Chocolate industry

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about Chocolate industry

Answer 1

Broma process

In chocolate making, the Broma process (not to be confused with the Dutch Process), is a method of extracting white cocoa butter from roasted cocoa beans. The Broma process consists of hanging bags of roasted cocoa beans in a very warm room and allowing the cocoa butter, which melts at slightly above room temperature, to melt, drip off the beans, and be collected. The Dutch Process differs from the Broma process in that, after the cocoa butter has been drained off the beans as described above, the beans are then soaked in an alkaline solution to make them chemically neutral.

After removal, the cocoa butter can either be used to produce richer bars of chocolate, or, when combined with milk and sugar, to create white chocolate. After the Broma process is completed, the remaining dry cocoa beans are usually ground into cocoa powder, which is sold to consumers.

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Answer 2

Candida krusei

Candida krusei is a budding yeast (a species of fungus) involved in chocolate production. Candida krusei is an emerging fungal nosocomial pathogen primarily found in the immunocompromised and those with hematological malignancies. It has natural resistance to fluconazole, a standard antifungal agent. It is most often found in patients who have had prior fluconazole exposure, sparking debate and conflicting evidence as to whether fluconazole should be used prophylactically. Mortality due to C. krusei fungemia is much higher than the more common C. albicans. Other Candida species that also fit this profile are C. parapsilosis, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, C. guillermondii and C. rugosa.

Candida krusei can be successfully treated with voriconazole, amphotericin B, and the echinocandins micafungin, caspofungin, and anidulafungin.

Cacao beans have to be fermented to remove the bitter taste and break them down. This takes place with two fungi, C. krusei, and Geotrichum. Most of the time, the two fungi are already present on the seed pods and seeds of the cacao plant, but in modern chocolate making, specific strains are used. Each chocolate company uses its own strains, which have been selected to provide optimum flavor and aroma to the chocolate. The yeasts reproduce every few hours, and soon there are thousands of individual yeast cells in a small area, which produce enzymes to break down the pulp on the outside of the beans. This makes acetic acid, killing the cacao embryo inside the seed, developing a chocolatey aroma and eliminating the bitterness in the beans.

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Answer 3

Chocolate industry in the Philippines

The chocolate industry in the Philippines evidences the agricultural roots of the Philippine society. The growing of cacao or cocoa boasts a long history stretching from the colonial times. Originating from Mesoamerican forests, cacao was first introduced by the Spanish colonizers four centuries ago. Since then the Philippine cocoa industry has been the primary producer of cocoa beans in the Southeast Asia. There are many areas of production of cacao in the Philippines, owing to its agriculture. The chocolate industry is currently on a small to medium scale.

The word “chocolate” as we know it today was spelled in different ways throughout time, in different ways such as “chocalatall,” “jocolatte,” “jacolatte,” and “chockelet.” It is a derivative of the word cacahuatl or xocoatl, a bitter drink the Aztecs brewed from cacao beans mixed with spices, wine, and other local ingredients that can be traced back to Pre-Columbian Mexico.

Cacahuatl is an amalgamation of the Mayan words kaj and kab, which translates to “bitter juice.” The suffix -atl that means water or liquid was added to kajkab, forming kajkabatl, and then later kajkabhuatl with the insertion of the diphthong hu.

The cacao tree, whose scientific Latin name given by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1753 is Theobroma cacao, is one of the 22 Theobroma species. Theobroma means “food for the Gods", from the Greek words theo (god) and broma (food). This species is utilized as raw materials for pharmaceutical products and cosmetics, however, cacao is primarily used for the production of chocolate and cocoa by processing the beans.

In the Filipino language, chocolate is translated as tsokolate, which is also a hot chocolate drink made from tablea. Tablea are cacao tablets made from roasted and ground cacao nibs molded into rounds or tablets traditionally used in the Philippines for making hot chocolate. A batirol, a wooden whisk-like instrument, is the Filipino adaptation of the Spanish word batidor that is utilized by rubbing the stick back and forth between one’s palms in order to thoroughly mix hot water with the tablet in a chocolatera to make it frothy. The result is tsokolate de batirol, a thick, creamy, hot chocolate drink, otherwise referred to as sikawate in the Visayas region.

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Answer 4

Chocolate temper meter

A chocolate temper meter is used to measure the presence of various types of the crystal forms IV, V in semi-molten cocoa butter in the preparation of well tempered chocolate. It works by measuring "the temperature of a standard weight of chocolate as it crystallizes when cooled in a controlled way." A modern, digital version, the Greer temper meter, can measure the degree of temper at any required time.

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Answer 5

Chocolaterie

A chocolaterie is a type of business which both manufactures chocolate confections and sells them, at the same location. It is usually a small family business, often operating at only one location. The word is of French origin, and shops named as such are common in France and Belgium. The term is also used to designate larger chocolate production companies, such as Chocolaterie Guylian, many of which started as smaller shops. This type of store operates in other countries, such as the US, Canada, the UK and Germany, sometimes using the French term. Stores which sell candies and chocolate but do not produce their own brand are called Confectionery stores, or other names depending on the region. The related occupational term is chocolatier, though this term is also used sometimes to describe chocolateries, such as Godiva Chocolatier.

As an example of the term's usage, The novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was entitled Charlie et la Chocolaterie in France. The novel and 2000 film Chocolat are set in a chocolaterie.

Businesses which produce and sell foods at one location:

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Answer 6

John Chuang (Singaporean businessman)

John Chuang (Singaporean businessman)

John Chuang Tiong Choon (born 1948) is a Singaporean business magnate best known as the co-founder of chocolate confectionery organisation Petra Foods, which is allegedly one of the world's biggest cocoa-producing firms. He now serves as the company's Group chief executive officer.

John Chuang Tiong Choon was born 1948 in Singapore. He attended the England-based University of Liverpool and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in 1973. Two years later in 1975, he completed his Masters in Business Administration course at the Cranfield Business School.

Chuang co-founded Petra Foods, a manufacturer of cocoa goods, in 1984 with his two brothers Joseph and William. Prior to establishing Petra Foods, Chuang tried his hand at other industries. Among others, he served as both the California-based Wardley Development's President and the Independence Bank of California's Vice-President from 1979 to 1983. On 5 November 2004, Chuang was appointed as Group chief executive officer of Petra Foods. Petra Foods now claims to be the third-largest cocoa producer in the world.

Chuang's net worth in 2011 was an estimated $510 million. That year, Forbes ranked him as the twenty-fourth richest man in Singapore. In 2012, he dropped in ranking to number twenty-seven. In 2013, his net worth was estimated to be $965 million, increasing his rank to number twenty-two. Chuang's rise in wealth was attributed to part of Petra Foods being purchased by the Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut for some $950 million. For his contributions to the cocoa industry, the title of "Businessman of the Year 2011" was bestowed upon Chuang during the 2012 Singapore Business Awards.

Chuang is married with two children. He resides in Singapore.

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Answer 7

Cocoa production in Ghana

Cocoa is the chief agricultural export of Ghana and the country's main cash crop. Behind Ivory Coast, Ghana is the second largest cocoa exporter in the world. Cocoa cultivation is not native to the country; Ghana's cocoa cultivation, however, is noted within the developing world to be one of the most modeled commodities.

Cocoa production occurs in the country's forested areas: Ashanti Region, Brong-Ahafo Region, Central Region, Eastern Region, Western Region, and Volta Region, where rainfall is 1,000-1,500 millimeters per year. The crop year begins in October, when purchases of the main crop begin, with a smaller mid-crop cycle beginning in July. All cocoa, except that which is smuggled out of the country, is sold at fixed prices to the Cocoa Marketing Board. Although most cocoa production is carried out by peasant farmers on plots of less than three hectares, a small number of farmers appear to dominate the trade. Indeed, some studies show that about one-fourth of all cocoa farmers receive just over half of total cocoa income.

In 1979, the government initiated reform of the cocoa sector, focusing on the government's role in controlling the industry through the Cocoa Marketing Board. The board was dissolved and reconstituted as the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod). In 1984 it underwent further institutional reform aimed at subjecting the cocoa sector to market forces. Cocobod's role was reduced, and 40 percent of its staff, or at least 35,000 employees, were dismissed. Furthermore, the government shifted responsibility for crop transport to the private sector. Subsidies for production inputs (fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, and equipment) were removed, and there was a measure of privatization of the processing sector through at least one joint venture. In addition, a new payment system known as the Akuafo Check System was introduced in 1982 at the point of purchase of dried beans. Formerly, produce buying clerks had often held back cash payments, abused funds, and paid farmers with false checks. Under the Akuafo system, a farmer was given a check signed by the produce clerk and the treasurer that he could cash at a bank of his choice.

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Answer 8

Cocoa production in Ivory Coast

Cocoa production in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) leads the world in production and export of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of chocolate, as of 2012, supplying 33% of cocoa produced in the world. West Africa collectively supplies two thirds of the world's cocoa crop, with Ivory Coast leading production at 1.65 million tonnes, and nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo producing additional 1.55 million tonnes. Ivory Coast overtook Ghana as the world's leading producer of cocoa beans in 1978. The primary non-African competitor of Ivory Coast is Indonesia, which went from having almost nonexistent domestic cocoa industry in the 1970s to becoming one of the largest producers in the market by the early 2000s. According to the UN FAO, Indonesia overtook Ghana and became the second-largest producer worldwide in 2006. (World Cocoa Foundation provides significantly lower figures for Indonesia, but concurs that it is the largest producer of cocoa beans outside West Africa.) Large chocolate producers such as Cadbury, Hershey's, and Nestle buy Ivorian cocoa futures and options through Euronext whereby world prices are set.

Cocoa is shade-loving tree native to the understory of rainforests, growing at low elevation in the foothills of the Andes, and the great South American equatorial river basins the Amazon River Basin, and the Orinoco River Basin. The tree is a choice crop for areas of West Africa with low to slight elevations, good soils, and the constant humidity of the tropics.

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Answer 9

Dutch process chocolate

Dutch process chocolate

Dutch process chocolate or Dutched chocolate is chocolate that has been treated with an alkalizing agent to modify its color and give it a milder taste compared to "natural cocoa" extracted with the Broma process. It forms the basis for much of modern chocolate, and is used in ice cream, hot cocoa, and baking.

The Dutch process was developed in the early 19th century by Dutch chocolate maker Coenraad Johannes van Houten, whose father Casparus is responsible for the development of the method of removing fat from cacao beans by hydraulic press around 1828, forming the basis for cocoa powder. These developments greatly expanded the use of chocolate, which had been mostly used as a beverage in Europe until that time.

Dutch processed cocoa has a neutral pH, and is not acidic like natural cocoa, so in recipes that use baking soda as the leavening agent—which relies on the acidity of the cocoa to activate it—buttermilk, yoghurt or sour milk should be substituted for the milk in the recipe, or a dash of cream of tartar can be used to provide some acidity in the batter. There is no need to add acidity when Dutch process cocoa is used in recipes that use baking powder instead of "soda" (UK: "bicarb") for leavening.

The Dutch process:

Compared to other processes, Dutch process chocolate contains lower amounts of flavonols (antioxidants). The effect this has on nutritional value is disputed. Professor Dr. Irmgard Bitsch of the Institut für Ernährungswissenschaft, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen claims that the reduction of antioxidants due to the process is not significant and enough polyphenols and procyanids remain in the cocoa. One study determined that 60% of natural cocoa's original antioxidants were destroyed by even light dutching, and 90% were destroyed by heavy dutching. A new study found “...protection against synaptic deficits by Lavado cocoa extract, but not Dutched cocoa extract... since much of the polyphenol content is lost by the high alkalinity in the Dutching process." However, natural cocoa has such high levels of antioxidants that even a 60% reduction leaves it high on the list of antioxidant-rich foods.

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Answer 10

Enrober

An enrober is a machine used in the confectionery industry to coat a food item with a coating medium, typically chocolate. Foods that are coated by enrobers include nuts, ice cream, toffee, biscuits and cookies. Enrobing is essentially a mechanized alternative to hand-dipping. Enrobing with chocolate extends a confection's shelf life.

Coating a confection in chocolate was traditionally a slow manual process involving dipping the pieces into melted chocolate by hand. As demand for chocolate-coated sweets grew, it became impractical or impossible to employ enough people to dip sweets into melted chocolate to keep up with required production capacity. To fulfill this need for high-capacity chocolate coating, the enrober machine was invented in France in 1903, brought to the United States, and perfected to perform the work of at least twenty people.

The process of enrobing involves placing the items on the enrober's feed band, which may consist of a wire mesh or containers in which the confection to be enrobed are placed, with each container having drain holes to recover excess chocolate. The enrober maintains the coating medium at a controlled constant temperature and pumps the medium into a flow pan. The medium flows from the flow pan in a continuous curtain and bottoming bed that the food items pass through, completely coating them. A wire mesh conveyor belt then transports the coated confection to a cooling area.

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