Editing Milk chocolate (section)

===Processing===
Milk chocolate is manufactured from cocoa, milk and sugar.  It is the manufacturing process, rather than the raw ingredients, which is most responsible for each brand's flavor.<ref name=":1" />  

The ingredient which defines the product as chocolate, [[cocoa bean]], is mainly grown in Southeast Asia, South America, and West Africa, particularly the [[Ivory Coast]], which supplies 40 percent of the total global cocoa market.{{sfn|Beckett|2015|page=9}} Once the [[cocoa pod]]s are harvested, the seeds, known as "beans", are removed and fermented, then dried. They are then taken to a processing plant where they are cleaned and roasted.{{sfn|Beckett|2017|page=5}} The beans are then ground, usually in a two-stage process, first with an impact mill to liquify the cocoa, and then a ball mill. Milk chocolate usually contains a much larger proportion of [[cocoa butter]] than the one that is naturally present in [[cocoa liquor]]; unlike [[dark chocolate]], a large part of non-fat cocoa solids is going to be replaced by milk solids.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cD-8DwAAQBAJ | title=Handbook of Food Structure Development | publisher=[[Royal Society of Chemistry]] | author=Spyropoulos, Fotis | year=2019 | pages=136| isbn=9781788012164 }}</ref> Therefore, cocoa butter has to be produced in parallel by separating cocoa liquor into cocoa butter and cocoa powder.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urs9QCMKOw4C | title=Cocoa | publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] | author=Wood, G. A. R. | year=2008 | pages=539 | quote=This cocoa butter has to be obtained by pressing more cocoa liquor, leaving a residual cake.}}</ref>  Milk chocolate has a minimum cacao content of 10% in the US, and has been produced with as much as 70% cacao.<ref name="iht" />

At this stage, the two other key ingredients come into the process:  milk and sugar.  Milk ingredients are complex and critical in delivering the properties and taste to milk chocolate. Milk-origin ([[terroir]]) and associated farming have become an important marketing topic.{{sfn|Beckett|2011|loc=chpt. 4: "Milk-origin and farming and processing practices are becoming factors of increasing interest"}} [[Milk substitute]]s like [[rice milk]] are also used to create lactose-free milk-like chocolate.{{sfn|Byrne|2010}}  Milk is often added in [[Powdered milk|powdered]] form, particularly in German, French, and Belgian milk chocolate,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Beckett |first=Stephen T |date=August 2003 |title=Is the taste of British milk chocolate different? |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1471-0307.2003.00099.x |journal=International Journal of Dairy Technology |language=en |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=139–142 |doi=10.1046/j.1471-0307.2003.00099.x |issn=1364-727X |via=[[EBSCO Information Services|EBSCO]] in [[Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Library|The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> as excess water would damage the flowing properties of the liquid chocolate.{{sfn|Beckett|2015|page=23}} [[Spray drying|Spray dried]] full-fat milk powder is normally used, but alternatives include [[anhydrous]] full fat or skimmed milk powders,{{sfn|Wohlmuth|2017|page=494}} and the choice affects the overall flavor.<ref name=":1" />  Condensed milk is preferred by some manufacturers, particularly where milk production is seasonal.{{sfn|Beckett|2015|page=2}}  In most of Europe, milk chocolate must contain at least 3.5% milkfat.<ref name=":1" /> 

Sugar, the last major ingredient, is added at the same time as the milk powder, either in a roll refiner or conche. Sugar is an international commodity, with production of [[sugar cane]] led by Brazil, India, Thailand, China and Australia.{{sfn|Goldstein|2015|page=698}} [[Sugar beet]] is also used.{{sfn|Wohlmuth|2017|page=494}} Sometimes the milk and sugar are mixed separately before being added to the liquid cocoa mass and cocoa butter.{{sfn|Beckett|2017|page=6}}  About 45 to 50% of most milk chocolate is sugar, by weight.<ref name=":1" />  

The liquid chocolate is then poured into moulds and formed into bars or any other shape.{{sfn|Beckett|2017|page=4}}

====Chocolate crumb====
This is the original method developed by Daniel Peter to make milk chocolate. It consists of mixing cocoa liquor with sweetened condensed milk and drying it into a hard, dry, brittle powder resembling bread crumbs.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvEjDgAAQBAJ | title=Beckett's Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use | publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] | author=Beckett, Steve T. | year=2017 | pages=135 | quote=Daniel Peter found that by drying his dark chocolate paste with Nestlé's sweetened condensed milk he could achieve his aim. In the process he developed the first crumb-based milk chocolate.}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The powder is then refined with the additional cocoa butter.

British milk chocolate derives its characteristic, slightly cooked flavor by using a dehydrated blend of milk, sugar, and cocoa called '''chocolate crumb'''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Veronique |date=24 December 2023 |title=Why British chocolate tastes the way it does |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231221-why-british-chocolate-tastes-the-way-it-does |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Originally developed because milk production was high during the summer but chocolate demand was highest during the Christmas shopping season,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> the cocoa and sugar preserve the milk fats better than full-cream milk powder.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Ziegler |first=Gregory A |title=Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences |last2=Beckett |first2=Stephen T |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-12-818767-8 |editor-last=McSweeney |editor-first=Paul LH |edition=3rd |page=515 |chapter=Milk chocolate |editor-last2=McNamara |editor-first2=John P}}</ref> The process of making chocolate crumb usually produces a [[Maillard reaction]], resulting in a subtle "cooked", caramel flavor.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

====The Hershey process====
The actual Hershey process is a [[trade secret]], but experts speculate that the milk is partially [[lipolysis|lipolyzed]], producing [[butyric acid]], and then the milk is pasteurized, stabilizing it for use.<ref name="iht">{{cite news |last=Moskin |first=Julia |date=13 February 2008 |title=Dark may be king, but milk chocolate makes a move |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/dining/13chocolate.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514172804/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/dining/13chocolate.html |archive-date=14 May 2016 |access-date=1 January 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |df=dmy-all}}</ref>  The resulting milk chocolate has been described by experts as "tangy", "sour", and "acidified".<ref name="iht" />