Indonesian chocolate producer – Cocoa is one of the commodities that can contribute to increasing the country’s foreign exchange. Indonesia is one of the world’s main supplying countries for cocoa after Ivory Coast (38.3%) and Ghana (20.2%) with a percentage of 13.6%. By processing Cocoa into a quality product in the country. We have been able to save the state’s finances by around 5% or USD 200/ton for every cocoa bean export.
To process Cocoa beans into chocolate requires adequate knowledge so that the results are of high quality and have a selling value to be marketed to the market into a product. Food and beverages produced from cocoa plants are currently the prima donna in almost all groups of people.
One of the chocolate processing companies is Jaya Saliem Industri. Jaya Saliem Industri itself is a chocolate industry company which is located at Jl. North Jackfruit 253 Denpasar Bali. We provide a wide range of products such as chocolate bars (for the bakery industry), chocolate filling (for the bakery industry), cocoa powder, cocoa beans, cocoa fat and others.
In this article, Jaya Saliem Industri will provide information about the process of processing cocoa into chocolate. How’s the process? here is the information for you.
Process of cleaning and selecting seeds
After the cocoa beans are carefully selected, they are cleaned through a cleaning machine which removes any foreign matter that may still be attached. The cocoa beans are then weighed and sorted by type so producers know exactly what type of cocoa will be chocolate. Manufacturers must carefully measure so that the taste remains the same over time. Seeds of different varieties are blended just right to get the desired flavour.
Cocoa Bean Roasting
Cocoa beans are roasted to develop the character of the distinctive chocolate taste. The seeds are roasted in a large oven while turning. Depending on the variety of cocoa and the end result you want to achieve, this roasting process takes anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours at very high temperatures. In the process of roasting the color of the cocoa beans will turn brown and smell the aroma of chocolate. After roasting, the cocoa beans will crack and separate, the outer shell cracks leaving the cocoa bean flakes. At this point, we have something edible, which is really brown, and it tastes really bitter. For the meat, an alkaline solution (dutched process) is added to reduce the sour taste and make the nibs darker.
Mass cocoa grinding
The roasted cocoa nibs are then ground and ground to form a cocoa mass. Cocoa mass does not contain alcohol and can also be interpreted as a chocolate liquid. Cocoa mass can be squeezed to turn into cocoa butter or cocoa powder, or molded and solidified into bitter chocolate.
Cocoa Squeeze
To make cocoa, the cocoa mass is hydraulically squeezed to extract the cocoa butter portion of the cocoa mass, leaving the cocoa cakes. Cocoa butter will be used for medicine, cosmetics, and of course in the manufacture of chocolate. And the rest of the other cocoa solids are ground into cocoa powder.
Mixing and Removing
Now on to the chocolate part. The cocoa mass itself is actually bitter and not very soft. To make different types of chocolate (to make it sweeter and improve its texture), Manufacturers will add certain amounts of other ingredients such as sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and milk. These ingredients will be mixed into a paste with a consistent dough.
You can eat this now, and it tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t really have the same texture as what you’d normally imagine as a chocolate bar. At this stage, the sugar and cocoa are still quite coarse so manufacturers work around this by putting this mixture in the distillery, as well as in rollers, to improve the texture and soften the paste. This stage is very important to determine how soft this chocolate will be when eaten.
Conching
To refine the texture, and to really bring out the chocolate flavor, the mixture then enters the conching process. Conching is a flavor development process in which chocolate is placed under constant stirring. Conching machines, known as chonces, have large, powerful paddles that sweep the chocolate back and forth into a mashing process that can take hours to days. This conching process reduces moisture, removes any sour taste, and coats each chocolate article with a layer of cocoa butter. Later, the resulting chocolate will be softer in texture as well as in taste.
Tempering and molding process
Chocolate then enters the stage of developing elasticity by a heating and cooling process or what is called tempering. This process creates tiny cocoa butter crystals that sit within the molten chocolate mass. These are then deposited into molds of various shapes such as chips, droplets, and blocks. The right tempering process will make the final product that has a soft and shiny appearance.
Cooling and packing
The molded chocolate enters the cooling tunnel to solidify the chocolate pieces. The cooling cycle lasts about twenty minutes, depending on the size of the chocolate. From the cooling tunnel the chocolate is then packaged for delivery to retailers and finally into the hands of consumers.
