Chocolate, chocolate-like products, chocolate construction kit and methods for preparing the same

A method for producing chocolate or chocolate-like products comprising the steps of:

• adding water to fermented or incubated cocoa beans or nibs to form a suspension;
• wet grinding said suspension;
• subjecting said suspension to a heat treatment at a temperature of from 43° C. to 65° C.;
• separating the suspension into three phases, i.e. a water phase (heavy phase), a fat phase (light phase) and a solid phase, said fat phase comprising cocoa butter as a major component and solids and/or water as minor components and said solid phase comprising cocoa powder and water;
• and
• separately processing the three phases, which comprises the step of:
• (i) neutralizing acetic acid formed during fermentation or formed or added prior to or during an incubation of the cocoa beans in the water phase, or (ii) removing said acetic acid from the water phase by extractive distillation, reactive distillation, extraction, emulsion-type liquid membrane processes, salting out or combinations thereof;
• separating cocoa butter from the fat phase;
• separating cocoa powder from the solid phase;
• separating cocoa aroma and a polyphenolic powder from at least the water phase;
• recombining the cocoa aroma extract with the cocoa butter extract;
• mixing the recombined cocoa aroma and cocoa butter extracts with said cocoa powder extract, said polyphenolic powder extract and/or milk powder;
• and
• conching said mixture.