Adapting to the need for smaller batch sizes
Suzanne Callander reports on how chocolate production processes are being affected by fast-changing consumer demands.
W
hile many players in the cocoa processing business will freely refer to themselves as being conservative, there has in fact been significant processing development in recent years. For example, capacity
improvements on the presses, the alkalising process and also roasting innovations. The ongoing consumer demand for ‘all natural’ products
is also having an effect on cocoa processing lines, according to Roy Smith, manager technology at Royal Duyvis Wiener. “For the first time in our recollection the alkalisation process is under debate with conversations now taking place about whether alkalising agents are considered to be natural. Is dutched (alkalised) cocoa stepping away from what consumers expect from their all-natural chocolate or compound food or beverage?”
24 Kennedy’s Confection July 2022 Dutching
After harvesting, cocoa beans are fermented, roasted and crushed into cocoa nibs. The next step is to grind and press the nibs to separate the cocoa butter from the cocoa mass. After grinding, the cocoa mass is pressed, and the fatty components flow out in the form of liquid cocoa butter. What’s left is a cocoa powder mass. The alkalisation step was invented in the 19th century
by a Dutchman called Coenraad van Houten, which it why the process is so often still referred to as ‘Dutching’. It is a chemical process which treats the cocoa powder mass with an alkaline solution such as potassium or sodium carbonate to neutralise the acidity of the cocoa and reduce the naturally bitter taste of cocoa powder. It also has the effect of improving the solubility of cocoa powder.
KennedysConfection.com
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