Course in Chocolate Technology

Course Offering

See our Course Schedule for dates and pricing.

Course Overview

The chocolate technology course is aimed at giving students a basic understanding of the theoretical and practical knowledge of chocolate and chocolate processing.  The course is constantly being revised to stay abreast with new developments in technology.  We believe that we have developed the best practical - from beans to chocolate enrobing - chocolate technology course in the United States.

The object of this course is to give a basic understanding of the principles of chocolate and hard butter coating technology.  

Textbook - "The Science of Chocolate" by S.T. Beckett

Course Agenda

First and Second Days: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Raw materials of chocolate manufacture
  • Cocoa Beans: Varieties, Correct Fermentation
  • Cocoa Bean Processing: Practical Work: Cleaning, Roasting, Winnowing, Grinding
  • Composition of Cocoa Beans
  • Cocoa (Chocolate) Liquor
  • Cocoa Butter
• Chocolate Processing
  • Manufacture Chocolate
  • Ingredients: Chocolate Liquor, Milk Powder, Milk Crumb
  • Refining
  • Conching
  • Viscosity of Chocolate
  • Use of Lecithin
  • Federal Standards of Identity

Practical Work:

• Examine samples of cocoa beans: Review samples of chocolate made with liquors from various geographical regions . Discussion of sensory attributes of these samples.
• Prepare samples of chocolate (dark and milk): Determine particle size by microscope and micrometer, Show effect of "conching" on flavor development and viscosity, Adjust viscosity
• Make Milk Crumb: Make chocolate with milk crumb
• Lab demonstration of roasting beans and nibs. Winnow and grind to liquor
• "Ball-milling" of a chocolate paste
• Plastic viscosity and yield value determination of chocolate using modified Brookfield and Computer
• Students learn to temper chocolate
• Review of samples for correct and incorrect temper

Third and Fourth Days: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Chocolate Usage
  • Chocolate Moulding: Tablets, Shell Mould
  • Chocolate Enrobing: Description of Process, Cooling Tunnels, Importanceof Temperature and Humidity
  • Chocolate Tempering: Melting of Chocolate, Kettle and Automatic Tempering
  • Chocolate Storage

Practical Work:

• Students will be shown how to hand temper chocolate (showing effects of correct and incorrect methods of tempering).
• Hollow Moulding
• Operate enrober with dark chocolate: Showing effect of different cooling conditions, how underseeding and overseeding affect gloss, degree of temper, cooling curve and rheology.
• Measurement of degree of temper on various laboratory instruments (Sollich,Tricor, Richardson Researches' tempermeter)
• Shell Moulding demonstrated
• Hand Coat Samples of Compound Coatings
• Chocolate Panning.
• Review and compare samples of milk chocolate formula made from: Whole milk powder, Skim milk powder plus butter oil, Milk crumb process

Fifth Day: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Review of the week

Practical Work:

• Polish chocolate-panned samples
• Taste and examine commercially available chocolates
• Additional chocolate viscosity exercises (e.g., effect of adding polyglycerolpolyricinoleate, water, extra lecithin, and a higher phosphatydl lecithin and double refining chocolate).

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