From cocoa fruit to cocoa: fermentation, drying and processing

Useful to know

Cocoa begins as seeds in the fruit of the cocoa tree. Familiar "grains" are not a finished chocolate product, but a raw material that must be prepared and processed. The International Cocoa Organization, ICCO, describes cultivation as an activity dependent on appropriate climatic conditions, including temperature and rainfall. Therefore, the taste of the final product has a long backstory that begins before the factory and cannot be explained by just the amount of sugar in the recipe. [1]

After harvesting, the fruits are opened and the seeds are separated along with the surrounding pulp. Fermentation is an important stage of preparation. It is not the same as baking and should not be seen simply as waiting before drying. In the process, changes occur related to the development of the characteristic qualities of cocoa. Management at this stage affects the raw material that will later arrive at the processor. Different operations have consistent rather than interchangeable functions. [2]

Drying reduces moisture and prepares the grains for further storage and processing. It must be different from the heat treatment later used to develop the taste. Even when two stages involve heat or air movement, their goals are not the same. This is a useful distinction when reading descriptions such as "fermented", "dried" and "roasted". Each word indicates a part of the technological path, rather than a standalone guarantee of the quality of the finished chocolate. [2]

In industrial processing, cleaning, sheathing, baking and grinding are carried out according to the scheme used. The grinding of the cocoa particles gives a cocoa mass, which also contains the natural fat. By pressing, cocoa butter and a solid residue can be released, from which cocoa powder is produced. Thus, butter and powder are not two unrelated ingredients with a similar name. They are different fractions from the processing of one raw material and behave differently in recipes. [3]

Alkalization is an additional possible operation that changes properties such as color. Therefore, very dark cocoa powder should not automatically be taken as evidence that all its other characteristics are better. It is important what product the recipe requires. If it is developed for a particular type of cocoa, replacing it only by appearance can change the result. In comparison, it is more useful to read the name, composition and description of the treatment, rather than the color being the only criterion. [3]

One practical way to arrange concepts is to trace the material: the fruit contains the seeds; preparation involves fermentation and drying; processing gives different cocoa ingredients; the recipe combines them into a finished product. Thus, the percentage of cocoa on chocolate packaging is not confused with a description of the entire production process. For the home cook, the most useful is the clarity of what exactly he is using: mixing powder, fat for a certain structure or ready-made chocolate with its own composition. These products can be linked in origin without being identical in use.