MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 145 



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Section through Chocolate Grinding Rolls. 

 may now proceed direct to the moulding rooms or it 

 may first be conched. 



(d) Couching. 



We now come to an extraordinary process which is 

 said to have been originally introduced to satisfy a 

 fastidious taste that demanded a chocolate which 

 readily melted in the mouth and yet had not the cloy- 

 ing effect which is produced by excess of cacao butter. 

 In thi> process the chocolate is put in a vessel shaped 

 something like a shell (hence called a conche), and a 

 heavv roller is pushed to and fro in the chocolate. 

 Although the conche is considered to have revolution- 

 ized the chocolate industry, it will remain to the unin- 

 itiated a curious sight to see a room full of machines 

 engaged in pummelling chocolate day and night. 

 There is no general agreement as to exactly how the 

 conche produces its effects from the scientific point 



