Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-22
lOlllPOPS BY MILLIONS.
Chocolate, Cocoa and Cocoa Butter Turned
Out by the Ton.
Oddities Of the Chocolate Manufacture
What Cocoa 10 and How 1t 10
Made-Cocoa Butter.
Of The Evening Star.

The biggest chocolate factory in this country
is in New York. It uses 100 600 pounds Of the
beans in year. They are not at all pretty to
look at. From their appearance one would
never suppose that such delicious preparations
could be made from them. Most OF them come
from Venezuela. The concern described ordi-
narily keeps in stock as many as fifteen differ
ent kinds of them. Varieties differ so much in
quality that prices paid for them run all the
way from Is cents to IS cents a pound raw.
Fine chocolates are made from mixtures OF the
different sorts of beans in carefully adjusted
portions, few pounds of the best in each
nundredweight contributing flavor
The broken chocolate kernels, duly mixed,
are poured into a hopper on the seventh floor.
ihey IAN through a metal tube all the way
GOWN 10 the trst floor of the building. There
they drop into machine which grinds them
between Two great steel disks revolving hori-
zontally In the fashion Of a mill From this
mill they come out by a spout-not dry any
longer, but In the form of a thick LIQUID This
Is because the beans contain As per cent of oil
The cells holding the latter are broken by the
grinding process, and the oil liquefies the pow
dered substance.
The processes by which the beans are trans
formed into commercial chocolate are very
interesting. To begin with, they are roasted
Then they are broken in mill coarsely
Next, they are sifted The shells
separated from the kernels by sitting
are sold for half a cent pound to wholesale
grocers, who grind them up to adultsrate men,
per with. Incidentally to the same process the
veeetative germs Of the beans are removed. II
is desired TO get rid Of them because thew are
too hard TO be utilized to advantage; but thew
are purchased by manufacturers Of cheap can
dies for making apoor quality OF chocolate.
Each germ looks somewhat like little Glove
All Of this work is performed on the seventh
floor of the factory.
The chocolate beans are called cocoa beam"
The liquid stuff, somewhat thicker than mo-
lasses. is termed cocoa" II is transformed
into the chocolate Of commerce simply by
adding sugar. 1t is commonly imagined that
cocoa is made from the shells Of the beans. but
such a notion is absurd. What cocoa is really
will be presently explained. The liquid stuff 10
transferred to circular receptacle in which
huge rollers go round. Then sugar is put in.
The rollers mix the COCOA liquid and thesugar
thoroughly together. When this has been done
the mixture is passed through other machines
with rollers revolving against each other. 1t
goes through them again and again. until II is
finely divided that there is not the smallest
lump in it. Now it is finished and has merely
to be cooled in molds in the refrigerating room
in order to be ready for sale.
Commercial Cocoa
Commercial cocoa is exactly the same thing
- CuoSOAntcs tukaA tMO-
thirds of the oil taken away. Hence. in a dry
state, it has little more flavor than SO much
dust By subjecting the liquid stuff to pressure
the oil is squeezed out Of il. or the original
As per cent Of oil 80 per cent is extracted. leav-
ing only Is per cent. This oil il caught in
tubs. II is clear and limpid-almost as trans
parent as water. Poured into molds ii hardens
when cold. and is thus turned out in the shape
Of great cakes Of yellowish-white color.
These cakes are sold to apothecaries and other
dealers. They are pure cocoa butter" To a
great extent this soothing and deliclously
fragrant substance has taken the place of the
old-fashioned cold cream. 1t is admirable for
sun-burned noses and for chapped hands. In
South America the natives have recognized lite
virtues for many centuries.
Cocoa butter. obtained from the chocolate
factories. Is sold by the ton wholesale. IL is a
useful and profitable by product Of this sort OF
manufacture. But how about the cocoa? II
comes out from the pressing apparatus in the
form of dry cakes. These are reduced to pow
der beneath rollers, and the powder is then
sirted through cloth to an impalpable dust Now
it is ready for market and is poured
into a machine which fills cans with il auto
matically. The cocoa butter is put to another
use. Some of il is added to the chocolate that
il employed for coating creams and other can
dies, because il makes the flavor richer. The
chocolate tablets for nickel-in-th slot machines
are made in molds and set in the refrigeratine
room to harden. Some people make a sort OF
tea out Of cocoa beans and recommend i,
highly.
The factory described uses most of its choco.
late in making candies and the greater part OF
that for coating creams and nuts. The way in
which the creams are made 10 very odd. A
shallow tray Of wood Is filed with finely sifted
flour. Upon the smooth surface Of this is laid
down board, the under side Of which Is COW
cred with excrescences in whatever shapes may
be desired. The board being removed perfect
molds OF the excrescences are left in the -four
number of such trays Of molds having beer
provided, the workman goes along with a cone
of canvas filled with cream" which is simply
sugar and water boiled and favored. At the
point Of the cone is small copper spout
| through which the operator squeezes enough
cream into each mold to fill the latter. Now II
| only remains for the stuff to harden, and the
| trays are dumped into a SITTER thus separating
| the nodded cream drops from the -four.
The cream drops next pass into the hands o.
a young woman with def fingers who drop,
| them one after another into a copper pot filled
with hot chocolate. As she fishes them GU
again she places them in rows upon sheets OF
4 waxed paper. which cover rectangular pieces o.
| tin. To each one she gives final touch as sh,
| sets il down. by twirl of her fingers, which
makes sort of curlycue of chocolate ON the
top OF it. To do this properly requires great
dexterity, though one would imagine that the
| entire process was extremely simple and easy
II is Just the same II peppermints are to be
chocolate-coated. or marshmallows or nuts
| When finished in this manner the lollpops ar,
placed, tin trays and all, upon shelves in a sor
of cabinet on rollers. Here each trayful il
| carefully inspected by the foreman, who mus
see that every sugar plum is perfect.
Some Oth"r CONNECTIONS.
| In the same way marshmallows ant
creams are dipped into iellies Of apricot
| and other fruits. instead Of chocolate
When they have hardened they are pu
| into very shallow pans covered with coarse
wire net Sugar and water, boiled to
| gether to the point of crystallizing. are poured
into the pans. Next morning the iellied drops
are shaken out. and appear all covered with
crystals of sugar. This is the manner in which
| crystallized candies made. Almond past,
is produced by hashing up sweet and bittei
almonds together after which the mixing il
completed by machinery. Pistache paste il
| made in like fashion. by mixing almonds and
| pistachio nuts. Nougat is manufactured b,
raising sugar and water to a temperature Of 26t
degrees. adding the favoring and nuts during
| the cooking. This preparation is poured on
| on cold marble and allowed to harden in francs
which look somewhat like newspaper forms.
How do You suppose the nougat is cut int,
strips? With buzzsaw, just as though il wer,
! SO much plank. Sheets of carameis are passed
| beneath row of revolving circular knives
/ Being passed through once they are cut int,