How To Make Chocolate?

[edit] Ingredients

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  1 lb. Of raw cocoa beans (you can find these online or at a farmer's market)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• Additional flavouring (mint)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup of milk,or half and half

[edit] Steps

1. 
   
   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   

   
   Farmer roasts cacao beans in the Dominican Republic

   
   

   
   
   
   Roast the raw cocoa beans. Put a single layer of beans on a cookie
   sheet.Roast them for about 30 minutes in a 300 degree oven. Let the
   beans cool, and pull the husks off. Discard of the husks or add them to
   a compost pile.
2. 
   
   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   Break up the beans. This can be done with a hammer and washcloth, or you can use a mortar and pestle. When they are in pieces, grind them in a clean pepper grinder, or continue using the mortar.
   
   • It is suggested you use a pepper grinder for the second phase of
     grinding as it gets harder to use a mortar as the pieces get small. It
     is possible, however, to make the pieces smaller with a mortar.
   
   
3. When the pieces of bean are small, continue mashing with the mortar
   and pestle. By this point the beans will have turned into a brown mush.
   It may look good, but it tastes very bitter.
4. Heat a large pan of water until it is hot, but not boiling.
   Transfer the cocoa bean paste to a smaller pan. Place the smaller pan
   in the pan of hot water. When the paste is heated, but not cooking,
   transfer the paste back into the bowl and continue to work with the
   mortar. Continue to use the mortar on the paste until it is of a smooth
   consistency.
5. 
   
   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   Add the sugar and flavoring and the milk or half and half and vanilla,
   if you decide to use any flavoring. When the sugar and flavorings are
   mixed in, pour the chocolate into molds, or a large pan that you can
   cut into small bars. Let the chocolate cool and harden. This can be
   done a room temperature, or in the fridge covered by foil.

[edit] Tips

• Start with less sugar, and keep adding until it reaches the desired sweetness.
• Experiment with different flavorings, or stick to just sugar and cocoa.
• Molding your chocolate can be fun. Try molding them for special occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, or Hanukkah.
• The chocolate you make in this article is crude, not like the
  chocolate that you buy in stores. If you want to make a smoother
  chocolate that requires more equipment, read this article.