Cocoa Mass

Chocolate liquor, also called cocoa liquor, paste or mass, is pure cocoa in liquid or semi-solid form. It is produced from

cocoa bean The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao tree ...

nibs that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their skins. The nibs are ground to the point

cocoa butter Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible Vegetable oil, fat extracted from the cocoa bean (''Theobroma cacao''). It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter h ...

is released from the cells of the bean and melted, which turns cocoa into a paste and then into a free-flowing liquid. The liquor is either separated into (non-fat) cocoa solids and cocoa butter, or cooled and molded into blocks, which can be used as unsweetened baking chocolate. Like the nibs from which it is produced, it contains both cocoa solids and cocoa butter in roughly equal proportion. Its main use (often with additional cocoa butter) is in making

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

. The name ''

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

'' is used not in the sense of a distilled, alcoholic substance, but rather the older meaning of the word, meaning 'liquid' or 'fluid'. The terms ''paste'' and ''mass'' are also commonly used. According to American legislation, chocolate liquor is classified as a chocolate product. According to European legislation, it strictly remains a cocoa product until sugar is added. Chocolate liquor contains roughly 53 percent cocoa butter (fat), about 17 percent

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

, 11 percent

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, 6 percent

tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widely applied to any large po ...

, and 1.5 percent

theobromine Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to ...

.Wolke, Robert L. (2005). '' What Einstein Told His Cook 2, The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science'' (Hardcover). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 433.

/ref> melanger A melanger (or melangeur, from French: ''mélangeur'', lit. "blender") is a stone-grinder that is used in chocolate-making. It typically consists of two granite wheels, which rotate inside a metal drum on top of a granite base. Given enough time t ...

See also

References