How is Hershey Chocolate Made?

The holidays are approaching quickly and one lingering question that might cross your mind is...how is Hershey chocolate made? A Hershey chocolate bar starts its journey in the tropics where the cacao tree thrives. These trees produce a melon like fruit that is harvested by hand. Inside each pod are 20-40 cocoa beans, these are the beans that give chocolate its special flavour. How is Hershey chocolate made from these beans? Keep reading to find the answer.

Once the beans are removed from the pods they are placed in large piles, this process is called fermentation and takes about a week. This time allows for the shell to harden and the beans to darken and develop their cocoa flavour. After the drying has taken place the beans are ready to transport to the chocolate factory in railcars.

Cocoa beans from different countries have distinct and varying flavours. How is Hershey chocolate made to achieve that special and decadent Hershey flavour? A special blend of the beans is used to achieve that special flavour. They are then roasted at a very high temperature. A special machine then takes the dry roasted cocoa beans and separates the shell from the inside of the beans called a nib. The nibs are then milled into liquid called chocolate liquor. The rest of the ingredients are ready to be added. The main ingredients in chocolate are chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar and milk.

Milton Hershey developed the recipe in the 1900 and has always used fresh whole milk to make its milk chocolate. A whole milk-sugar mixture is slowly dried until it turns to a thick taffy-like material. In the heart of the factory in a special blending operation, the chocolate liquor is mixed with the milk and sugar. The new mixture is dried and is now called chocolate crumb. We are a few steps away from the complete answer to how it is made.

The chocolate crumb powder is used to make milk chocolate. Coca butter is added to the chocolate crumb, this brings out the rich and creamy texture of the chocolate. Once combined the crumb travels through special steel rollers which grind and refine the mixture making it smoother. The crumb is now a liquid called chocolate paste. The paste is then poured into large vats called conches. Inside the conch a large granite roller smooth out eh gritty particles from the liquid paste.

This can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. The paste is tempered to achieve the correct texture and consistency. Finally, other ingredients like almonds and peanuts can be mixed into the paste and then they are moulded into one of your favourite treats.