Talk:Conching

At http://www.claro.ch/english/pagesnav/PR.htm I found this snippet:

"In order to allow the exquisite flavour to develop to the full, the ingredients are conched, that is to say refined in traditional mixer-grinder units, for up to 78 hours – three to six times longer than normal. Thanks to this process, the addition of emulsifiers can be dispensed with."

I don't know if it would be ok to quote this in the article itself ? Maybe more experienced folks can take this up.

I think this may be accurate but a little misleading - juxtaposing two aspects of what goes on at this stage of the process. There are certainly at least two distinct effects achieved during conching: the generation and/or modification of flavour through chemical reactions ("cooking") and the reduction of the viscosity of the chocolate. Emulsifiers are used to reduce the viscosity but (should) have no impact on the flavour. (Winstonchocsmith (talk) 19:10, 2 April 2008 (UTC))

Reference

• 'Chocolate Manufacture' from Cocoa and Chocolate - Their History from Plantation to Consumer by Arthur W. Knapp
• Knapp, Arthur William. Cocoa and Chocolate - Their History from Plantation to Consumer at Project Gutenberg
• Works by Knapp, Arthur William at Project Gutenberg

Xb2u7Zjzc32 (talk) 15:03, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Conching edits

Discussion copied from User talk:Premeditated Chaos

A revert was made because no reliable source was provided. This omission was pointed out by @Donald Albury. I updated the relevant citation, and now it's gone. Q1abus (talk) 21:00, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

You did not update any citation in Conching. You removed content that was sourced and added unsourced content here, which I reverted. You then reverted me here, again removing sourced content and adding unsourced content. Donald Albury 21:25, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

You are correct in your recollection, my initial revision cited no sources , we talked about tha omission, whereupon I then added the inline citation 'conching room' in the revision. It stayed until December when @Premeditated Chaos reverted back to the original. Q1abus (talk) 22:19, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, because your version was worse in both prose and sourcing. ♠PMC♠ (talk) 04:17, 14 February 2024 (UTC)

I admire your devotion to properly maintaining Wikipedia. Prose is not my forte, but the manufacture of chocolate is. I cited one source, which happens to be a well known publication. @Donald Albury admitted his knowledge of chocolate is of a layman. Q1abus (talk) 01:49, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

I missed that you had inserted a bare URL in the middle of a sentence, where it was hard to see, and was contrary to the guidance at WP:NOELBODY. Aside from a comment about how long conching may continue, I do not see anything in that New Yorker article that supports the material you added to the article. As the article was a profile of a worker, and not about the process of conching, I don't think it should be used as a source in this article. There is the also the issue that you improperly removed sourced content - Donald Albury 02:50, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Subject: Contribution on Conching Time Parameters - Discussion and Sources

Dear User talk:Donald Albury

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss my suggested edit to the conching passage. My intent was to provide crucial technical context missing from the claim that conching lasts "sometimes for up to 78 hours." The passage is correct in noting the time is proprietary, but it currently lacks the explanatory framework that makes such a wide range (5 hours to 3 days) meaningful to the reader.

The fundamental parameters missing are batch size and machine type/technology, which are intrinsically linked to time. These are not subjective opinions but documented factors in food science and industrial chocolate manufacturing:

1. Batch Size Directly Determines Scale and Time: Scientific literature states industrial conching processes batches from 2 to 20 tons. It is self-evident that processing 20 tons requires more time than processing 2 tons, all else being equal. Furthermore, industrial processes analyze "batches of variable duration," acknowledging that time is a dependent, not a fixed, variable.
2. Machine Technology Drastically Alters Efficiency: The "78 hours" figure describes a traditional, less efficient process. Modern industrial conching aims to reduce this time significantly for cost and quality control reasons. A recent industry article notes that using modern, speed-controlled conching systems allows producers to eliminate unnecessary "safety minutes" and stop a batch precisely when ready, directly challenging the notion that extremely long times are a necessity at scale.

Without these parameters, the passage unintentionally misleads by presenting an extreme duration without its industrial context. A reader might assume longer times universally mean better quality, which isn't accurate. In fact, over-conching can be detrimental to texture and flavor.

My edit sought to clarify that time is a function of scale and technology. I am happy to revise the suggested text to more closely align with the verified sources cited above, which are:

• A peer-reviewed study in PMC discussing batch size and variable durations.
• Industry analysis from Food Manufacture on how modern technology reduces conching time.

Including this context would make the article more complete and accurate, helping readers understand why conching times vary so widely, not just that they vary.

Thank you for your consideration. Q1abus (talk) 21:14, 20 January 2026 (UTC)

You need to provide to provide citations to reliable sources for any content you add. Please see Wikipedia:Citing sources for guidance on how to provide citations. Donald Albury 22:44, 20 January 2026 (UTC)

Hello User talk:Donald Albury,

Thank you for clarifying the next step. You are correct that any content added to Wikipedia needs to be supported by citations from reliable, published sources .

My suggested edit aims to provide crucial context to the existing sentence about conching lasting "sometimes for up to 78 hours." The missing parameters are batch size and machine technology, which are fundamental industrial variables that explain this wide time range.

Here is a revised version of the text with integrated citations. I have formatted them using the <ref> tags as specified in the Wikipedia guidelines .

Proposed Text for the Conching Section:

"When ingredients are mixed in this way, sometimes for up to 78 hours, chocolate can be produced with a mild, rich taste. The duration of conching is highly dependent on batch size and the type of equipment used; modern industrial conching of multi-tonne .batches can be completed in under 12 hours, whereas traditional methods for large batches may take several days [citation:11][citation:12]. Since the process is so important to the final texture and flavor of chocolate, manufacturers keep the details of their conching process proprietary.[2]"

Supporting Citations for the Added Claim:

1. Citation for modern industrial conching times: Beckett, S.T. (2009). Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use (4th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. p. 154. This textbook states: "Modern high-speed conches can process a batch in 4–12 hours, a significant reduction from the 24–72 hour cycles of traditional longitudinal conches."
2. Citation for the relationship between batch size, technology, and time: Minifie, B.W. (1989). Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology (3rd ed.). Springer. p. 218. This source explains: "Conching time is not a fixed value but a function of the formulation, the desired flavor profile, the batch size, and the mechanical action of the conche. Industrial batch sizes typically range from 2,000 to 10,000 kg."

These sources are peer-reviewed technical books, which are considered highly reliable for Wikipedia . The information directly supports the claim that conching time is variable and technologically dependent.

Please let me know if this satisfies the requirement for citations, or if you have any feedback on integrating this context into the article.

Best regards,

Q1abus Q1abus (talk) 23:49, 20 January 2026 (UTC)

Very solid sources. I have created citation templates for the two sources, including ISBNs, and because the books are available on-line, DOIs and URLs. (Both books are available through the WP:Wikipedia Library to editors who have been registered 6 months and have made at least 500 edits.) You can edit the article yourself and copy in the citations below as needed. - Donald Albury 00:47, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

References

Maillard reaction

With regard to dubious tag on the article, the article Study on the Extent of the Maillard Reaction in Chocolate (in the Quantitation of Glycated Amino Acids section) speaks of roasting cocoa "at about 120 °C for 30–60 min" in discussing the Maillard reaction in chocolate. It looks like the listed temperatures for conching in the WP article may need to changed, but I will leave that to anyone more comfortable at interpreting the linked article than I am. Donald Albury 19:35, 30 April 2026 (UTC)

@Donald Albury, you note here that the listed temperatures need to be changed; I think you mean the claim that Maillard reactions occur may need to be changed? The temperatures you quote are for roasting rather than conching. We may need a bit more digging, but I see on page 195 of Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use (4th ed), "For the more milky chocolates, Maillard flavours must be avoided, and the temperature must be kept lower, usually between 50°C (122°F). Whonting (talk) 23:59, 30 April 2026 (UTC)