In 2005, the hit film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" has caught the attention of chocolate lovers around the world for its appetizing setting inside the chocolate factory full of sweets and other treats. But that's only in the movie; chocolate factories, in reality, are not really like that.
Although it is unlikely to win a golden ticket to visit a chocolate factory, residents from a small town in Switzerland could experience every chocolate lover's dream come to life on August 11.
Chocolate Snow Spreads All Over a Swiss Town
Chocolate snow-covered Olten's Swiss town after the ventilation system of Lindt and Spruengli factory malfunctioned, causing light dust of cocoa powder to spread all over town.
According to reports, it was a minor glitch in one of the machines used for roasted cocoa nibs, small fragments of cocoa beans, in the Olten factory. Due to the winds, the powder spread quickly in the nearby areas.
Fortunately, authorities said that the particles pose no harm to people and the environment. But one car was confirmed by the chocolate company to be lightly covered with chocolate powder, and they offered to pay for the cleaning, and are waiting for the owner's response for their offer.
The company quickly fixed the chocolaty incident, and they have resumed working already. But it seems to be under the spell of Willy Wonka as an incident like this was not the first time to happen.
A similar event happened two years ago in the DreiMeister chocolate factory when one of its tanks overflowed on the street of Westoennen, Wirl, during the Christmas season.
The delightful incident of a hot mix of sweet and gooey chocolate spilling to the cold surface was immediately short-lived after firefighters arrived and removed the chocolate from the surface.
There were about 25 firefighters who responded to the call and spent hours attempting to break the frozen chocolate layer using shovels, hot water, and torches. DreiMeister chocolate factory's CEO Marcus Luckey said that "it would have been a great catastrophe" as the incident happened when the Christmas was just in the corner.
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Chocolate Production
Chocolate is used in many foods like milkshakes, candy bars, and cookies. But before it becomes a bar of chocolate, it undergoes a series of complex procedures to produce.
The process involves harvesting the cocoa from the tropical tree of cocoa that grows in the wetlands of Central and South America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. The seed pods are then collected, and their seeds will be selected and placed in piles and undergo fermentation where they turn brown.
After that, they are dried before they are scooped and shipped to the manufacturers where they will be roasted in which they develop their color and flavor. The outer shell is removed while its meat is turned into cocoa nibs, essential for chocolate production.
The nibs are ground into cocoa liquor and then will be mixed with cocoa butter and sugar. Cocoa liquor is the unsweetened chocolate or cocoa mass. After the mixing process, it is further refined. The cocoa powder is blended back with the chocolate liquor and butter in different quantities to make various types of chocolates, as seen in stores.
READ MORE: No to Dementia: Drink Red Wine, Eat Dark Chocolates and Other Flavonoid-Rich Foods
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