How do Cocoa Beans Become Chocolate?
Click on the image to download the .pdf file.
In preparing for teaching a class called “Get Healthy with Chocolate,” I became curious about how chocolate goes from large green pods on a tree to brown cocoa powder or glossy chocolate bars. After doing some research, I found my answer. There are a lot of steps to it! I charted them on a one-page handout for my class. Feel free to download the page and have a look.
The most interesting thing to me is that the fat is squeezed out of the chocolate that becomes cocoa powder, which is why “healthy chocolate” foods contain cocoa powder, not melted chocolate. Chocolate bars and other candy are made by adding more fat to the fat already in the chocolate and mixing in sugar, milk, and other ingredients. So “getting healthy with chocolate” means cooking and baking with cocoa powder.
Here are my dessert recipes featuring cocoa powder. Yum!