Swiss Chocolate Facts

Swiss Chocolate – A Unique Mixture of Taste and Quality

The first word that comes to our minds when we hear about Switzerland is undoubtedly 'chocolate'. Exactly! Chocolate is probably the best-known product of this small European country, which annually attracts thousands of visitors yearning to buy good quality and well-known domestic chocolate products. But, why is this chocolate among the most popular and best chocolates in the world? First of all, it melts in your mouth with a clean lingering taste  true to Swiss milk. Milk chocolate which is the best known Swiss chocolate type is characterised by a high percentage of cocoa butter. The cocoa butter is responsible for making the chocolate quick to melt at body temperature.

Alpine milk, produced by cows roaming the grassy mountain regions of the country is a key ingredient also. These cows are raised on an organic diet of grass at high altitude in the Alps, which largely contributes to the quality of their milk. The cows produce a more dense less aerated milk due to the fact they are at altitude and the milk they produce is officially known as Alpine milk.

These two main ingredients are a big part of the reason why Swiss chocolate is so famous.

The Process of Making Chocolate 

Making Swiss chocolate is a piece of art since one needs to restructure the crystalline nature of the cocoa, fat, and sugar to get a smooth mixture quick to melt in your mouth with no grittiness. Santa Barbara Chocolate follows these time honored methods. Learn more about our chocolate making steps here: https://www.santabarbarachocolate.com/blog/chocolate-making-from-raw-cacao-in-the-early-american-colony/

The first step is usually called 'refining'. Here, you mix cocoa mass, cocoa butter fat, and sugar and mill to a very small particle size so it is smooth and not gritty when eaten. After that you come to the critical step of production, namely 'conching'. It is a type of kneading of the chocolate mixture with cocoa butter at temperatures over 150 deg F. The process lasts 24 to 96 hours to really homogenize the chocolate mixture. During the conching stage residual moisture is removed, and the chocolate mixture develops the characteristic creamy nature. 

The final step in the production process is 'tempering'. Learn about tempering here: https://www.santabarbarachocolate.com/easy-chocolate-tempering/

Since the liquid chocolate starts cooling and solidifying after conching, cocoa butter starts forming crystals not fully uniform in the mix. Therefore, in order to keep the chocolate looking pretty when you make it into bars or other shapes, one must temper the chocolate. Tempering is the process of re-heating and cooling under controlled conditions. The cocoa butter becomes more stable and an even-grained texture will develop. Sometimes at this stage of production in the final tempering, some manufacturers add emulsifier like soy lecithin, a natural emulsifier derived from soybeans. Lecithin actually slows or prevents the process of blooming after the chocolate is fully tempered. Blooming is the forming of a white cocoa butter haze over chocolate.

Swiss chocolates are produced in this way, and for that reason, they have the famous taste and wonderful texture.

Rio Tigre Wholesale Milk Chocolate – An Excellent Swiss Style Chocolate from Santa Barbara Chocolate

An extraordinary example of milk chocolate making and flavor is the Rio Tigre Milk Chocolate. It has all the characteristics of Swiss milk chocolate so that chefs and chocolate lovers alike will enjoy. 

Rio Tigre Milk Chocolate has the unique mixture of fresh high-quality milk along with orchid vanilla. It has a light chocolate color. Rio Tigre is easy to temper and easy to use.

Ingredients Are Crucial

The most significant ingredient of the Rio Tigre Milk Chocolate is the exotic cacao grown in the Rio Tigre Valley. The cacao is hand picked from quality trees grown deep in the jungle. This rare cacao is part of the reason why this chocolate is so addictive. During the process of chocolate production, cacao is mixed with the highest-quality milk from the alpine regions of Southern Switzerland.

Once you experience this extra special chocolate, you will be a hooked milk chocolate lover. Dream of alpine meadows where edelweiss and chamomile flowers dot the landscape. Fresh air, blue sky and puffy white clouds help paint the landscape experience in your mind's eye. Take yourself on an adventurous and tasteful journey with every bite.

FAMOUS CHOCOLATE: SWISS CHOCOLATE BRANDS 

Switzerland Chocolate: Truly World Famous Chocolate & Confectionery

We’ve all sampled some of the biggest Swiss chocolate brands. Come Christmas, New Year, and any special occasion in between, you can guarantee that the world’s most famous chocolate will find its way into someone's Christmas stocking or anniversary hamper. The only question is, why is Swiss chocolate making so widely regarded? After all, Switzerland as a country is far from the South American homeland of the humble cocoa bean.

Inventors of Contemporary Milk Chocolate Making

First brought back to Europe by Spanish conquistadors in the mid 16th century, cocoa beans quickly became prized among French and Western European aristocrats, who took up drinking chocolate in order to promote better health and longevity. The only problem was that early European chocolatiers hadn’t really mastered the art of making chocolate as sweet or as palatable as we know it today.

Thankfully, chocolate making in Europe finally started to evolve in the early 19th century, thanks to the entrepreneur François-Louis Cailler opening Europes first dedicated chocolate factory in Corsier near Vevey. In fact, Cailler chocolate is still one of the world’s most famous chocolate brands. It wasn’t however, until 1867 that the then still emerging chocolate brands began to experiment with adding milk as well as refined sugar to chocolate. 

The true Forefathers of Chocolate Making 

While François-Louis Cailler might be credited as opening the first Switzerland chocolate factory, it was Daniel Peter and Rodolphe Lindt in 1867 and 1875, who finally refined the art of adding milk to chocolate, in order to add exceptional sweetness. Inspiring nothing short of a chocolate making revolution in Europe, Rodolphe Lindt then went on to invent the world’s very first melting chocolate and as many will be aware, Lindt today is still one of the world’s best-loved Swiss chocolate brands.

Of course, today we take milk chocolate for granted, however, the next time you are indulging in your favorite milk chocolate, it might be worth remembering that this wouldn't be possible at all if it weren't for just a little bit Swiss ingenuity.  

The most famous Swiss Chocolatier you can find here in the USA is Teuscher. Teuscher imports their chocolate truffles weekly from their alpine factory.Their most famous creation is the champagne truffle. In New York or Beverly Hills you'll always find Teuscher Swiss Chocolates at a party, especially during the holidays and at weddings.