| By :
Mark Etinger
Commercial candy bars are made using cacao beans, milk, sugar, and sometimes other ingredients to improve taste and proportion the hint of flavoring. There's a lot of mumbo jumbo involved with the making of commercial chocolate but you may be following quite a number of the simpler steps yourself. Basically you're going to get cacao beans (there are 12 different types but don't go crazy, just go with your gut). You can mix and match some if you want to make a unique flavor- but that's best if you have already tried making chocolate before. Next you need to roast these beans. The roasting is necessary because it initiates a chemical reaction that releases the best flavor. It also helps to kill any bacteria or mold that might have worked its way into the materials during fermentation. It also makes the outer shell easy to remove. You can roast them in a conventional oven on a cookie sheet or in a coffee roaster. There are other ways but these are probably the two easiest and require far less materials. Depending on the method it could take a few minutes to around half an hour. Stay watchful and sniff every so often. The aroma will tell you they're ready. You don't want to burn them. You should get a nice little whiff of that chocolate-y delight. Once you think they're ready it is time to take them out and remove the husks. You crack the beans and "winnow" the husks. To "winnow" you need to blow cool air to separate the pieces. You may employ the use of a hair dryer on cool if you like- given you set it to low and you don't blow way the beans. Once you've taken care of this tedious job you grind the beans until they make a liquid paste called cocoa liquor (even though it is technically alcohol free). You can now feel free to add ingredients like sweetener. White or brown sugar is standard, but some prefer artificial sweeteners for dessert recipes. Also, add milk or cream (preferably powdered), vanilla, and whatever else your heart desires. Refine the mixture to the best of your ability and conch it (air and heat). It should mellow the ingredients, leaving a silky taste. The last few steps include tempering and molding. Tempering involves slowly bringing the chocolate to the proper temperature so that it has a snap to it. The cocoa butter should crystallize neatly and create a gloss. A way to do it with basic equipment is to melt the chocolate it a double boiler, spreading and cooling some of it on a slab, and then returning it to the mixture. Do this repeatedly and carefully. Once tempering is finished, you can mold your chocolate. Pour it in the shape molder and let it cool. Enjoy eating this savory treat and have fun in the process.
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