From Bean To Bar
September 27, 2011
While in search of nature’s medicines, the Medicine Hunter named Chris Kilham is famous for his venture which entails trying out peculiar food, but the most recent one made him lean towards the "sweeter" side.
Just recently, Kilham took a trip to Mast Brothers Chocolate in Brooklyn, N.Y. to witness the behind-the-scenes in chocolate making.
Time and again, research has revealed that chocolate is in point of fact beneficial for you, health-wise. The benefits involve protecting the heart and mind, even sex drive.
In 2007, brothers Mike and Rick Mast started manufacturing organic chocolate made from some of the best cocoa beans worldwide, and they make approximately 5,000 bars every week .
Rick Mast said: “We’ve got beans from Madagascar, beans from Peru... basically our criteria is simple: We only source from the best, so we search the world over for the best cocoa beans,”
No bad beans are allowed in chocolate making, as Kilham found out. Thus, the beans are hand-sorted one-by-one before roasting.
“We’re not just making sure that we’re getting rid of any flat beans, any beans that are misshapen or are just not up to our standards, and we're screening them before we begin to roast,” Mike Mast said.
The beans are cautiously distributed on a tray in order for them to be roasted evenly before they're placed into a convection oven set around 300°F. This process facilitates separation of the bean from the husk, eliciting the rich, chocolaty goodness.
“We wait nine minutes. At that time, we’ll take the tray out, shake it, flip it, and put it back in – and the first step will be done,” Rick Mast added.
The next step involves a machine called a 'cracker' wherein the beans are poured, and they are separated from the husks leaving only the cocoa nibs which are used to make chocolate. The leftover husks are then donated to local farmers which they use for compost.
Next, the nubs are put under the stone grinders, where they are settled in one to three days. A cocoa bean consists of about 54 percent cocoa butter and the only other ingredient added during the grinding process is organic cane sugar.
After grinding, the chocolate is strained and sits for 30 days to age. Tempering is what gives chocolate its shiny look. According to Mike Mast, that's the time the molds are put in and let set in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
I myself would go out on a limb and try out bizarre anything if it will lead me to this kind of sweet adventure!
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