4. Shapes and Sizes, Fruits and Figures
Varieties of Chocolate
Starting from the three basic types - plain chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate -
a wide range of products is produced:
- solid chocolate bars,
- solid chocolate bars with additives,
- filled chocolate bars,
- neapolitains (miniature bars)
- assorted chocolates or chocolate bonbons,
- novelty articles (above all, Easter eggs and rabbits),
- chocolate confectionery such as sticks, figures, patties, etc.
- couverture, i.e. chocolate supplied to confectioners in the form of large blocks for further processing.
The multitude of variations in the recipes, the added ingredients or the fillings are fully
utilised by the producers: They offer that marvellously extensive assortment that maintains
the reputation of Swiss chocolate.
Solid Bars
To manufacture solid bars of chocolate, the cooled, liquid chocolate paste is fed into pouring equipment.
These machines continuously fill a carefully measured quantity of chocolate into moulds which
pass under them on conveyor belts.
The moulds then proceed to the shaking line where they are vibrated and shaken to ensure
that the chocolate spreads evenly. If you look closely you will see innumerable tiny bubbles bursting.
The vibration removes the locked-in air.
The conveyor belt transports the filled moulds to the cooling tower, where the chocolate is
cooled to the point where it is sufficiently solid for turning out.
The moulds are then turned over, shaken briefly once more — and there lie the gleaming bars of chocolate
on the conveyor belt which carries them to the wrapping machines.
In this way the familiar bars of plain chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate are produced.
Other types of solid chocolate are made by adding creamy hazelnut or almond paste,
coffee aroma and other additives to these three basic materials.
Solid Bars with Additives
In principle, the same forming process is used here as for solid bars. In this case however
— immediately before filling — whole or chopped hazel nuts, almonds, walnuts or candied fruit and
other additives are blended with the chocolate paste.
Filled Bars
The production of filled bars is a little more complicated.
After the slightly deeper moulds have been filled, they are immediately inverted 50 that some
of the chocolate paste flows out again. A thin coating remains on the walls of the moulds and
this is hardened in a cooling tunnel. The delicious fillings are then poured into the again
upright moulds. Following renewed cooling, everything is covered with a layer of liquid chocolate
(which later forms the bottom of the bar) and following final cooling, the bar is removed from the mould.
Additives and Fillings
The basic additives used are oil-seed products such as ail kinds of nuts,
e.g. hazel-nuts, walnuts, almonds, pine kernels, pistachios, etc.,
the addition of which not only improves the taste of the chocolate but also enhances
its nourishment value. Chocolate can be further enriched by the inclusion of candied fruits,
e.g. oranges, cherries, pineapples and lemons, various kinds of fruit purees or
whole fruit such as raisins, sultanas, etc.
The term filling covers substances of ail consistencies, ranging from liquid to solid.
It is impossible to quote in this brochure ail the different varieties. We shah confine ourselves,
therefore, to the most popular, which include:
Croquant: melted sugar with the addition of crushed nuts or
almonds.
Nougat: (Montelimar or Torrone) whipped white of egg, boiled
sugar and honey, with almonds, nuts and candied fruit.
Truffles: a blend of chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar and powdered cream.
Gianduja: prepared from nuts or almonds, sugar and milk or plain chocolate.
Marzipan: melted sugar mixed with finely milled almonds.
Creme Fondant: sugar and glucose with added flavourings.
Praliné: almonds and hazel-nuts crushed finely and caramelised
and mixed with milk chocolate. This much appreciated
paste is used in numerous confections of chocolates, to
which it finally gave its name.
Chocolate Assortments
Who can discover chocolates — those seductive, sweet morsels — and not fail under their spell?
Two distinct mechanical processes are employed in their manufacture.
The first is similar to the technique applied in the production of filled blocks;
the liquid or half-liquid fillings are poured in carefully measured amounts into
chocolate-lined moulds and then covered with a coating of chocolate.
In the second process the hard centres for the chocolates, previously cut to the required shapes,
are fed by a long conveyor belt into a coating machine which pours a chocolate covering over the fillings.
Many chocolates contain a liquid centre, which is surrounded by a coating of sugar.
The production of these sugar crusts is particularly interesting.
Wide sheets of starch powder are spread out and small indentations are made in them.
A solution of hot sugar syrup and liqueur or fruit juice is then poured into these depressions.
After one to two days a complete coating of sugar has formed, completely enveloping the liqueur.
The starch powder is then removed and the centres proceed to the coating machines to receive their covering of chocolate.
Chocolates with layer fillings contain centres consisting of several separate flavours.
The individual fillings are first spread out in broad layers, one on top of the other,
and then cut to the required shape and size. These chocolates are often sold in this form without
any additional chocolate coating. In this case they are wrapped in protective paper or aluminium foil.
Before the finished chocolates are packed, it is still the practice in many factories to decorate them.
They are either topped off with a small piece of nut or fruit,
or they are processed by machines which either impress on, or sometimes pour over, the chocolates,
a wide range of decorations in, for example, chocolate of a contrasting colour or icing sugar.
These line and diamond patterns, grooves, spirals and squiggles, are a feast for the eyes.
Solid Figures and Hollow Shapes
The production process of solid figures is the same as for the bars.
Matching halves are moulded in relief for both the solid and the filled figures.
After briefly warming the fiat sides, the figures are completed by pressing the two halves together.
In the so-called centrifugal moulding process, liquid chocolate is injected into hollow moulds and
then spun on a centrifuge to spread it evenly on the walls before cooling and extracting.
Hollow shapes and figures, such as rabbits, eggs, balls and others are made in this way and
these can also be filled by injection through a small opening. After cooling,
the opening is sealed with a drop of liquid chocolate which immediately hardens.
Packing
All the finished chocolate products are transferred by conveyor systems to the packing departments,
where automatic machines wrap the bars at speeds of up to 150 per minute. Firstly,
an envelope of aluminium foil is applied, hermetically sealed in such a way as to afford effective protection against light,
damp, foreign odours and insects and also to prevent the loss of the fine aroma.
Finally, each bar receives an attractively printed wrapper, which gives details of flavor,
ingredients, and weight and which also bears the name - a name which promises a great deal
- of a well-known Swiss chocolate manufacturer. Chocolates, neapolitans and other similar chocolate
products are packed in the same way —increasingly automatic fashion.
Source : Chocologie published by Chocosuisse CH-3000 Bern
