Today is October 28, so you know what that means… It is National Chocolate Day! In order to truly celebrate this fine holiday, let us take a glance at how this sweet slice of Heaven is made. So grab a chocolate bar, sit back and relax.

Chocolate begins with a cacao trees, found in regions 20° to the north and south of the equator. These trees produce pods that contain 30-50 seeds, or cacao (cocoa) beans. The tree, pod, and seed/bean are referred to most commonly as “cacao”, but after they have been fermented, dried and roasted, it can also be referred to as “cocoa”.

The cacao pods are first ripened to a vibrant yellow/orange color. Once they get to this stage they are chopped of the cacao tree. They are then are opened and the seeds are removed. The seeds are created in five columns surrounded by white pulp. Pods are harvested only twice a year, but they are harvested continually.

After being harvested the beans are cleaned, but the pulp is left on in order to develop the flavor. When first picked, the beans are a cream color, but after spending some time in the sun they change into a purple color. Depending where the fermentation is taking place, it will undergo fermentation in one of two different ways. The first was is called the “heap method”, which is popular in Africa. The second is popular in Latin America, where they go through a system of cascading boxes. The beans are covered with banana leaves in both methods. Fermentation can last between 2-9 days. During this time, the beans begin to take on the familiar color and some of the flavors one would recognize in chocolate.

These fermented beans then go through a process of drying, which must be done carefully. This works by putting fermented beans on wooden boards or bamboo mats and left out in the hot sun for 7-14 days. They must continually be raked and turned over in order to insure optimum dryness. Once dried, the dried beans are graded, packed into sacks, bundled, and checked for quality. Depending on the trade situation, these packaged beans are either shipped on the international market or they are exported directly to the chocolate maker.

Once the beans are received by the processor, they are cleaned and then roasted at low temperatures to create flavor. Shells are separated from the nibs, the “meat” of the bean, by a process called winnowing. Nibs are finely ground into cocoa mass, or cocoa liquor, which is solid at room temperature. Placed under extremely high pressure, the “cocoa liquor” can create to products: cocoa powder and cocoa butter.

When actually producing chocolate there are a few different to keep in mind: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. In the process of making dark chocolate, one must mix together cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar. For milk chocolate, one must just needs to add milk powder to that. Lastly, white chocolate is made with cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder (cocoa liquor not included).

The cocoa next goes through a process called “conching”. This is a careful process of rolling, kneading, heating, and aeration. A conche is a large agitator that stirs and smooths the mixture under heat. This is a crucial step in producing consistent, pure, and delicious chocolate. This is the stage when the chocolate reaches it final aroma and flavor. Chocolate is then refined until it smooth (the longer it is conched, the smoother it will be).

In the final step before being sent to a chocolatier is putting the chocolate into blocks or drops. This process requires “tempering”, which brings chocolate to a certain temperature. The well-known “snap”, shiny surface, and smoothness of chocolate is all developed during the tempering process.

You can add this delectable treat to anything as simple as ice cream, all the way to the most complicated dishes such as chocolate risotto. There are thousands of ways to use chocolate to enhance any sweet dish, so chocolate is never truly at its final stage. The creativity is endless.