25/01/2022
Let's talk about chocolate: If you have ever come across terms like cacao nibs, chocolate liquor or cocoa butter, it can all get a bit confusing. To understand the difference, we need to know a bit more about the process of making chocolate. Farmers harvest the fruit pods of the cacao trees to break them open and release the seeds. The seeds have a bitter taste and are left to ferment. Once fermented and dried, the cacao seeds are roasted carefully and the shells removed. This leaves the cocoa nibs, the key ingredient in chocolate. Nibs are made up of equal parts of cocoa butter and cocoa solids. The former provides the mouth feel, while the latter brings the complex dark aromas and tastes of chocolate. They are further mixed with sugar, milk and other flavors and left to rest in molds, ready for enjoyment. A final note on terms you might see in the grocery store - ‘cacao’ usually refers to beans that have not been roasted, whereas ‘cocoa’ refers to beans and products that have.
