The Magic of Chocolate
Chocolate must be a main contender for the world’s favourite flavour, the only other I can immediately think of which has such wide acceptance is peppermint.
Why is this, why is chocolate so “Magic”, so widely accepted by people of such a wide range of cultures which are so different in so many ways.
As with most things there is no single factor, rather it is the combined effect of several things which widen the appeal of the product and make it attractive in similar ways to different cultures.
Almost everywhere chocolate has an association with gifting and sharing which makes it emotionally attractive and that in turn comes from knowing that just about everyone likes it. There seems to be a particular and important element of mothers giving to children from an early age. These elements rely heavily on trust – trust in the brand and trust in the quality – so the long term relationship of many of the major manufacturers – Nestle, Suchard, Lindt, Cadbury, Hershey and so on with the consumer is important in building and maintaining this trust.
Looking at more technical issues, part of the answer must be in the happy coincidence that the fat in cocoa beans melts at about the normal human body temperature, so there is an immediate positive sensation of something firm melting and breaking down in the mouth. This sensation, coupled with the very fine particle size to which the ingredients are ground gives a very pleasant organoleptic experience. Eating (good) chocolate is a pretty indulgent experience and cheap compared with most other indulgences. It is reasonably guilt free as well if you can control the urge to eat the whole bar in one go!
One of the important things to note is that chocolate is not one single product. There is a huge range of products from the milky sweetness of white chocolate to the astringent bitterness of some dark chocolates. In between lies a whole spectrum of flavours as one progresses from one to the other through milk chocolates.
White Chocolates
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“European” Style Milk Chocolates
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Swiss Style Milk Chocolates
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Crumb Based Milk Chocolates
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Commercial Dark Chocolates
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Specialist Dark Chocolates
Each of these products has a wide internal variation (even within a single manufacturer) and overlying this again are the different cocoa flavours deriving from different bean sources, blends and processing techniques. Some of this differentiation comes from the ways in which cocoa is grown and processed, because what few people realise is that cocoa as harvested has very little cocoa flavour, it is just intensely bitter and astringent.
Although different strains of the basic cocoa tree do have some differences in flavour it is the primary fermentation and drying which has the greatest effect. Primary processing has a very significant effect on the flavour of the cocoa and hence ultimately chocolate made from it. Equally it can be the source of difficult to remove off flavours when not done correctly.
In addition to the effects of origin and primary processing, the secondary processing involving sterilising and (for some products) alkalising, roasting, grinding and pressing to produce cocoa mass, cocoa powder and cocoa butter will also have a major effect on the final flavour of chocolate
Whilst some companies look for cocoa from a single origin for their products others use blends from many different sources to produce their characteristic flavour. This can involve as many as seven or eight different bean origins with small quantities of special “flavour“ cocoa being added to more conventionally flavoured bulk cocoas. Increasingly however both large and small companies purchase cocoa products from large scale processors to a specific flavour profile and leave those companies to source and blend beans to achieve their requirements.
Because so many of the flavour compounds in cocoa are held in the fat phase the quality and balance of cocoa butters used in a chocolate can have an enormous impact on the flavour. In most markets the flavour of “natural” butter (direct from the press) is rather too strong and so most is deodorised under vacuum to reduce the strength of flavour. A blend of natural and deodorised butters is used in most chocolates, with some companies also adding cocoa butter mechanically expelled from raw or nearly raw beans as a special flavour element.
Most chocolates utilise cocoa mass and cocoa butter as their flavour sources but a few, particularly high cocoa solids products, will also use some high quality cocoa powder to give specific aspects of flavour. There are also chocolates at opposite end of the quality spectrum which use cocoa powder as the main source of cocoa solids. If carefully made with good quality ingredients these lower cost products are perfectly acceptable, but they will struggle to match the quality of flavour of products using cocoa mass with its complete flavour profile.
Whilst all the technical and manufacturing variation is interesting (and only the very briefest outline is presented here) there is above all the consumer’s preference. How is this established and affected?
This is a difficult question to answer, but let us first dispose of one question I am frequently asked. When people realise you work in chocolate very often the first question they ask is “what is the best chocolate”. I always answer “the one you like the best”, because that is the real truth. The chocolate I personally may prefer may not be something they like. Indeed sometimes the one they profess to like is not even the one they really prefer, but is affected by fashion and reputation.
Very often your “favourite” chocolate is one with which you have some personal link – the strongest of which can be the chocolate you were given as a child. This early years “recruitment” is enormously important in establishing an on-going preference. (Beware – it can also work the other way if you or someone close to you has a bad experience with a particular product!)
Any chocolate made from wholesome ingredients and manufactured to a good standard in hygienic conditions can be someone’s “best” chocolate. Particularly in the EU but also in other major markets regulation ensures that products labelled as chocolate meet high standards in terms of ingredients.
There are some very interesting regional preferences in chocolate. To generalise terribly, within Europe there is almost a spectrum starting with (very) dark chocolate somewhere about Austria and becoming milder and more milk dominated as you move steadily north and west, culminating in the UK and Ireland’s preference for mild, crumb based products.
Russia still has some preference for traditional chocolates dominated by high levels of natural (undeodorised) cocoa butters but this is changing as the power of international brands with local manufacturing starts to move into the country, although even some of these have had to move their traditional flavour towards that of the local consumer preference.
Moving away from Europe, Africa and much of Asia (again in the broadest sense) has a preference for sweeter products with a lot of market in Southern Africa for white and caramelised white chocolates. There are strong historic flavour influences in this part of the world, with products having been imported from Europe by traditional producers before local manufacturing was established.
Looking at two huge markets – China and India – there are interesting differences. China is still very much a developing market and maybe has not yet settled on its flavour preference because historically the Chinese (another huge generalisation) are not used to milk and particularly caramel flavour notes. Although international brands are establishing themselves in the major centres, this is possibly more about fashion than initial preference – although this could rapidly become an established preference in such a new market. India is completely different case. The consumer in that country has had a long exposure to products initially imported from the UK but produced locally for many years to the same flavour profile. Consequently India is dominated by crumb based milk chocolates and this preference has even spilled over into some areas such as the Gulf states which have a huge expatriate Indian population.
Australia and New Zealand retain their crumb chocolate preference for many of the same reasons as India. Indeed many Commonwealth countries have the historical preference for crumb chocolates and in the same way countries with a history of French influence have retained their historical preferences. Both local components of global companies and local businesses have followed this taste preference.
Japan is a relatively small market which has a preference for novelty and innovation almost above the basic flavour with further importance placed on purity and wholesomeness.
That of course leaves the Americas, together a gigantic market for confectionery with a variety of influences. The Southern American markets are to a large extent dominated by local brands based on local cocoas resulting in relatively strongly flavoured products but with increasing influence of global brands and imaging. North America is more mixed scene, with fairly conventional milk powder based chocolates, some presence of crumb based chocolates produced under licence and by local manufacturers and perhaps the major influence being Hershey with strongly and uniquely flavoured chocolates. Cocoa feedstocks are sourced largely from South America which has a significant influence on flavour. Because this market is so large and distribution so key to success, the traditional products retain a very strong position in preference terms because in part of early years recruitment but also the commercial cost and difficulty of entering that market.
What we perhaps learn from this diversity is that a major influence on chocolate preference is perhaps “historic” – local preferences are not particularly dynamic and tend to change very slowly if at all. Introducing an unfamiliar chocolate into an established market is extremely difficult. In a single environment it is possible to move an established flavour slowly – over years – but only if the brand involved is dominant in the market or if the consumer perceives it as a distinct quality improvement.
It is undeniable that you carry with you the preference for the chocolate of your youth – as deep as being “what your mother gave you” and it is difficult if not impossible to change that radically. Strongly (UK/Ireland) flavoured crumb chocolate has never made any real inroads into Europe; people just don’t like it. The impact of high cocoa solids and milk powder chocolates on the UK market has been modest in a true sense – high value and fashion products are certainly growing, but compared with the total market dominated by crumb type chocolates from the Cadbury, Mars and the Nestle brands the influence has been modest and more a reflection of fashion and prosperity rather than genuine market change.
This inherent conservatism in chocolate preference extends into even quite small changes in flavour. Because the flavour of chocolate is so complex it tends to be heavily influenced by the manufacturing processes used. This has made upgrading processes in terms of scale and technology extremely difficult, and at least one major UK business still uses technology first developed in the 1960’s in spite of many years intensive research and development effort.
So to go back to the original question – what is the magic of chocolate, what makes it so popular world wide.
Perhaps the first thing must be the sheer adaptability of the basic product – there is in reality a huge variety of products and flavours which can fit with the flavour preferences of a market and even a strong subsection of that market such as can develop with changes in population structure and prosperity.
Another strong influence is that the major chocolate businesses are world wide in their scope and immensely powerful and sophisticated in their ability to create and manipulate a new or rapidly developing market. This means that China, with little established history of chocolate, could become a major battleground. Russia may also see changes as the highly imaged European and American brands compete with the traditional manufacturers in that market.
But is there an effect beyond being able to provide a flavour which appeals to people and a mouthfeel which combines with flavour to give pleasure and indulgence?
Raw cocoa beans contain a huge variety of complex chemicals which are modified, broken down and combined with other ingredients during processing to produce not just a myriad of flavour chemicals, but also substances which can potentially affect mood and emotion. Whilst these include fairly conventional stimulants such as theobromine there are a host of others with properties which are much less well understood. And as with flavours, it is not just the presence of these identities which is important but also the interaction between them.
Chocolate certainly makes people feel good for a lot of different reasons and most of those are entirely innocent – a gift, a reward, an indulgence – which may or may not be enhanced by something the cocoa contains. Yes it’s a bit addictive, but again that is more to do with the pleasure than anything more sinister.
Perhaps that is all part of the “Magic of Chocolate”