Chocolate Factories
The Chocolate Connoisseur June 12th, 2007
A chocolate factory is a place where large amounts of chocolate are manufactured, usually for resale in retail outlets. Most chocolate manufacturers have a chocolate factory where their products are made.
A chocolate factory can be a small, family-run business where specialties are produced in smaller amounts, typically to be sold in the family-run store to the public. In larger conglomerates, such as Hershey’s Chocolates or Ghirardelli Chocolates, the production floor is a large environment making vast amounts of chocolate and novelties. The companies that have factories employ large numbers of people to help in the management and operations of huge companies to cover all elements of the producing and packaging of the chocolates in the chocolate factory. Most large companies have more than one factory, usually strategically positioned throughout the world or across the country to help distribute their products all over the world to meet the demands of chocolate consumers.
How Chocolate is Produced
Before reaching the chocolate factory, the cocoa beans will first be harvested when they are ripe. The beans are usually grown in warm countries such as Hawaii, Brazil or Indonesia. The beans resemble small pineapples or melons and are picked when they are mature. The pods contain approximately 20-40 seeds in each one. The chocolate factory workers remove the beans from the pods to allow the beans to dry out. The seeds then go through a stage of production to allow them to ferment in the sun. While the fermentation allows the beans to ferment and to darken, it is also when the flavor develops in the cocoa seeds. After the fermentation is complete, in about a week’s time, the chocolate factory workers select combinations of the beans to create specific flavors for the different chocolate products. The seeds are then transported to other parts of the chocolate factory to go through the continued development to achieve the finished products. The beans are roasted then separated from the shells of the cocoa beans. The hulling, as this process is called, allows the nibs or seeds to be milled into the cocoa liquor which is achieved by the seeds being ground up. The powdery substance that this produces is called the cocoa powder. The thick paste which is also present is called the cocoa butter. All three ingredients, the liquor, powder and butter, all with milk or milk products and sugar, help to create chocolate in the chocolate factory. After the mixture is well combined, the chocolate factory workers aid in the creation of the chocolate into the desired and required shapes or portions. After the chocolate is distributed, it is packaged and boxed for sale.
A chocolate factory is a place where many people can be part of a busy, fast-paced environment that provides millions of consumers with their desired chocolate products all over the world.
