Are you one of the biggest chocolate lovers that can never resist it? Then a little more information about how it’s made and correctly stored won’t hurt.
From food for gods to an everyday snack
It is not a coincidence that the latin name for the cocoa tree is Theobroma cacao, which in translation means food for the gods. Chocolate doesn’t only have a heavenly taste, but in the past it was actually very well respected ingredient. The Aztecs used the cocoa nibs as money and the Maya people belived that it possesed magical powers, they used it at birth, weddings or death.
Christopher Columbus is the person responsible for introducing chocolate to Europe. The Azteks gifted him with cocoa nibs. After a short time the Spanish elite recognized the value of chocolate and it quickly became the simbol of Spain and Europe. With the industrial revolution and the beginning of Lindt, Nestlé and others, chocolate soon became accessible to the public. It does not take a god or a prince to know that chocolate tastes great.
From cocoa nibs to chocolate bars
Raw chocolate is make from a long processed cocoa which is made under the watchfull eye of experts. The first step to the finished product- chocolate- is the harvest of the cocoa tree. After the cocoa nibs are dried in the sun they go in to the process of fermentation, which lasts a week. In this stage the level of sugar in the cocoa nibs drastically falls and at this time they become the brown colour that we all know.trokovnjakov.
From a mixture of dried cocoa nibs and cold pressed cocoa butter combined with organic sweeteners we make the raw chocolate come to life.Because of the organic sweeteners being filled with more nutrients and having a lower GI ,they are much better then the proccesed white sugar. It also doesn’t include gluten or milk.
How to properly store raw chocolate?
For the chocolate to keep its original form and texture it has to be stored properly in a closed and cold room. The ideal tempertaure for chocolate is 17 degrees Celsius or 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of high temperatures the cocoa butter can come to the surface and start forming white spots, we call that »blooming of the chocolate«. The effect isn’t harmfull but it does change the structure of the chocolate.
Chocolate loves to be in low temperatures, which means itis great to store it in the fridge. So it doesn’t pull on any unnecessary smells wrap it in a paper towel and but it in a plastic bag which can be transformed into a vaccume bag. This will protect the chocolate from condensation. Always store the chocolate in a room with less then 50% moisture.
>> Check out our sweet offer of delicious organic raw chocolates with different ingredients.