How Cadbury Milk Chocolate is made

Have you ever wondered how Cadbury produces such high quality, delicious chocolate? Online publication Manufacturing Digital explains...


COCOA BEANS

Cadbury get their cocoa from Ghana in West Africa. When the beans are ripe, the cocoa pods turn a rich golden colour. They're cut down from the trees, split open, and the pulp and beans are removed from the outside husk. The cocoa beans are then left to ferment for five or six days and this is when the chocolate flavour develops. After this, the wet beans are dried in the sun and move on to the next production stage.



PROCESSING THE BEANS

Once Cadbury have bought their cocoa beans, they arrive in the United Kingdom and are transported to one of the world’s most modern processing factories at Chirk in North Wales. The beans are emptied out on to a conveyor belt and cleaned thoroughly, before going on to be roasted in a revolving drum called a continuous roaster, which evokes a strong smell of chocolate.

The beans are broken into small pieces, brittle shells are blown away, and the remaining centres are ground between steel rollers until they become a chocolate-coloured liquid, over half of which is cocoa butter. The liquid, called ‘mass’ or ‘cocoa liquor’, is the basic ingredient for all cocoa and chocolate products. Mass contains ‘cocoa butter’ and about half of is pressed out. You’re left with a solid block that can then be ground into cocoa powder.



CADBURY MILK CHOCOLATE

The cocoa mass is sent to the Cadbury milk factory near Hereford, UK, where it is mixed with sugar and fresh full cream milk. The mixture is dried in vacuum ovens to become milk chocolate 'crumb'. The milk chocolate crumb is taken to Cadbury chocolate factories and finely ground between enormous rollers before special flavourings are added. Extra cocoa butter is also added but the amount depends on the type of chocolate.

Up to 5 percent vegetable fat is also added, which stabilises the chocolate and gives it that ideal texture to ensure the melting properties are precise while preserving the taste. Milk chocolate then needs to be rolled and kneaded so that is becomes silky smooth before being cooled to a particular temperature to make it more stable.

Bars of chocolate like Dairy Milk are known as moulded products, as the chocolate is poured in to a mould, then shaken and cooled before finally being wrapped at high speed. Countline refers to Cadbury goods like Crunchie, where an enrobing machine covers different flavoured centre products with chocolate.


Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar
The best online chocolate, lolly and confectionery store on the web!

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Source: Manufacturing Digital