Refining Texture and Flavor The original
conche was a mechanized version of the
Mayan stone grinding slab: a heavy granite
roller moved back and forth over a granite
bed, both mixing the ingredients together
and grinding the still somewhat coarse par
-ticles to a finer size. Today the various
solids are ground to the proper dimensions
before conching, which now serves two
main functions. First, it breaks up small
aggregates of the solid particles, separates
them from each other, and coats all of them
evenly with cocoa butter, so that when the
finished chocolate melts, it flows smoothly.
Second, conching greatly improves the fla
vor of the chocolate, not by heightening it,
but by mellowing it. The aeration and mod
erate heat causes as much as 80% of the
volatile aromatic compounds (and excess
moisture) to evaporate out of the chocolate
liquor. Fortunately, many of these are unde
-sirable volatiles, including various acids
and aldehydes; acidity steadily declines dur
-ing conching. At the same time, a number
of desirable volatiles are augmented by the
heat and mixing, notably those with
roasted, caramel, and malty aromas
(pyrazines, furaneol, maltol).