What is conching?
Conching is a stage of chocolate making where the chocolate is slowly mixed and aerated, sometimes for hours or days, to smooth its texture and mellow harsh, acidic flavours.
During conching, the chocolate is warmed and worked continuously. This coats every particle of cocoa and sugar in cocoa butter for a smoother mouthfeel, and it drives off volatile acids and rough notes left over from fermentation and roasting.
The technique is credited to Rodolphe Lindt, who developed it in Switzerland in 1879. The name comes from the shell-like shape of the original machines.
More conching is not automatically better. A long conche can smooth a bar but also flatten the bright, fruity character that makes a single-origin cacao distinctive, so makers choose the time and temperature to suit the beans. It is one of the steps a bean-to-bar maker controls directly.
Questions this page answers
Why is chocolate conched?
Conching smooths the texture and rounds off harsh, acidic and bitter notes, giving the finished bar a more refined flavour and a silkier mouthfeel.
How long is chocolate conched?
It ranges widely, from a few hours to several days, depending on the maker, the beans and the style they want. Longer is not always better.
Does more conching make better chocolate?
Not necessarily. Conching is a tool, not a quality grade. Too much can strip out the bright, distinctive flavours of a fine single-origin cacao, so skilled makers conch to suit the beans rather than as long as possible.