Conching

An uninterrupted stirring process that smoothes the texture of the chocolate and enhances its flavour. The technique was invented in 1879 in Switzerland by Rodolphe Lindt, and involves heavy rollers or rotating blades (shaped like conches, giving the process its name) moving back and forth through the liquid chocolate, kneading it to smooth out its texture and round out the flavour.

Conching breaks down the sugar crystals that are added to the chocolate, and blends in the additional cocoa butter, vanilla, sugar, and powdered milk (for milk chocolate). The aeration and friction of the paste into a smooth mass also causes chemical changes that removes moisture and acidity of the liquid chocolate, develops and round out the flavour, and flushes out volatile flavours, bitterness and unpleasant odours. Conching enables complete homogenization and emulsion of the cocoa butter into the cocoa paste, producing a velvety smooth chocolate with no grittiness. Fine chocolate is conched for at least a day, some for several days, further polishing the particulates to the finest mass.