Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cacao pods, that is available as a liquid, solid or paste, on its own or as a flavouring agent in other foods. The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavour.
Chocolates are solid at ambient (20–25 °C) and melt at oral temperature (37 °C) during consumption giving a smooth suspension of particulate darkens in cocoa butter and milk fat (Beckett, 1999 and Whitefield, 2005).
After fermentation, the beans are cleaned, sorted, graded and then roasted. The bean shells become brittle and the colour of the beans darken. The process converts the flavour precursors within the bean into compounds such as aldehydes, esters, lactones, and pyrazine, which give chocolate its aroma and flavour.
