Cacao seeds which is also known as cacao beans is used to make chocolate. The cacao tree is a native of South America. So, what is this cocoa butter? In addition to making chocolate with cocoa butter, cocoa butter has beauty benefits as well. In making chocolate, cocoa beans undergo an extensive transfromation process.

Initially they are fermented. Next, they are sun dried and bagged before being exported. To develop the distinctive flavor of chocolate, the cocoa beans are sorted, cleaned and roasted. These roasted beans are then shelled and grounded. The intense heat of the grinding process melts the fat in the cocoa beans resulting in a fatty material with a bitter taste called the chocolate liquor. From this liquor cocoa butter or yellow fat is separated leaving behind a solid cake. This is then ground and sifted to manufacture coocoa powder.

To make the chocolate that you get in the market, sugar, additional fat and milk and other things depending on the type of chocolate that is required, is added to the chocolate liquor. The fat that is usually added to the chocolate is cocoa butter which gives it the melting sensation. Most countries including United States permit only this fat to be added to the chocolate but in some European countries addition of vegetable fat is also permitted. In fact, cocoa butter is the only content of cacao used to make white chocolate.

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Cocoa butter unlike our normal butter can be stored for a period of 2-5 years. It also has lot of antioxidants, this is the reason that many people claim that chocolate has medicinal properties.

tags: chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate liqour, cocoa butter, chocaholic

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