Diabetic Chocolate

The Process of Making Chocolate

Making chocolate involves a long process, from the cacao tree to the hands of the farmers to the factory to the hands of the master chocolate maker.

From Nature to the Factory

Chocolate comes from processed cacao beans, harvested from the cacao tree. Cacao trees only grow in tropical climates, 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The first cacao trees grew in the Amazon basins, north of Brazil. Today it is grown and cultivated in many tropical countries such as Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast, which are also four of the largest cacao growers in the world. Cacao trees strive in warm and humid weather with little or no wind. They like loose rich soil and shaded sunlight, usually growing under the shade of taller trees such as coconut, banana, and rubber trees. Cacao trees are harvested only twice a year. The pods, where the seeds or the beans can be harvested, take five to six months to develop. The pods turn to orange or red from a green or yellow color once they are ripe and ready for picking. To harvest the pods, farmers use a machete to cut them off the tree. This is why cacao trees are trimmed to only about twenty feet, because they can shoot up as high as sixty feet. After picking, the cacao beans or seeds are left to ferment for several days, depending on the types of cacao variety. After fermentation, the seeds are wrinkled and darker in color and lose their overly bitter taste. They are the dried under the sun for another several days and then packed in sacks and shipped into factories. In the factory, the beans are cleaned and sorted and roasted at 450 to 350 degrees for thirty minutes up to two hours. Inside large revolving drums.

Making Chocolate Liquor

After roasting, the cacao beans’ outer shell are removed, the process of which is called winnowing. The separated shells are sold as animal feeds and the inner nib is crushed and heated until it melts into cocoa butter and then ground into a thick paste called chocolate liquor. Liquor in this case does not mean it contains any alcohol but simply is in liquid form. This chocolate liquor forms the base of different types of chocolates, including dark, white, and milk chocolate. The concentration of the chocolate liquor will determine the richness of the chocolate’s taste.

Different Processes for Different Types of Chocolate

There are also different processes for making different kinds of chocolate. Dutch-processed cocoa requires an alkali treatment. Without an alkali treatment, the liquor becomes cocoa powder and can be used for baking. To make cocoa powder, 10 to 25 percent of the cocoa butter is extracted from the cocoa liquor using a large press machine. This produces a cakey form, which is then ground and sifted using silk, nylon, or wire mesh. Dark chocolate is made by combining chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, vanilla and sugar. Milk chocolate is also a combination of those ingredients but has less cocoa liquor and milk is added in the mixture. Diabetic chocolate can be processed like milk or dark chocolate but contains no sugar, and instead make use of sugar alternatives.

About the Author

Chris Alleny writes about various subjects including food. For more information on fine homemade
gourmet chocolates
visit www.ultimatechocolateshoppe.com

Diabetic Chocolate Questions

I found this one BUT I have never made it so can’t promise a great taste.
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups nonfat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Not the one? See other Fat Free Chocolate Cake Recipes

* < 60 mins Cakes
* Low Fat Cakes
* Chocolate Cakes

1. Beat Together and set aside first 3 ingredients.
2. Sift Together all remaining ingredients.
3. Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
4. Pour into 10" pan sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Bake in oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
6. Cool in pan on rack and remove when completely cool.

This was a users comment on this recipe:
This Cake was good but a little dry... I know that if you give up the Fat(and the sugar) sometimes that happens but Thanks for a Cake that I can enjoy "guilt free". I crave Chocolate cake with Icing alot and being a borderline Diabetic and overweight, I try to watch my fat and calorie intake. I even substituted Splenda for the Sugar and I used whole wheat flour.

Question for people with Diabetes!?

If anyone here is a diabetic, I’m sure you like sugar free chocolates. I love Ross sugar- free white chocolate bars. I used to buy them at CVS pharmacy, but they stopped having them. Now, I can only find them online and they are very pricy. If anyone else likes these candy bars and knows a store that sells them, could you please tell me the name of the store. Thanks!

i found them at Kroger

No Added Sugar Chocolate MINT £1.20 Plamil has been making its own chocolate for decades. Our expertise in making quality chocolates ensures each bar is sumptuous tasting with a superfine texture that just melts in the mouth. We’ve added snack bars to our popular range of ‘no added sugar’ chocolates and made the bars a touch richer than before with more cocoa. Now these bars are 72% cocoa and we’ve included a new Mint flavour in th…

Sugar-free Dark Chocolate Bar 100g (Nut-free, Gluten-free, Lactose-free, Egg-free, Kosher, Vegan) £2.95 All the taste, but none of the sugar – gorgeous no added sugar dark chocolate (55% cocoa solids) Dammenberg chocolate from Finland. Store in a cool, dry place. Ingredients: cocoa mass, Maltitol (E965), cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring (vanilla). Cocoa Solids 54% min. WARNING CONTAINS: soya WARNING MAY CONTAIN TRACES: MILK Nutritional Information per 100g: Protein 5.4g Milk Prot…

No Added Sugar 34% Milk Chocolate Bar (suitable for diabetics) NUT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, EGG-FREE KOSHER, VEGETARIAN No added sugar milk chocolate. 100g Dammenberg chocolate from Finland. Made in a nut-free environment. Ingredients: Sweetener: Maltitol (E965), milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring (vanilla). WARNING CONTAINS: milk & soya Cocoa solids 34% min. Milk solids 23.1% min. Nutritional Information per 100g: 2053kj, 487 kcal Energy 7.4g protein 50.9g carbohydrate 41…

Chocolate Soup For Diabetics £29.99 …

Chocolate Soup for Diabetics 4 £13.99 …

Chocolate Soup for Diabetics Vol.2 [VINYL] £12.99 …

Special Recipe Chocolate Bars Plain/Mint 100g £1.57 What is it about our Special Recipe milk chocolate which makes it so special? Perhaps it’s the rich, velvety smooth taste of milk chocolate made only with the finest ingredients. Or maybe it’s the choice of five deliciously different flavours. But what makes this Special recipe really special is that each bar contains fructose. Which mean’s there’s one luxury that everyone can enjoy….

Special Recipe Chocolate Bars Plain 100g £1.57 What is it about our Special Recipe milk chocolate which makes it so special? Perhaps it’s the rich, velvety smooth taste of milk chocolate made only with the finest ingredients. Or maybe it’s the choice of five deliciously different flavours. But what makes this Special recipe really special is that each bar contains fructose. Which mean’s there’s one luxury that everyone can enjoy….

Ela Diabetic Chocolate Chip cookies – 150g £1.39 Sugar free chocolate chip cookies….

Special Recipe Chocolate Bars Milk 100G £1.57 What is it about our Special Recipe milk chocolate which makes it so special? Perhaps it’s the rich, velvety smooth taste of milk chocolate made only with the finest ingredients. Or maybe it’s the choice of five deliciously different flavours. But what makes this Special recipe really special is that each bar contains fructose. Which mean’s there’s one luxury that everyone can enjoy….

Diabetic Chocolate Videos

Healthy Chocolate Motivational Video – This always fires me up!

It has never been easier to shop for Diabetic Chocolate, So run don”t walk and pick up Diabetic Chocolate at bargain prices!

Cadbury Chocolate | History of bread | Luxury Chocolate | Home - Warburtons