Are cocoa beans the same as chocolate chips?

I summarized myself. Personally, I think that chocolate is a chocolate puree formed by pressing the cacao fruit (that is, the dried cocoa fruit). Then by adding a certain formula ratio and corresponding ingredients to the puree, it is a product that is fully emulsified through the grinding process.

So, if we want to better understand what chocolate is, we have to go back to the source. What is the Cocoa Tree? What is cacao and cacao fruit?

How did they come about?

Now on a global scale, there are three different species of this cacao tree. Then there is a hybrid variety with more seeds, which accounts for about 70% of the global production. This hybrid combines the advantages of the first two breeds, as well as their weaknesses.

Therefore, the cocoa fruit we see now can actually reach 25 to 30cm in length per segment, and the color is chaotic. Each of them has about five segments, and each segment has five fruits. There are about 25 to 75 pieces of each fruit, about 500 grams each, and it looks like a rugby.

Like. And then a tree, because the flowers of his life are basically fixed, 100,000 flowers. Because the flower is fragile, the damage rate is low due to the fragility and slenderness of the flower.

There is a tree that has 100,000 flowers in his lifetime, but it may only be about 1 10 to bear fruit. Other than that. According to our dictation, it is harvested irregularly, that is, ripe that is picked, so to the labor cost.

It is also more expensive. That is to say, this reason is one of the indirect reasons why the chocolate we buy** is relatively expensive. After our cacao is picked first, it will go through a natural fermentation process, and some of the embryos will die.

Then, take the fruit out and dry it further. Kill the other part of the germ to separate the impurities from the pulp and remove the seeds. The extracted seeds are used to make different products for processing.

Cocoa products. What can he do with the dried seeds? First, break the dried seeds and it can be turned into cocoa chips. Second, the cocoa nibble is ground into a lump and it becomes our cocoa mass, which is one of the important ingredients of our chocolate.

Thirdly, if the cocoa mass is separated by a process, it can be separated and become what cocoa butter becomes.

with cocoa powder. Cocoa powder contains a certain amount of cocoa butter in it. There are also about 16%-24% of cocoa butter.

The differences between cocoa and chocolate are as follows:

1. The essence is different.

Cocoa is an evergreen tree, and the harvested fresh seeds are commonly known as cocoa beans, which must be fermented for 10 to 12 days to increase the flavor, loosen the tissue, change the color and facilitate the washing of the flesh attached to the surface of the beans. It is then washed and dried to become a commercial cocoa bean. After roasting and processing, it becomes cocoa powder.

Chocolate is a sweet food made from cocoa liquor and cocoa butter as the main ingredients. Not only does it have a delicate and sweet taste, but it also has a rich aroma.

2. Different uses.

The seeds of cocoa contain a variety of chemical components that can be used medicinally. It is also the main ingredient for the manufacture of cocoa powder and chocolate candy.

Chocolate can be eaten as is, or it can be used to make cakes, ice cream, etc.

Types of chocolate

Chocolate can be divided into dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, and others.

1. Dark chocolate, also known as pure chocolate, contains 70% 90% of cocoa, the main ingredients are cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar, no milk is added, and the taste is slightly bitter.

2. White chocolate is chocolate without cocoa powder, made of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk.

3. Milk chocolate is based on dark chocolate with milk, which contains at least 10% cocoa mass and 12% milk.

4. Chocolate products: praline chocolate, praline chocolate, praline hanging pulp chocolate, wine chocolate, etc.

The difference between cocoa and chocolate: different shapes, different cocoa butter content, and different effects.

1. The shape is different.

Cocoa is the seed of the cacao tree, the seeds are ovate, slightly flattened, cm long, cm wide, cotyledons thick, without endosperm. It is also the main ingredient for the manufacture of cocoa powder and chocolate candy.

Chocolate is a dessert made with cocoa beans as the main ingredient, and the finished chocolate is generally in the form of a block and is liquid when melted.

2. The cocoa butter content is different.

The cocoa butter content of chocolate is generally 10%-30%, because chocolate is usually added with sugar, so it is not very bitter.

Cocoa beans contain 40-50% cocoa butter, these beans are fermented for several days, and then washed, dried, cooked, crushed to remove the shell and germ, leaving endosperm, and then the endosperm is pressed to obtain cocoa butter.

3. The role is different.

In addition to making chocolate, cocoa beans can also extract cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and are one of the top three beverages in the world, in addition to being used for medicinal purposes.

If the chocolate with a high purity can be melted and made into other desserts, the general chocolate is eaten directly.

Do you know the difference between cocoa beans and coffee beans? 99% of people don't know how to tell the difference between them.

1. Different types.

The cacao bean is the fruit of the cocoa tree, and long before Columbus arrived in the United States, the inhabitants of tropical Central America, especially the Mayans and Aztecs, knew the use of cacao beans, not only to make cacao beans into beverages, but also to use them as a medium of trade. In the 16th century, cocoa beans were introduced to Europe and refined into cocoa powder and chocolate, and cocoa butter was also extracted.

The coffee tree is a perennial evergreen shrub or small tree of the Rubiaceae family, which is a horticultural perennial cash crop. The origin of the coffee tree is in Ethiopia, Africa. Chocolate, formerly known as cocoa, is a seed taken from the fruit of the cacao tree, which grows directly from the trunk and branches of the tree, also known as cocoa pods.

2. The picking cycle is also different.

Coffee beans grow on tree branches, and when a coffee fruit is broken, there are two petals of coffee beans inside. In terms of crop harvesting time, coffee trees are harvested once a year. Cocoa nuts grow on the trunk of a tree, and one cocoa fruit is the size of a football ball, ranging from 20 to 70 cocoa beans.

Cocoa is a biennial harvest.

3. The taste is different.

Judging from the appearance of the finished beans, the appearance of the coffee beans is obviously more "delicate" than that of the cocoa beans, the smooth bean surface, almost every coffee bean of the same variety is the same size, and there is a hairline in the middle, which makes you feel very decent. In contrast, cocoa beans are gray and dirty, and there is always a layer of unclean looking paste on the surface, but cocoa beans are powdered when crushed, solid, and mellow in taste.