Chocolate Making At Home For Fun and Satisfaction

Everyone loves chocolates. Who can say no to them? They're different from other candies because they're brown, black or white! They're sweet, they're bitter or they're both! They're smooth or textured, and they can even can say your name, or show someone a special message! You can even personalize them, so why not try chocolate making at home!

 Homemade chocolates are excellent for parties and they can help make your ordinary days quite special. It's easy and really fun to do! With just a few ingredients and five simple and exciting steps, you can make homemade chocolates to be proud of. We need bulk chocolate that you can buy in any grocery store. You don't need a particular brand. Just choose any chocolate bars you or your kids love.

We also need small cake cases, some candy and nuts, fruits, chocolate wafers or anything you want to mix or add to your chocolates, inside or out. So now, let's get on our aprons and begin this enjoyable experience. Prepare the ingredients. You can buy them or you can use your kids' chocolate bars left in the fridge. Grab some sprinkles from your kitchen and have everything set on a clean table.

 Melt the chocolate. Hmm. Smells good. Sounds tempting. But please, do not be tempted! Resist putting your fingers in the mixture and licking them off! Remember, we are making homemade chocolates. Once melted, you can add some candy and nuts, chopped strawberries or blueberries or anything else to add more texture, flavor and individuality. Pour the chocolate into a candy mold or small cases like an ice case or a small Tupperware. You can shape the chocolate by using chocolate molds, just remember to be quick to pour the chocolate mixture into the mold before it starts to set.

You can now add sprinkles on top of the chocolate, like marshmallows, small stars or anything your imagination can come up with. Place the chocolate in the fridge. Cool it there for about an hour. Take the chocolates out of the cases or molds, and wrap them in chocolate wrappers or you can put them altogether in a bowl. Wow! Now it's chocolate-eating time!

 Chocolates made at home make amazing treats for your friends and kids. It's a special feeling to eat anything that has been especially made for you, and chocolates are perhaps one of the most delicious of all tastes! There are various reasons why people make chocolate at home and making your loved ones happy is just one of them. Another reason is maybe you want to start a chocolate-making business at home.

 Making chocolates is fun but it can also be very profitable. But, why do some mothers, who are not into the business aspect, prefer making chocolates rather than buying them? Homemade chocolates taste far better than the commercial ones. This may be because with the commercial brands, something is lost in the mechanization of the process, or maybe it's the ingredients which are added to aid production, or just the lack of love, which you are able to put into your own homemade chocolates.

 People whose kids or parents have special conditions or dietary challenges can also be catered for. Eating commercially made chocolates are not recommended for them. It might cause some health problems, so to still enjoy eating chocolates without having to worry about possible health issues, making homemade chocolates is the sensible option. If you have any diabetics in your family who can't resist chocolates, you can maintain their health by making chocolates for them that are not going to harm them.

 Chocolates can cause chaos with their blood sugar levels. There are already chocolates available for diabetics but they're quite expensive and generally don't taste as good. So if you are a mother or teenager who wants to surprise your diabetic loved ones, make homemade chocolates that can help control their sugar levels and taste as good as normal chocolates.

 Chocolate making at home is fun and exciting! It's a pastime or business you can do on your own or with help from friends and family. You can have a good time with your kids while showering your chocolates with different toppings. You can give these chocolates as gifts for every occasion that you can think of, and a gift of homemade chocolates given with love is one that will be hard to beat.

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Chocolate Making

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. It is the skill of the chocolate maker that creates the fine chocolate from the cocoa beans that arrive from countries which grow cocoa. Production techniques have undergone a lot of changes, as the technology has advanced. But the process of making chocolates remains the same. It involves roasting, grinding, refining, conching and tempering. The secret of good chocolate lies in the expertise of the maker, who should follow the process with care.

 Roasting: The ultimate quality of chocolate depends on the process of roasting and cocoa seed fermentation. There are several roasting processes.

 Pre - roasting: The beans are heated in infra red radiant heaters to separate the nibs from the shells. They are roasted at temperature from 100 degree C to 140 degree C (212 degree F to 300 degree F) for twenty to forty minutes.

 Direct roasting: As an alternative the beans are roasted and then shells are removed. This traditional method allows retaining the flavour. The temperature for this process is maintained at between 150 degree C and 160 degree C (300 degree F and 320 degree F) for 40 to 50 minutes.

 Even though both the methods are followed today, the pre -roasting is more productive, but the problem is that some varieties of beans get damaged when removed from shells due to severe temperature fluctuations. The roasting is very important in the process of chocolate making. The cocoa gets dried and become brown and develop the flavour, thus completing the first stage of manufacturing.

 The fermentation which is to be carried out earlier enhances the flavour. It reduces the sugar, glucose, fructose and amino acids. In fact it is the fermentation that brings the flavour and the roasting process only augment the results of good fermentation. Proper care should be taken to carry out fermentation. The possibilities of beans getting spoiled are very high if the process is not carried out carefully.

 The quality of the chocolate will be superior if the shells are removed thoroughly after or during the roasting. The process of shelling includes milling, sifting, and winnowing. Each of the process is important. When shelling completes the grains should be uniform in size and there should not be any residual shells.

 The roasted and crushed beans are milled to fine flour. During the milling process, care should be taken to maintain the required temperature to avoid smoky or burnt off flavours. The refining converts the milled cocoa into a thick liquid form as cocoa butter.

 Conching with powerful machines to stir the chocolate to make it a homogeneous mixture must follow. This is done in two stages. One is dry conching that is, stirring the chocolate at a temperature of around 80 degree C (175 degree F) to get rid of any residual moisture and to add viscosity.

 Liquid conching is followed immediately after the dry conching. It is done the same conch as a continuous process, to maintain the texture and viscosity. Add cocoa butter if necessary. Tempering is a very delicate process of making chocolate from the liquid or semi liquid to a solid form. The chocolate is then heated until the cocoa butter crystals have melted completely. The product is then cooled to an appropriate temperature. The tempered chocolate when perfected is a smooth, glossy and brittle product with good flavour and tempting aroma.

 The tasting chocolate involves skill. Those who enjoy different flavours of chocolates can identify the origin of the beans that are used in its making. Like coffee or wine, different people enjoy chocolate according to their tastes. Chocolates should be kept at a temperature of 66 degree F to 76 degree F to retain its taste and flavour.

 There are different types of chocolates, depending on it filling. Some may be bitter or salty. Chocolates are made with the following flavours. In plain chocolates there are flavours of cocoa, pineapple, banana, passion fruit, vanilla, cinnamon or a blend of these.

 In filled chocolates, all, the above aromas coupled with the flavours of almond, pistachio, hazel nut, wall nut, honey and fresh fruit are used. A tint of salt highlights the above flavours.

 As for the texture, the chocolate should not leave any grain on the tongue, when you taste it. The ingredients should be grounded and blended to 12 to 20 microns. Plain and dark chocolate tasting technique involves keeping it in you mouth for a few seconds, to taste the base and primary flavours. Wait for a few seconds and chew it for 5 to 10 times to enjoy the secondary flavours.

 Keep the filled chocolate in your mouth until it melts to release the base and primary flavours. Then chew for 4 to 5 times to blend the filling and coating and enjoy it. Finally, note how long the flavour lingers on the tongue.

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Tips For Making Chocolate

Making chocolate is challenging. To help you along the way, here are some tips you should know. First, water is the enemy of chocolate so make sure that the two do not come into contact with one another otherwise, your chocolate will become grainy. If you are using white colored chocolate and want to add coloring to it, never use regular food color or food color paste since this too contains water.

You should only use powdered or gel varieties. When you are adding color to chocolate, add this in small quantities and stir before adding more. This is because putting in might change the color of your chocolate making it too bright. If this happens, this can be remedied by diluting the shade using some more white chocolate.

 Apart from powdered or gel varieties of color, you can also use artist brushes to paint designs into your mold. Another option is to use lollipop sticks or even toothpicks so you will have better control in making the finished product. When you are done using the chocolate mold, never wash this with soap as this removes its stickiness.

Just use water and after rinsing, dry this properly to prevent spots from appearing that will also make it difficult to release the chocolate from the mold. But if it is already difficult to remove, the next time you use the mold, apply a light coating of vegetable oil as this always does the trick. Should there be some chocolate on the edges of the mold, remove it using a butter knife.

Remember this can be reused by simply melting it again and then pouring this to the next batch of whatever you are making. If your melted chocolate is too thick to paint, add some parafinflakes until you get the right mixture. If you don't have this, you can also use vegetable shortening or cocoa butter.

 Chocolate when melted and poured into the mold was immediately be placed inside the freezer for several minutes. To remove it, you simply have to turn this over onto a tray. If it does not come out on its own, you can tap it gently or pour some hot water in the back. Some people paint the chocolate after it has been taken out of the freezer.

 To do this, you must hold the mold over you head so you can see it from the right side. If there are any air bubbles, tap the area where they are using your fingers until it pops. If you happen to make a mistake while painting, don't worry. You should just put the mold back into the freezer so it will be easy to remove when it hardens and you can easily correct it.

The rule of thumb when it comes to painting is to finish one color first before moving on to the others. If you are not good painting all the details, do what many people do and that is to simply use just one solid color. By following these chocolate making tips, you will be able to make chocolate for any occasion all year round. You can give this away as gifts or serve this as part of your dessert which will make you feel proud knowing that you made this yourself instead of buying this from the store.

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