Conching is an essential process that gives final smoothness to the chocolate. It is so-called because the paddles used in the first conching machines resembled shells, and “concha” is Spanish for shell. During conching, the chocolate mixture is constantly agitated and the friction of the paddles creates heat, which melts the mixture. More cocoa butter may be added at this stage to produce couverture chocolate, which is the very best chocolate you can find. The conching time should be long enough to homogenize the mixture and drive off the unwanted volatile aromas and bitterness, but not too long or some of the more complex chocolate flavors will be snuffed out. Not so long ago, it was a sign of a good chocolate when it was conched for four or five days. Modern technology has reduced the length of the process to eight or ten hours.
