Number: 001

Date: Nov. 1997

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SUBJECT: Chocolate General Information

INTRODUCTION:
The term "chocolate" may be loosely used to describe what are actually very precise recipes, recipes
which are closely guarded by the candy maker. Every manufacturer maintains careful control of
temperatures, time, and ingredients--all factors which ultimately determine the flavor and texture of the final
product. Whether applying a pump to a new application, or trouble-shooting an existing one, an
awareness of the process involved and the terms used in making chocolate would be helpful.
STEPS IN PROCESSING COCOA BEANS
The cleaned and roasted cocoa beans are shattered into fragments called "nibs" and the shells from the
bean are lifted away by air currents. At this point the nibs are dry, and conceal the fact they are 55%
cocoa butter, the natural fat found in the cocoa bean. The nib has a cellular structure, with the fat in solid
form locked within the cells. In the grinding process, the cell walls are ruptured. Frictional and applied
heat melts the fat, particle size of the nonfat constituent is reduced, and the slurry becomes progressively
more fluid. This slurry is called chocolate liquor.
Chocolate liquor has a standard of identity as described above. It is the pressed roasted nib of the cocoa
bean which is now in a slurry form. The viscosity of the chocolate liquor is related to the degree of roasting
preceding the grinding and to the moisture content of the nib. There are many types of machines
designed to reduce cocoa nibs to chocolate liquor. Temperatures during this process depend on the type
of milling equipment used. Temperatures of 100F to 200F would be the usual range. The viscosity of
chocolate liquor is temperature dependent; once cooled the liquor is a solid. Processing viscosities of
chocolate liquor can vary from approximately 10,000 SSU to 35,000 SSU.
Chocolate liquor is the basic ingredient in the production of chocolate and chocolate coatings; i.e., coatings
in which fats, other than cocoa butter and butter oil, are used. Chocolate liquor, in which the cocoa butter
has been expelled by a press process, is called cocoa cake. Cocoa cake can be ground into cocoa
powder, which is typically 10-12% fat. Cocoa powder is the basic component of drinking cocoa and
compound coatings; i.e., ice cream coatings and other industrial use coating generally used in the cookie
and cake industry.
The many different recipes for "chocolate" all contain a mixture of finely milled solids--cocoa, sugar, milk
products--all suspended and well dispersed in cocoa butter or substitute fat. The pressed chocolate liquor,
which Viking typically pumps, will have a specific cocoa butter content, depending on the requirements of
the end product. High pump pressures are not advisable for pumping liquor, as it will tend to press out
more cocoa butter. Below 90F, cocoa butter will solidify, but above that temperature can quickly thin
down to 50 SSU. Chocolate liquor is, by its nature, somewhat abrasive. Pump speed and discharge
pressure should be kept as low as possible.
Here are the four basic uses of chocolate liquor:
1.

Baking Chocolate: The chocolate liquor with or without sugar is further milled to reduce
particle size and for flavor development. Flavor development is accomplished through a
combination of heat and aeration in machines called conches, originally named due to

VIKING PUMP, INC., A Unit of IDEX Corporation Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 U.S.A.

Number: 001
Date: Nov. 1997
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their shell-like shape. The texture and flavor of baking chocolate is reached in the conching
process. The baking chocolate is then tempered, cooled and packaged.
2.

Cocoa: Chocolate liquor is pumped into hydraulic presses to expel the cocoa butter to
approximately 10-12% of that naturally present. Remaining in the presses are solid cakes
of cocoa, which are crushed and pulverized to fine dry powder. The powder is cooled and
wind-sifted to enhance its texture and produce a warm brown color. Some of the powder is
packaged in cans as breakfast cocoa; other uses include chocolate flavored syrups.

3.

Sweet Chocolate: A third part of the chocolate liquor becomes sweet chocolate. The dry
ingredients consisting of sugar and milk ingredients, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter are
combined in a mixer to form a paste. This paste may be processed through a series of 5
roll refiners or, to obtain a fine particle size, the paste will be processed through a 2 roll
refiner followed by a series of 5 roll refiners. The refining process produces refiner flakes,
which are further processed with the combination of more fat and/or lecithin (emulsifier) in
the conching stage. The conch is a high shear mixer used to aerate the mass, remove
undesirable volatiles, develop the flavour of the chocolate and achieve the desired
viscosity. After conching, the chocolate is tempered and finally moulded, deposited or used
to enrobe (to cover) centers.
The types of sweet chocolate are dark, semi-sweet and milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is
made primarily of liquor, sugar and cocoa butter. Semi-sweet chocolate is composed of
liquor, sugar, milk components and cocoa butter. Milk chocolate is composed of the same
ingredients as semi-sweet chocolate, however, the milk level is much higher than that of
semi-sweet.

4.

Milk Chocolate: Milk chocolate uses up the fourth portion of chocolate liquor. The milk
components typically used in semi-sweet and milk chocolate are skim milk powder, whole
milk powder and crumb.
Milk and chocolate crumb is manufactured from milk and sugar with or without the addition
of cocoa mass, respectively. The essence of the crumb process is the Maillard reaction
between the milk protein and sugars, which produces a particular flavor. It is a
time/temperature/water reaction. Without the presence of water, the typical flavor is not
produced and the higher the temperature, the quicker is the
reaction. A typical milk crumb may contain 13.5% cocoa butter, 53.5% sugar, 32% milk
sugar and 1% moisture.
Milk components are all high in lactose (milk sugar), which may potentially make pumping
difficult. Milk chocolate containing the highest percentage of lactose, in particular, milk
chocolates made of crumb, tend to caramelize and crystallize in the pump if the clearances
are not set up correctly. In addition, milk components also contain milk protein, which is
prone to denaturation at elevated temperature, i.e., if there is friction generated in the
pump.
Government standards state that products containing less than 10% chocolate liquor
cannot be called chocolate; baking chocolate contains 30% chocolate liquor. "White
chocolate" is not a true chocolate, but a confectionery made with cocoa butter, but no
chocolate liquor.

VIKING PUMP, INC., A Unit of IDEX Corporation Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 U.S.A.

Number: 001
Date: Nov. 1997
Page 3 of 4

Highly automated chocolate molding and enrobing makes accurate control of viscosity very
important. Cocoa butter and dollars are conserved by using emulsifiers or mechanical
methods to get increased fluidity in lower-fat-content chocolates. Low fat chocolates that
are high in liquor and high in sugar content, whose sugar granules are small in size,
present the most pumping difficulties. Larger sugar granule size presents less surface area
to absorb fat, which lowers the viscosity.
Tempering is normally the last operation prior to molding, dipping or coating. Tempering is heating the
chocolate to form stable crystalline fat chains, and cooling down the chocolate with continuous mixing to
produce cocoa butter seed crystals. Chocolate must contain a high proportion of liquid cocoa butter that
must be solidified in the stable crystal form during the tempering process and distributed throughout the
mass of the liquid chocolate. If chocolate is solidified from the liquid state without any attention to seeding
of the liquid cocoa butter constituent, or to the method of cooling, it will be granular in texture and of poor
color. How the chocolate cools affects surface finish, color, texture and shelf-life of the product we see in
the store.
Viking rarely pumps tempered chocolate , except as rework. Rework is chocolate from the end of the line
that is reprocessed and put back into the process. Its concentration is low, but can be very abrasive. The
amount of rework is closely controlled, as it affects the flavor, viscosity, and tempering of the final product.
GENERAL GUIDELINES USED BY VIKING
Pumping chocolate has always been a tricky proposition. The amount of chocolate liquor, fat (cocoa
butter), sugar content, sugar granule size, milk products, lecithin, the amount of reworked chocolate, and
other additives dramatically affect the behavior of the product. Even though many formulas are used, the
application is described to simply as "chocolate."
In general, we suggest the following guidelines:

Extra clearances for 75,000 SSU.

Additional clearance for viscosity above 75,000 SSU.

Normally do not use clearances less than 75,000 SSU unless verified by customer
experience.

Very large clearances may be used on idler and bushing to minimize build-up in
idler pin/bushing area.
Maximum rotor rim speed of 300 ft/min. The following pump speeds are the maximum
recommended:
PUMP SIZE
H, HL
K, KK
L, LL, LS
Q, QS
M, N

PUMP SPEED
280
190
125
100
84

Minimize discharge pressure. Design system to reduce pump discharge pressure to

approximately 100 psi maximum.

VIKING PUMP, INC., A Unit of IDEX Corporation Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 U.S.A.

Number: 001
Date: Nov. 1997
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Internal relief valve on the pump is generally not used because of the nature of the
chocolate.
Drilled idlers (ES-25) used to minimize build-up in idler pin/bushing area.
Casing flush and suckbacks (either holes or grooves) to move liquid to behind the rotor.

VIKING PUMP, INC., A Unit of IDEX Corporation Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 U.S.A.