Consistency and Appearance: The Creations of Cocoa Butter The remarkable
appearance and consistency of chocolate
are a direct expression of the physical qual
-ities of cocoa butter, the part of chocolate
that surrounds the solid particles of cacao
bean and holds them together. When care
-fully prepared, chocolate has a silken or
glassy surface, is hard and not greasy at
room temperature, breaks with a delightful
snap, yet melts to a smooth creaminess in
the mouth. These are very unlike the qual
-ities of any other food, and are a conse
-quence of the structure of cacao fat
molecules, which are mostly saturated and
unusually regular (most of them are con
-structed from just three kinds of fatty
acids). This structure means that the fat
molecules are capable of forming a dense
network of compact, stable crystals, with
little liquid fat left over to ooze out
between the crystals.