Making chocolate the traditional way can be done at home, although it’s sometimes a lengthy and involved process. If you want to try making homemade chocolate as a hobby and you want the satisfaction of making your own chocolate you can do it. You will need to buy some specialized equipment but not a lot. Traditional chocolate makingfrom scratch is a great hobby, so you should give traditional chocolate making a try to see if it’s the right hobby for you.
Steps for making homemade chocolate:
1.Choosing the beans. Chocolate is made from cacao beans so when you first start making chocolate the old fashioned way you should start with some good quality cacao beans. The better the beans, the better the chocolate! There are many suppliers on the internet that sell different varieties of cacao beans in many different price ranges. So, it is easy to find whole cacao beans on the web.
2. Roasting the beans. Cacao beans need to be roasted just like coffee beans. You can roast them on a cookie sheet in the oven if you are careful not to let them burn. You can also purchase a specialized cacao bean roaster for at home use if you’re going to pursue homemade chocolate making as a hobby. The beans can be roasted for as few as five minutes or up to 35 minutes depending on the type of bean and the flavor that you want to achieve.
3. Getting the chocolate out. After the beans are roasted, crack open the outer shell of the bean to remove the chocolate. There are several ways to do this at home. One way is to place the beans in a single sheet on a counter or on a baking sheet and use a hammer to crack the shells open. Then use a blow dryer on a low setting to blow the hulls away from the chocolate. You can also use a juicer to extract the chocolate. Removing the chocolate can be very messy, so make sure that you have a mop and bucket and other cleaning supplies on hand.
4. Grinding and refining the chocolate. Now, you need to grind the chocolate as fine as possible. Many expert chocolate makers recommend using a high quality juicer for this step. When the chocolate has been ground as finely as possible, you will add milk, sugar, preservatives, and anything else that you want to add to the chocolate to enhance the flavor. Once everything is mixed together, the chocolate will need to be agitated slowly but constantly. This process could take up to 12 hours to get the chocolate to exactly the right consistency. Some experts recommend using a stand mixer on a low setting for this stage of the process.
5. Tempering the chocolate. Once the chocolate has been fully refined it needs to be tempered before you can use it. Tempering chocolate at home can be time consuming, but if you want to speed up the process you can use a microwave to temper your homemade chocolate. Once the chocolate is tempered and is smooth, hard, and shiny. Now, it’s ready to be eaten or used in your favorite chocolate recipes!
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