Cocoa and Chocolate Part 13

Ingredients required for _chocolate for covering cremes_, etc.:

Cacao nib or ma.s.s 30 parts Cacao b.u.t.ter 20 "

Sugar 49-3/4 "

Flavouring 1/4 "

------------- 100 parts

It is prepared in exactly the same way as ordinary eating chocolate, save that more b.u.t.ter is added to make it flow readily, so that in the melted condition it has about the same consistency as cream. The operations so far described are conducted by men, but the covering of cremes and the packing of the finished chocolates into boxes are performed by girls. Covering is light work requiring a delicate touch, and if, as is usual, it is done in bright airy rooms, is a pleasant occupation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GIRLS COVERING, OR DIPPING, CREMES, ETC.

(Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Bournville.)]

The girl sits with a small bowl of warm liquid chocolate in front of her, and on one side the "centres" (cremes, caramels, ginger, nuts, etc.) ready for covering with chocolate. The chocolate must be at just the right temperature, which is 88 F., or 31 C. She takes one of the "centres," say a vanilla creme, on her fork and dips it beneath the chocolate. When she draws it out, the white creme is completely covered in brown chocolate and, without touching it with her finger, she deftly places it on a piece of smooth paper. A little twirl of the fork or drawing a p.r.o.ng across the chocolate will give the characteristic marking on the top of the chocolate creme. The chocolate rapidly sets to a crisp film enveloping the soft creme. There are in use in many chocolate factories some very ingenious covering machines, invented in 1903, which, as they clothe cremes in a robe of chocolate, are known as "enrobers"; it is doubtful, however, if the chocolates so produced have even quite so good an appearance as when the covering is done by hand.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ENROBER.

A machine for covering cremes, etc., with chocolate.

Reproduced by permission of Messrs. Savy Jeanjean & Co., Paris.]

It would be agreeable at this point to describe the making of cremes (which, by the way, contrary to the opinion of most writers, contain no cream or b.u.t.ter), and other products of the confectioner's art, but it would take us beyond the scope of the present book. We will only remind our readers of the great variety of comestibles and confections which are covered in chocolate--pistachio nut, roasted almonds, pralines, biscuits, walnuts, nougat, montelimar, fruits, fruit cremes, jellies, Turkish delight, marshmallows, caramels, pine-apple, noisette, and other delicacies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A CONFECTIONERY ROOM AT MESSRS. CADBURY'S WORKS AT BOURNVILLE.

Cutting almond paste by hand moulds.]

_Milk Chocolate._

We owe the introduction of this excellent food and confection to the researches of M.D. Peter of Vevey, in Switzerland, who produced milk chocolate as early as 1876. Many of our older readers will remember their delight when in the eighteen nineties they first tasted Peter's milk chocolate. Later the then little firm of Cailler, realising the importance of having the factory on the very spot where rich milk was produced in abundance, established a works near Gruyeres. This grew rapidly and soon became the largest factory in Switzerland. The sound principle of having your factory in the heart of a milk producing area was adopted by Cadbury's, who built milk condensing factories at the ancient village of Frampton-on-Severn, in Gloucestershire, and at Knighton, near Newport, Salop. Before the war these two factories together condensed from two to three million gallons of milk a year.

Whilst the amount of milk used in England for making milk chocolate appears very great when expressed in gallons, it is seen to be very small (being only about one-half of one per cent.) when expressed as a fraction of the total milk production. Milk chocolate is not made from milk produced in the winter, when milk is scarce, but from milk produced in the spring and summer when there is milk in excess of the usual household requirements, and when it is rich and creamy. The importance of not interfering with the normal milk supply to local customers is appreciated by the chocolate makers, who take steps to prevent this. It will interest public a.n.a.lysts and others to know that Cadbury's have had no difficulty in making it a stipulation in their contracts with the vendors that the milk supplied to them shall contain at least 3.5 per cent. of b.u.t.ter fat, a 17 per cent. increase on the minimum fixed by the Government.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FACTORY AT FRAMPTON, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, AT WHICH MILK IS EVAPORATED FOR MILK CHOCOLATE MANUFACTURE.

(Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Ltd.).]

SPECIMEN OUTLINE RECIPE.

Ingredients required for _milk chocolate_:

Cacao nib or ma.s.s (from 10 to 20 per cent.), say 10 Cacao b.u.t.ter 20 Sugar 44-3/4 Milk solids (from 15 to 25 per cent.), say 25=(200 parts of milk.) Flavouring 1/4 -------- 100

Milk chocolate consists of an intimate mixture of cacao nib, sugar and milk, condensed by evaporation. The manner in which the milk is mixed with the cacao nib is a matter of taste, and the art of combining milk with chocolate, so as to retain the full flavour of each, has engaged the attention of many experts. At present there is no general method of manufacture--each maker has his own secret processes, which generally include the use of grinding mills, _melangeurs_, conches, moulding machines, etc., as with plain chocolate. We cannot do better than refer those who wish to know more of this, or other branch of the chocolate industry, to the following English, French and German standard works on Chocolate Manufacture:

_Cocoa and Chocolate, Their Chemistry and Manufacture_, by R.

Whymper (Churchill).

_Fabrication du Chocolat_, by Fritsch (Scientifique et Industrielle).

_The Manufacture of Chocolate_, by Dr. Paul Zipperer (Spon).

CHAPTER VII

BY-PRODUCTS OF THE COCOA AND CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY

Of Cacao b.u.t.ter.--

It is the best and most natural _Pomatum_ for Ladies to _clear_ and _plump_ the Skin when it is _dry, rough_, or _shrivel'd_, without making it appear either _fat_ or _shining_. The _Spanish Women_ at _Mexico_ use it very much, and it is highly esteem'd by them.

_The Natural History of Chocolate_, R. Brookes, 1730.

Of Cacao Sh.e.l.l.--

In Russia and Belgium many families take Caravello at breakfast. This is nothing but cocoa husk, washed and then boiled in milk.

_Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacture_, A. Jacoutot.

_Cacao b.u.t.ter._

In that very able compilation, _Allen's Organic a.n.a.lysis_, Mr. Leonard Archb.u.t.t states (Vol. II, p. 176) that cacao b.u.t.ter "is obtained in large quant.i.ties as a by-product in the manufacture of chocolate." This is repeated in the excellent book on _Oils_, by C.A. Mitch.e.l.l (Common Commodities of Commerce series). These statements are, of course, incorrect. We have seen that cacao b.u.t.ter is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of cocoa, and is _consumed_ in large quant.i.ties in the manufacture of chocolate. When, during the war, the use of sugar for chocolate-making was restricted and little chocolate was produced, the cacao b.u.t.ter formerly used in this industry was freed for other purposes. Thus there was plenty of cacao b.u.t.ter available at a time when other fats were scarce. Cacao b.u.t.ter has a pleasant, bland taste resembling cocoa. The cocoa flavour is very persistent, as many experimenters found to their regret in their efforts to produce a tasteless cacao b.u.t.ter which could be used as margarine or for general purposes in cooking. The scarcity of edible fats during the war forced the confectioners to try cacao b.u.t.ter, which in normal times is too expensive for them to use, and as a result a very large amount was employed in making biscuits and confectionery.

Cacao b.u.t.ter runs hot from the presses as an amber-coloured oil, and after nitration, sets to a pale golden yellow wax-like fat. The b.u.t.ter, which the pharmacist sells, is sometimes white and odourless, having been bleached and deodorized. The b.u.t.ter as produced is always pale yellow in colour, with a semi-crystalline or granular fracture and an agreeable taste and odour resembling cocoa or chocolate.

Cacao b.u.t.ter has such remarkable keeping properties (which would appear to depend on the aromatic substances which it contains), that a myth has arisen that it will keep for ever. The fable finds many believers even in scientific circles; thus W.H. Johnson, in the _Imperial Inst.i.tute Handbook_ on _Cocoa_, states that: "When pure, it has the peculiar property of not becoming rancid, however long it may be kept." Whilst this overstates the case, we find that under suitable conditions cacao b.u.t.ter will remain fresh and good for several years. Cacao b.u.t.ter has rather a low melting point (90 F.), so that whilst it is a hard, almost brittle, solid at ordinary temperatures, it melts readily when in contact with the human body (blood heat 98 F). This property, together with its remarkable stability, makes it useful for ointments, pomades, suppositories, pessaries and other pharmaceutical preparations; it also explains why actors have found it convenient for the removal of grease paint. The recognition of the value of cacao b.u.t.ter for cosmetic purposes dates from very early days; thus in Colmenero de Ledesma's _Curious Treatise on the Nature and Quality of Chocolate_ (printed at the Green Dragon, 1685), we read: "That they draw from the cacao a great quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter, which they use to make their faces shine, which I have seen practised in the Indies by the Spanish women born there."

This, evidently, was one way of shining in society.

Cacao b.u.t.ter has been put to many other uses, thus it has been employed in the preparation of perfumes, but the great bulk of the cacao b.u.t.ter produced is used up by the chocolate maker. For making chocolate it is ideal, and the demand for it for this purpose is so great that subst.i.tutes have been found and offered for sale. Until recently these fats, coconut stearine and others, could be ignored by the reputable chocolate makers as the confection produced by their use was inferior to true chocolate both in taste and in keeping properties. In recent times the oils and fats of tropical nuts and fruits have been thoroughly investigated in the eager search for new fats, and new subst.i.tutes, such as illipe b.u.t.ter, have been introduced, the properties of which closely resemble those of cacao b.u.t.ter.

For the information of chemists we may state that the a.n.a.lytical figures for genuine cacao b.u.t.ter, as obtained in the cocoa factory, are as follow:

a.n.a.lYTICAL FIGURES FOR CACAO b.u.t.tER.

Specific Gravity (at 99 C. to water at 15.5 C.) .858 to .865 Melting Point 32C. to 34C.

t.i.ter (fatty acids) 49C. to 50C.

Iodine Absorbed 34% to 38% Refraction (Butyro-Refractometer) at 40C. 45.6 to 46.5 Saponification Value 192 to 198 Valenta 94C. to 96C.

Reichert Meissel Value 1.0 Polenske Value 0.5 Kirschner " 0.5 Shrewsbury and Knapp Value 14 to 15 Unsaponifiable matter 0.3% to 0.8% Mineral matter 0.02% to 0.05% Acidity (as oleic acid) 0.6% to 2.0%

Although the trade in cacao b.u.t.ter is considerable, there were, before the war, only two countries that could really be considered as exporters of cacao b.u.t.ter; in other words, there were only two countries, namely, Holland and Germany, pressing out more cacao b.u.t.ter in the production of cocoa than they absorbed in making chocolate:

EXPORT OF CACAO b.u.t.tER.

Tons (of 1000 kilogrammes) 1911 1912 1913 Holland 4,657 5,472 7,160 Germany 3,611 3,581 1,960 ----- ----- ----- 8,268 9,053 9,120 ----- ----- -----

During the war America appeared for the first time in her history as an exporter of cacao b.u.t.ter. Hitherto she was one of the princ.i.p.al importers, as will be seen in the following table: