Chocolate Making Basics

Making chocolate the traditional way

Making chocolate the traditional way can be done at home, although it’s a lengthy and involved process. If you want to pursue making homemade chocolate as a hobby and it’s important to you to make all of your chocolate from scratch you can do that but you’ll need some specialized equipment and a lot of time on your hands. Some people really do enjoy making chocolate from scratch, so you should give traditional chocolate making a try to see if it’s a hobby that you are interested in pursuing. Using a traditional process to make chocolate home has several steps:

1. Choosing the beans. Chocolate is made from cacao beans so when you first start off making chocolate the traditional way you need to start with some high quality cacao beans. There are suppliers on the Internet that sell different varieties of cacao beans in many different price ranges so if you are looking for whole cacao beans it isn’t too hard to find them.

2. Roasting the beans. Cacao beans need to be roasted just like coffee beans. You can roast them at home on a cookie sheet in the oven if you watch them carefully or you can buy a specialized cacao bean roaster for at home use if you’re going to pursue traditional candy making as a hobby. The beans are usually roasted for as little as five minutes or as many as 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 you need to crack open the outer shell of the bean to get the chocolate that is inside out. There are several ways to do this at home. You can lay 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 of the beans away from the chocolate or you can use a juicer to accomplish the same goal. This step can be very messy, so make sure that you have a mop and bucket and lots of clean up supplies standing by.

4. Grinding and refining the chocolate. Now you need to grind the chocolate down as fine as possible. If you’re going to do this at home many expert chocolate makers recommend using a high quality juicer to grind the chocolate. After the chocolate has all been ground as finely as possible you need to add milk, sugar, preservatives, or anything else that you’re planning on adding to the chocolate to enhance the flavor. Once everything is mixed with the other ingredients 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. Experts recommend using a stand mixer on a low setting to refine the chocolate.

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 a very complicated process but if you want to cheat a little and speed up the procedure you can use a microwave to temper your homemade chocolate. Once the chocolate is tempered and is smooth, hard and shiny it’s ready to be used or eaten.

Making chocolate without a lot of work

Does the process of making chocolate in a tradition way seem like a lot of hard work that you don’t really want to do? Some people love the lengthy process of making chocolate in a traditional fashion but some people want a faster, easier way to get homemade chocolate. For those people, deciding what to use to flavor the chocolate and using unique molds is the fun part of making homemade chocolate.

To make it easier to get to the fun part of homemade chocolate making you can skip the traditional chocolate making process and use special chocolate chips and wafers that are made for candy making. These chips and wafers are great because you can melt them down in a double boiler or even in a microwave and then you have a great smooth chocolate base to start with and you can get creative deciding what to add to the chocolate to make it uniquely yours.

When you use these chips, wafers and bricks of chocolate to make your own chocolate you’ll be amazed at how creative you can. For many people the traditional way of making chocolate is far too difficult and time consuming. Most people just want to be able to make up some cool homemade treats in their kitchen, they don’t want to have to do a lot of research or find special ingredients or invest in a lot of pricey equipment just make some chocolate at home.

If you’re one of those people that wants to get right to the fun part of making chocolate at home, mixing the chocolates and coming up with new chocolate recipes and so on then you should definitely buy some chocolate base from a candy supply shop or a craft store and start to make your own candy using those melt and pour chocolates.

Using melt and pour chocolate is also a great way to try out different chocolate flavors. You can get some very exotic chocolate bases that are full of special spices that would cost a fortune if you wanted to buy individually and add to your chocolate. You can also get sugar free and low fat chocolate bases that eliminate the need for you to buy pricey ingredients or measure ingredients to make chocolate that is sugar free or low fat.

If you want to have a lot of fun making homemade chocolate, save some money and make great gifts that all your friends will love then making chocolate using some great melt and pour chocolate bases will be perfect for you.

Look in your local craft store to see if they carry candy making supplies or look online to find a candy supply store that carries a wide selection of different chocolates that you can use to make homemade chocolate.

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Best Types of Chocolate to Use in Homemade Chocolate

When it comes to making your own homemade chocolate there are lots of different chocolates that can use depending on your tastes and who you are making the chocolate for. For example, dark chocolate has no milk products in it so if you are making chocolate for someone that is a vegan or someone that is lactose intolerant you should use a dark chocolate base because it doesn’t contain any milk. Here is a quick overview of the most common types of chocolate that you can use to make your own homemade chocolate:

Unsweetened chocolate – You probably have has some experience with unsweetened chocolate before. Unsweetened chocolate is often used in baking to add a rich chocolate flavor to food. You can unsweeten chocolate as a base to make sugar free chocolate and use something other than sugar to give the chocolate a sweeter taste. Many people that are diabetic or are watching their sugar intake will use unsweetened chocolate and a sugar substitute to make their own homemade chocolate.

Dark chocolate – As previously stated, dark chocolate has no milk in it so it’s great to use as a base for people that can’t or choose not to eat milk or milk products. Some people also enjoy the dark, slightly bitter taste of dark chocolate.

Bittersweet chocolate – This chocolate is slightly sweeter than unsweetened chocolate that has no sugar in it at all but it has very little sugar in it. If you want to make chocolate that has a lot less sugar than other types of chocolate but you don’t want to use a commercial sugar substitute you can use bittersweet chocolate as a base for your homemade chocolates.

Semi-sweet chocolate – Semi-sweet chocolate is slightly sweeter than bittersweet chocolate and has a slightly higher sugar content but still has a lower sugar content than most chocolate. Semi-sweet is one of the most popular type of chocolates used in candy making and is also often used in making chocolate chip cookies.

Milk chocolate – Milk chocolate is a rich chocolate that contains high levels of sugar and at least 12% milk or milk solids. Most milk chocolate is made with condensed or evaporated milk. Milk chocolate is very sweet and has a very low cocoa content so it doesn’t have the bitter or slightly harsh taste that other chocolates have.

White Chocolate – White chocolate is really not chocolate, it’s a confection made of cocoa butter, sugar and milk that is often flavored with vanilla or other flavors. It’s called chocolate because it contains cocoa butter but there is no actual cocoa in it.

You can always experiment with different flavors by mixing and matching different types of chocolate too. For example, a touch of milk chocolate might give your semi-sweet homemade chocolate a little bit of richness that will really enhance the flavor. Play around with the different kinds of chocolate until you find a mixture that really tastes great and make that your “signature” chocolate base.

Tools You Will Need to Make Homemade Chocolate

Some books and magazines about candy making will say that you need to have a lot of special equipment in order to make chocolate at home but that’s not necessarily true. There are really only five tools that you have to have in order to make great chocolate at home and you probably already have at least some of them in your kitchen. They are:

1. Candy thermometer – Some chocolate candy does need to be heated to a certain temperature in order to be safe to eat, and some types of chocolate need to be heated to a certain temperature in order to be liquid enough to pour and set properly in a mold so it’s a good idea to have at least one candy thermometer on hand.

2. Mixing bowls – You will go through mixing bowls like crazy when you are making chocolate, especially if you are mixing other ingredients into a chocolate base. To save money on mixing bowls go to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store. Charity shops like that usually have kitchen and house wares sections where you can find great deals on glass and stainless steel mixing bowls. You can also look for mixing bowls at garage and yard sales.

3. Pots and pans -If you are using pre-made chocolate base you can heat that base in a microwave until it’s liquid enough to work with but you will need saucepans to mix in other ingredients and bring the chocolate to the correct temperature. Just like mixing bowls you can often find mismatched pots and pans at charity stores and garage sales. You can also use two pans to make your own double boiler when a chocolate recipe calls for you to use a double boiler.

4. Molds – Once you have your chocolate blended just the way you want it and have added any extras that you want to add into the chocolate you’re going to need something to pour that chocolate into so that you can make chocolate candies. It’s always good idea to have a wide variety of chocolate molds that are clean and ready to go.

5. Candy Coloring – If you want to really decorate your handmade chocolates and make them fun shapes and colors you will need to use special candy coloring. Normal food coloring won’t color chocolate. To get the colors to show on the chocolate it’s necessary to have special food coloring that is made for candy and chocolate. You can find candy coloring at any craft supply store or candy supply store.

These are just a few of the supplies that you might need to make chocolate but if you have these supplies always on hand then you shouldn’t have any trouble making delicious homemade chocolates at any time. If you are going to make a special type of chocolate or you want to use a special recipe then you might need specialized equipment but in general you can get by just using these pieces of equipment and what you already have in your kitchen.

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Making Sugar Free Chocolate

If you or a loved one is Diabetic or is on a diet where they can’t tolerate sugar making your own sugar free chocolate is a great way that you or they can enjoy a sweet treat without sugar. If you are making desserts for a party or dinner and have friends or family attending it would be a thoughtful gesture to include some sugar free chocolates on the menu so that the people who can’t have sugar or are watching their sugar intake could still have a nice dessert.

There are several ways that you can make your own sugar free chocolate. If you are handy in the kitchen and feel comfortable making your own chocolate you can use a base chocolate like unsweetened chocolate that has no sugar in it but you’ll have to add something to the chocolate to make it sweet. If you can use a sugar substitute that has the same consistency that sugar has that is probably the best route but you can also add things like fruit juice to the unsweetened chocolate to sweeten it.

When you are combining unsweetened chocolate with a sugar substitute you should always mix the two ingredients when they are dry, otherwise they won’t combine properly and they will separate when they are wet. If you are using fruit juice to sweeten the unsweetened chocolate pour in very small amounts and make sure that you add a thickener to the chocolate to keep the chocolate at the right consistency.

If you don’t feel comfortable trying to take an unsweetened chocolate base and trying to sweeten it yourself you can always buy sugar free or diabetic friendly chocolate in blocks or in chips from candy supply houses and then use that as a base for your chocolate treats. Most candy supply houses carry a range of sugar free chocolates including dark chocolate and milk chocolate that is all made with a sugar substitute so that it’s safe for anyone that can’t eat sugar to eat.

Once you have an unsweetened or sugar free chocolate base you can make chocolate candy the same way that you would with regular chocolate by pouring it into molds and letting the candy harden. But if you want to make a fancy chocolate dessert like a chocolate mousse, or a chocolate dipping sauce for fresh fruit, or even sugar free hot chocolate you can still use the sugar free chocolate as a base and then you can experiment with different recipes using the sugar free chocolate as an ingredient.

You can even make sugar free chocolate chip cookies by chopping up small chips of the sugar free chocolate base and adding them to some sugar free cookie dough although you will have to be careful what temperature you bake the cookies at or the chocolate will melt.

If you are planning on making holiday treats or chocolates as gifts for your kid’s teachers, friends and neighbors, or anyone that you don’t know very well it’s always a good idea to include at least a few sugar free chocolates in the gift package because you never know if someone can have chocolate that has regular sugar in it or not. People that can’t have sugar will find it very thoughtful that you included some sugar free chocolates in the gift.

Making Low Fat Chocolate

If you are on a diet or if someone in your house is trying to lose weight then you might want to try making some low fat chocolate that you can keep around the house or give to your friends as gifts. Homemade low fat chocolates are very popular as desserts for sleepover parties or as party favors at teen birthday favors. It’s also nice to have some low fat chocolates around when you want to be able to enjoy some chocolate without having to worry about how much fat you’re eating.

One way to make low fat chocolates at home is to look for some pre-made low fat chocolate chips or bricks that you can melt down and use to make your own candies. But if you can’t find low fat chocolate that is pre-made or you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a pricey pre-made chocolate base you can easily make your own low fat version of traditional chocolate that you can use to make brownies, cookies, or candy treats. A low fat chocolate dipping sauce for fresh fruit makes a great low fat and low calorie dessert that won’t make you feel like you’re missing out on treat.

Use these tips to make your own low fat chocolate:

• Develop a taste for dark chocolate. Since dark chocolate has no milk products in it dark chocolate hast the lowest fat content of the different kinds of chocolate.


• Substitute bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate for milk chocolate. The less milk and cocoa butter that the chocolate has the lower the fat content will be.


• Don’t add extras to your chocolate. If you must add something to the chocolate make it some chopped nuts that are good for your heart or raisins which are healthier and lower in fat then adding things like candy pieces or peanut butter chips.


• Use a chocolate coating instead of chocolate. If you are craving a sweet dessert but really want to keep your fat intake low make a low fat chocolate dipping sauce from some semi-sweet or dark chocolate and then just lightly coat some fresh fruit, a granola bar, or some other low fat, healthy snack with the chocolate. That way you’ll still get a chocolate fix but you won’t be eating a lot of fat to get it.


• Make some low fat hot chocolate instead of candy. Make some low fat hot chocolate using dark chocolate and enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate instead of making brownies or another type of high fat dessert.


• These are just some simple ways that you can still have chocolate treats without worrying about ruining your diet or going overboard on your fat intake. If you have kids and you’re concerned by how much fat your kids eat just substituting some low fat chocolate instead of regular chocolate in cookies, brownies, and chocolate milk can make a big difference in how much fat your kids are eating every day.

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Fun Ways to Make Your Chocolate Unique

One of the most fun things about making your own homemade chocolate is that you can play around with different ingredients and make your own unique chocolate recipes and chocolate treats. Putting your individual stamp on the chocolate that you make will also make it more personal when you give the chocolate as gifts to people that you love. And if someday you want to go further and actually sell the homemade chocolate that you make then having your own unique chocolates will make it a lot easier to sell your chocolate.

But most people that make homemade chocolate use the same basic types of chocolate and the same base chocolate mixes from candy supply stores so how can you make your own unique chocolates without making your chocolate entirely from scratch? Here are five easy ways that you can create delicious treats that reflect your own personal style:

1. Mix chocolate bases – Just because a lot of people that make homemade chocolate use the same bases doesn’t mean that you can’t make your base chocolate unique. You can use the same chocolate bases from candy supply stores that other people use but just combine them in a unique way to make your own signature flavor. Mixing dark chocolate and milk chocolate, or semisweet chocolate with white chocolate, or mixing other flavors together to create your own unique base can be a great way to make your homemade chocolates stand out from the crowd.

2. Add things to your base chocolate – There are lots of things that you can add to your chocolate base to make your chocolates tastier and more unique. You can use toasted sesame seeds to provide crunch, or you can use peanut butter, seeds, nuts, fruits, and lots of other things to make chocolates that are different and delicious.

3. Make your own molds – Think outside the box when it comes to the molds that you use to put your chocolates in. Instead of just using traditional candy molds in traditional shapes use cake molds, soap molds, cookie cutters and other tools to make fun and unique shapes for your chocolates. If you want to make your own molds you can find books and the supplies that you need to make your own plastic molds at most craft stores.

4. Use unique packages – How you pack your candy can become a signature style for you that will set your chocolate apart from other chocolates and apart from commercial candy too. Instead of using traditional boxes look for fun and unique ways to package your candy like using hand painted box or little cello bags.

5. Use decorations – Using candy coloring and other fun decorations on your chocolates can help you turn even the plainest homemade chocolate into a fun treat. Make sure that you package decorated candy properly to make sure that the decorations don’t fall off in the package.

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