Refining conching

The name conche derives from the seasheU shape of the first really effective conching machine, which consisted of a tank with curved ends and a granite bed on which the chocolate paste from the refiners was slowly pushed back and forth by a granite roUer. This longitudinal conche, the development of which is commonly attributed to Rodolph Lindt of Switzerland in 1879, is stiU used and many experts consider it best for developing subtle flavors. 

Several other kinds of conches also are used today. The popular rotary conche can handle chocolate paste in a dry stage direct from the refiners (23). The recently developed continuous conche actually Hquifies and conches in several stages and can produce up to 3600 kg of chocolate per hour in a floor area of only 34 m. ... 

Control of the polymorphic forms in cocoa butter is further compHcated by the presence of other fats such as milk fat. The fat in a chocolate can be likened to the mortar between the bricks in a mason s wall. The soHd particles in a weU-conched chocolate bed down better than the soHds in a coarsely refined and poorly mixed one (30). 

The refined chocolate mass is dry and powdery at room temperature and has a harsh, sour flavor. It is ripened before further processing by keeping it in warm chambers at 45-50 °C for about 24 h. Ripening imparts a doughy consistency to the chocolate and it may be used for the production of baking or other commercial chocolates. An additional conching... 

Efforts have been made to shorten this time-, energy- and space-consuming final refinement in conche pots. Processes have heen developed that are based on the separate pre-refinement of cocoa nibs or cocoa mass. The spray-film technique uses a cocoa mass with its natural water content or, in the case of highly acidic cocoa varieties, with the continuous addition of 0.5-2% of water. In a turbulent film with direct heat transfer, the cocoa mass is continuously dehumidified, deacidified, degassed, and roasted in counterfiow with hot air (up to 130 °C). For the final refinement, apart from the time-tested conche pots, newly developed intensive refiners can be used. They reduce the conching time to 8 hours. The development of continuously operated conche pots is also being expedited. 

---