Chocolate Crumb
In the early part of the 20th century the milk used to make chocolate had poor keeping qualities.
This caused problems for the chocolate industry, whose major sales were at Christmas, a time of the year when there was a very limited supply of fresh milk.
In the UK and some other countries this led to the development of an intermediate ingredient chocolate crumb.
The cocoa nibs contain substances known as antioxidants.
These restrict the breaking up of the fats, which would normally make the milk fat turn sour.
In addition sugar was known to extend the self life of foods.
The chocolate manufacturers therefore added sugar and cocoa to the milk and dried them together.
This produced chocolate crumb, which had a shelf life of at least a year.
Milk produced during the spring break could then be used to make chocolate the following Christmas.
The drying process, however, introduced some cooked flavors into the chocolate and it is for this reason that many UK chocolates taste different from some continental European ones, which are made from milk powder.
Chocolate Crumb
