefits of chocolate. Modern scientists have only confirmed their theories. So, it has been proven that a cup of hot chocolate helps wounds heal faster, improves body tone and relieves a person of fatigue. Chocolate lovers may not worry about the occurrence of a disease such as atherosclerosis. The essential oils contained in the product prevent the deposition of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels, and therefore the disease will not develop.
Neurosurgeons and cardiologists also note the benefits of treats. So, in patients who regularly consume sweets and cocoa bars, blood clots do not form. And the flavonoids present in the product protect against heart attacks and strokes. 50 grams of treats every day prevents the development of ulcers and cancer.
The process of making a treat
Chocolate production is a long and difficult process that begins with the extraction of cocoa beans from the fruit. They are rid of the gelatin ball that surrounds them and the beans are left to ferment for a few days. During this time, elements appear that subsequently affect the aroma of cocoa. Then the grains are cleaned again and roasted at a temperature of 120-140 degrees. During this process, the taste of the final product is formed.
Further, the production of chocolate looks like this: the roasted grains are ground into gruel, which is then finely ground and cocoa butter and sugar are added. Now you can also add almonds, liquor, milk and other ingredients. In order to add sweetness and flavor to chocolate, the resulting mass is cleaned of the smallest grains and mixed in special tanks for several days.
This composition is cooled to a temperature at which the chocolate looks most appetizing, and poured into molds. Molding is the final step in making chocolate. The molds are filled with a liquid mass, then the product cools down, it is easily removed from the containers and sent for sale.
Museum expositions
Chocolate is such a popular and beloved delicacy that almost every country has a chocolate museum. In such an institution, you can learn a lot of interesting things about the product and its history, as well as try different types of it. One of the best museums is in Belgium. And this is not surprising, because this country is considered a chocolate state, and its sweets are the best in the world. The institution is located in the city of Bruges in the old Castle of Harze and is called Choco-Story. The chocolate collection of the royal dynasty is presented here. The museum has a bar Choc, which sells 44 varieties of chocolate cocktails.
There is an interesting chocolate museum in Vladomira Cech dedicated to chocolate as a drink. An entertaining exposition demonstrates the history of the product. There is also an interesting exhibition of paintings painted with liquid chocolate. After viewing the exposition, visitors can take an exam and receive a sweet bar and a few cocoa beans as a reward.
Celebration of chocolate
In addition to museums dedicated to cocoa treats, in many states a fun chocolate festival is held every year. The most famous is the Eurochocolate festival, which takes place in the Italian city of Perugia. Approximately one million people visit the event every year. The holiday brings together about 200 chocolate producers from all over the world.
In Paris, local authorities also regularly organize a chocolate festival, where world food manufacturers offer festival visitors not only to drink and eat chocolate, but also to wear it. The Parisian celebration is considered the largest on the planet.
The chocolate festival in Ukrainian Lviv is the youngest, as it was founded only in 2007. It takes place every year on Valentine's Day. On this day, everyone has the opportunity to taste only delicacies.
Watch out chocolate!
Many sweet tooth today have a chocolate addiction. To understand if you have become addicted to this product, monitor your behavior: if you notice that you cannot fall asleep until you eat a chocolate bar and drink a cup of aromatic hot drink made from cocoa beans, then you can be sure that you are suffering this ailment. It is comparable to alcoholism and drug addiction, and therefore requires immediate treatment.
Chocolate addiction is psychological. After all, colorful commercials are often broadcast on TV, calling for eating a chocolate bar. And it’s hard for a person to resist, especially if tasty tiles are stored in the bedside table. Also, cocoa provokes addiction, in which there are many substances that stimulate the production of the hormone of happiness - phenethylamine. Thus, chocolate is an excellent antidepressant.
As a result of excessive consumption of chocolate in the body, there is a lack of substances necessary for its functioning. This leads to the development of many ailments. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of chocolate addiction as soon as possible.
Unusual types of chocolate
Everyone knows that there are four types of chocolate: bitter, milk, dark and white. But today there are chocolate sweets that are a curiosity, especially for the domestic consumer. For example, chocolate made from camel milk. It is produced in the United Arab Emirates. Experts are sure that such a variety is much more useful than usual, and even people with diabetes can use it.
The Swiss company supplies chocolate with absinthe to the European market. At the moment when the sweetness begins to melt in the mouth, it releases the bitterness of the wormwood tincture, and the taste of the chocolate is especially sharp. The product contains only 8.5% alcohol, so it is impossible to get drunk from it.
Now also available with salt. This is an organic product that is produced by an American enterprise. The composition of the tiles includes sea salt, but you can find specimens with pepper and ground coffee, as well as with salt and cane sugar.
The most expensive chocolate in the world
For more than a century, the American company Chocopologie by Knipschildt (Connecticut) has been offering the world's most expensive exclusive chocolate. All the inhabitants of the White House are crazy about him. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain also loves to enjoy American sweetness. This chocolate is made entirely by hand. One pound of this delicacy costs $2,600.
Is there any harm
Many skeptics are sure that chocolate is not capable of bringing anything but harm. Sweetness has a negative effect only on persons prone to allergies, people with diabetes and individuals who cannot limit themselves in eating food. Everyone else can enjoy the divine taste of a delicacy with peace of mind, which will benefit them exclusively.
Chocolate is not just another ingredient in the confectionery business, it is a separate universe with its own rules and characteristics. This is a product that at first may seem very capricious and difficult to handle, but as soon as you get to know him better, practice his work, he will respond with humility and a stable brilliant result.
Chocolate is used as a filling for baking, as an ingredient in biscuit cakes and as a variety, in the production and decoration of confectionery. It can be said that knowledge of the basics of working with chocolate and the ability to apply this knowledge in practice is already a third of the success of the confectionery industry, since this particular product is found most often and most diversely in the daily work of a confectioner.
As you know, the parents of chocolate are cocoa beans - the seeds contained inside the fruit of the chocolate tree. Cocoa beans consist of approximately 50-55% fat, i.e. cocoa butter, the rest is dry non-fat matter. During processing, the following products are obtained from cocoa beans: cocoa butter, cocoa paste (ground cocoa beans), cocoa nibs (pieces of peeled cocoa beans about 5-8 mm in size), cocoa powder. In the future, chocolate is produced from these products, the taste of which will differ not only from the proportions of the ingredients and their quality, but from the variety of beans (which to a certain extent also characterizes their quality).
There are two basic varieties of cocoa beans: Criollo and Forastero. There are also hybrids of these two varieties, one of the most famous among them is the Trinitaro variety. The Criollo variety is considered the most valuable, with a pronounced taste and aroma, but due to the low yield and lower resistance of these trees to diseases compared to other varieties, it is also the rarest. One of the largest plantations producing Criollo beans is located in Venezuela. The most common but least valuable variety is Forastero: this variety accounts for about 80% of the world's cocoa bean turnover due to its high yield and low care requirements.
Trinitario is a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero native to the island of Trinidad. This variety has better palatability and higher value than Forastero, and is more disease resistant and more productive than Criollo. Manufacturers of chocolate and other cocoa products most often do not indicate which variety of cocoa beans they use. Sometimes it can be one variety, but more often there are so-called "blends", mixtures from different varieties, or from the same variety, but of different origin (which also affects the taste characteristics).
Types of chocolate
As you know, there are three main varieties of chocolate: black (dark), milk and white. These types differ in the content of cocoa products, as well as the presence or absence of dairy products. So, dark chocolate consists of cocoa paste, cocoa butter and sugar, milk chocolate consists of cocoa paste, cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder, and white chocolate consists of cocoa butter, sugar, milk powder. In some cases, vanilla is added to give a more delicate flavor to the chocolate. Soy lecithin is also often found in chocolate. This additive gives the chocolate a smoother, more even and homogeneous texture, as well as making it crisper (when it breaks) and easily flowable when melted, which helps to produce smoother emulsions.
Consider the composition of dark chocolate 72%. For 100 g of chocolate there are: 60 g of cocoa paste, 12 g of cocoa butter and 28 g of sugar. As we already know, cocoa paste is about half cocoa butter, just like the beans themselves, so the recalculation will be as follows:
- content of cocoa products: 72%
- lean cocoa content: 30%
- cocoa butter content: 42%
- sugar content: 28%
Thus, the percentage on the package shows the content of all cocoa products in chocolate, and not just cocoa butter, as is commonly believed by many. Separately, it should be noted the existence of such a term as "couverture" (couverture). They designate products resulting from a mixture of the same ingredients as for chocolate, only the percentage of cocoa butter in couvertures must be more than 32%. Couvertures have a finer texture and more fluidity due to more cocoa butter, and differ in flavor characteristics in the same way as chocolate types: depending on the variety of beans, their origin, processing process and the addition or absence of dairy products.
Cocoa butter in the composition of chocolates and couvertures affects their hardness in a stable state and fluidity in a “working”, liquid state. Low-fat cocoa elements in the composition of dark and milk chocolates and couvertures affect the density and intensity of taste. Sugar adds sweetness, while dairy products make milk or white variations of chocolates and couvertures.
Tempering chocolate
This is the process of changing the temperature of chocolate in a special way, necessary to create high-quality chocolate decor, chocolates and other elements for which the shiny appearance of chocolate, its strength and crunchy structure are important.
Tempering the chocolate is necessary to give the finished product a stable shape and obtain a uniformly crystallized cocoa butter, which will allow the chocolate to remain shiny, crunchy and able to be easily demoulded. Properly tempered chocolate is less affected by humidity and melts more slowly in your hands.
Each manufacturer of professional chocolate indicates the tempering scale on the packaging. Despite the fact that there are general recommendations for tempering each type of chocolate, it is always better to check the information on the packaging, since it is the manufacturer who knows the features of his chocolate as reliably as possible, including the best schemes for working with it for a particular case. Below are the general (average) tempering scales for chocolates by type, where TP is the melting point, TC is the stabilization temperature, TP is the operating temperature.
Black chocolate: 55°C (TP) - 28/29°C (TC) - 31/32°C (TR)
Milk chocolate: 45-50°С (TP) - 27/28°С (TS) - 29/30°С (TR)
White chocolate: 40-45°C (TP) - 26/27°C (TC) - 28/29°C (TR)
In order to temper chocolate, it is first necessary to heat it slowly and evenly to the melting temperature, then quickly cool it to the stabilization temperature and heat it up again to the operating temperature. It is important at all stages to try to measure the temperature as accurately as possible, especially if you are a beginner: this will help to avoid mistakes.
Do not heat the chocolate above its melting point, as this may cause it to burn and become unusable. When cooling to stabilization temperature, it is important to take into account that cocoa butter crystallizes at 26.4 ° C, which means that with strong hypothermia, the chocolate may begin to harden too quickly, then you will have to start the process again. If at the last stage the chocolate is heated above the operating temperature, then this is not a problem: you just have to repeat the whole process from the beginning.
Tempering methods
There are several ways to temper chocolate. The most "home" method, the most unpopular among confectioners, is a water bath. You will need two baths: one warm, the second cold. Further, everything is predictable: chocolate is heated to the melting point in a warm bath, cooled in a cold one, then heated again in a warm one, all actions are carried out with constant and intensive stirring. A variation of this method is the use of only one, warm bath, and for cooling - a smooth table surface. The melted chocolate is poured completely or partially (about 3/4) onto the table, cooled to the stabilization temperature by constantly spreading it with a spatula on the table, then returned to the bowl. Further, if a small part of the chocolate remained in the bowl, then it is necessary to check the temperature: if it is still less than the operating temperature, then heat it up in the bath, as in the case if the chocolate was returned to an empty container. The use of a water bath is not often seen, since chocolate is not friendly with water: you need to be very, very careful and make sure that even the steam from a warm bath does not get on the chocolate, as this can ruin the whole batch at once. A very risky method, suitable only if other methods are not possible for any reason. However, if you make sure that water does not get into the chocolate in any way, then you can safely work according to this scheme, it is absolutely effective and proven.
To accurately avoid contact of chocolate with water, you can abandon the bath in favor of the microwave. Chocolate is heated in the microwave in impulses, 15 seconds at a time at high power and constantly stirred with a silicone spatula to evenly distribute the temperature, starting from the moment when half of the chocolate is already melted. Each microwave has its own rules, so start with a lower power and gradually increase so as not to burn the product. When the melting temperature is reached, it is necessary to pour the chocolate on a flat and smooth surface of the table, spread it over the table and collect it again, repeat this action several times until the stabilization temperature is reached, return the chocolate to the bowl and heat it up to working temperature. Here you can also leave some of the melted chocolate in the bowl so as not to reuse the microwave: about 1/4 or even less, this amount should be enough for the chilled chocolate that returned to the bowl to immediately reach the operating temperature we need.
Another method of tempering is sowing. First you need to melt the chocolate to the melting temperature, and then add about 1/4-1/3 of the total weight of the chocolate in the callets and stir continuously until they are completely dissolved. Due to the fact that the chocolate in the callets already has the correct crystal structure, the bulk of the melted chocolate will take on the same structure, and this is what should be obtained during the tempering process.
While working with tempered chocolate, it is necessary to maintain its temperature at the working level, for this you need to constantly monitor the temperature and, if it has dropped by 2 degrees, quickly heat it up to the working one.
Large pastry shops often use tempering machines that temper and then keep the chocolate at operating temperature, which greatly speeds up the process. But if there is no such machine nearby, you should not be upset: tempering chocolate is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. As in all confectionery business, the main thing here is practice and honing knowledge.
Separately, let me remind you that the storage conditions of chocolate are very important to maintain its quality at the appropriate level: if the humidity is too high, the sugar inside the chocolate may begin to dissolve, due to which the chocolate will become whitish and lose its taste and aroma, it will become more loose. If the temperature regime is not maintained, cocoa butter may begin to melt, leaving gray stains on the surface of the chocolate, there will be a loss of appearance, partly taste and aroma, as well as the fragility of the product.
The chocolate theory does not end there, because, as mentioned above, this is a whole universe of knowledge, but in order to comprehend it, you need to immerse yourself in practice. Therefore, I wish everyone good luck in acquiring a reliable friend and partner named Chocolate: respect and love him (despite the new gray hair that he may give you), and everything will work out!
Get 200 ₽ on your first order!
on a marble slab, with the help of Mikrio, with the help of callets
Hello! In this lesson, we will show that working with chocolate does not require a lot of expensive equipment, and many things can be used from our everyday life.
If you have already tried to melt a chocolate bar and make something out of this chocolate, then you know what tempering is for. It is necessary that during crystallization the chocolate is hard, beautifully shiny, crunchy and slowly melts in the hands. We will look at three methods for tempering chocolate. In the tutorial, we will use two types of chocolate: dark and white, but each of the methods can be applied to any chocolate.
Before starting work, check under what conditions you are working: the optimum temperature in the room is 18-22°C, the temperature of the marble (or granite) slab will be the same temperature.
See how fluid your chocolate is. Usually, industrial chocolate is labeled and the fluidity is indicated on the package in the form of drops: from one to five. One drop is the most viscous chocolate, five drops is the most fluid. If your chocolate does not have such a marking, just remember that such a characteristic exists. If during the work you realize that your chocolate is too thick and you do not have enough fluidity for some purpose, you can add cocoa butter, this will increase the fluidity. This must be done before tempering the chocolate.
If your chocolate packaging has instructions from the manufacturer on what temperatures to temper this chocolate at, do not ignore them. If there are no such indications, use the classical scale.
- Dark: 45-50°C → 27°C → 31-32°C
- Milk: 45°C → 27°C → 29-30°C
- White: 45°C → 26°C → 28-29°C
Tempering on a marble slab
Inventory
- Microwave
- Pyrometer (infrared thermometer)
- immersion blender
- Spatulas
- Marble or granite slab
- plastic bowl
Ingredients
- Any amount of any chocolate
Melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave to 45-50°C.
The duration of the heating pulses depends on the amount of chocolate: if there is not much chocolate, the pulses should be 10–15 seconds long. The more chocolate, the longer the pulses. Remove the bowl and stir the chocolate thoroughly after each pulse so as not to burn it.
You can melt chocolate up to 55°C or 60°C, but this is not necessary. In this case, you will have to spend more time in order to further cool the chocolate, so 45-50°C is sufficient.
After heating the chocolate to 45–50°C, cool it on a marble slab to 27°C. To cool the chocolate, pour it onto a marble (or granite) slab. You can leave some of the chocolate in the bowl (but no more than ⅓ of the total mass). If you are tempering a small amount (100–300 g), refrigerate all of the chocolate. If the mass is larger, leave a part in a bowl, so that later it will be easier to heat the chocolate to working temperature.
A temperature of 27°C is a conditional temperature threshold that must be passed. You can chill chocolate to 26.5°C, but you can't cool it to 27.5°C, otherwise you won't succeed. All tempering comes down to ensuring that the cocoa butter contained in chocolate crystallizes in a stable form. And when this “lower”, threshold temperature is reached, stable crystals begin to form in the mass of chocolate.
It doesn't matter how and how you move the chocolate mass across the plate. We do this with two metal spatulas. You can work with what you have or what you feel is most comfortable for you. The sequence / rhythm of movements is also not important, the most important thing is to cool the chocolate mass evenly throughout the entire volume, for this we move the chocolate around the plate.
When the temperature drops below 27°C, collect the chocolate back into the bowl. Mix well. If, after mixing the chocolate in the bowl, the temperature is below the working temperature of 31-32 ° C, heat the chocolate with a hairdryer or a blender. When we heat the chocolate to operating temperature, it is very important not to exceed 32°C, so as not to melt all the stable crystals that we created during the cooling stage.
Heating with a blender allows you to get rid of unwanted bubbles in the chocolate mass.
After raising the temperature of the chocolate to a working temperature of 31-32°C, check the result. Dip the tip of a knife, palette, or any other object into the chocolate, leave to crystallize at room temperature.
The chocolate should crystallize within 1-2 minutes (depending on the temperature in the room), it will become matte, non-sticky. The chocolate should crystallize without streaks or blooms. This suggests that you have tempered the chocolate and you can work with it.
If there are stains or graying on the chocolate, or it does not crystallize, most likely you violated the temperature regime at one of the steps. It was not cooled enough on the stove, or it was overheated when brought to operating temperature. In this case, you need to start all over again, that is, heat the chocolate again to 45-50°C.
Tempered chocolate, i.e. chocolate in a stable form, easily comes out of the molds due to the fact that during crystallization it slightly decreases in volume.
You can take any plastic cup, bowl, plastic or polycarbonate mold and pour the tempered chocolate into it. Tap the glass or mold on the table to get rid of the bubbles. If the chocolate has cooled down a little while you were waiting for the crystallization on the tip of the knife, heat it up to operating temperature again with a hair dryer.
After crystallization in the container, the chocolate will easily fall out of it. Twist the mold a little to help the chocolate come off. Collect the remaining chocolate in a bag, close tightly. Store chocolate in a dark place at room temperature. Chocolate can be tempered again, for this you need to go through all the steps from the very beginning: dissolve, cool and heat to operating temperature.
Tempering with Mycryo
Inventory
- Microwave
- Pyrometer
- plastic bowl
Ingredients
- 650 g chocolate (or any other amount)
- 6.5 g of Mycrio cocoa butter (or 1% by weight of chocolate)
Melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave to 45-50°C. Weigh Mikrio, we need 1% of the mass of chocolate. In our case, this is 6.5 g of Mycrio cocoa butter. Wait until the chocolate has cooled to 34°C, you can stir the chocolate so that the mass cools faster. When the chocolate has cooled to 34°C, add Mikrio and mix it well with the chocolate until the butter melts. After adding Mycryo and thoroughly mixing, the temperature should drop to the operating temperature of 31-32°C, the chocolate is ready. You can check the result in the same way as in the first method by dipping the tip of the spatula and leaving it to crystallize. Pour the rest of the chocolate onto the parchment. When it crystallizes, it will allow you to easily bag it up and put it away for the next use.
Mikrio is an ordinary cocoa butter, only in a very small fraction, which allows it to easily and quickly disperse in the heated mass of chocolate.
Tempering with callets
Inventory
- Microwave
- Pyrometer
- plastic bowl
Ingredients
- 450 g white chocolate (dissolved)
- 115 g white chocolate (leave in cullets)
Melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave up to 45°C. Add callets. We added 25% by weight of chocolate.
It is impossible to choose the exact proportion of how much chocolate we dissolve and how many cullets to add, because this is affected by the temperature to which we dissolved the chocolate, the temperature of the cullets themselves, and the temperature of the room. Because of this, this method requires practice.
Mix well until the callets disperse. If you poured in more callets than you need and they do not spread well, then you can help them to disperse with a hair dryer, slightly warming up, not exceeding 32 ° C.
If you didn't put in enough callets, that is, they broke up, and the temperature is 34°C, then you haven't darkened the chocolate. In this case, all stable crystals have melted, we have melted chocolate without stable crystals. It is better to pour in more callets, knead them longer and help them disperse with a hair dryer, than to pour in little.
Check the result as in the previous methods by dipping the tip of the spatula and letting it crystallize.
Tempering chocolate was last modified: September 7th, 2017 by hkiCg0aH2EmqtXUpg