Great American Chocolate Factory (1970s)

There's a lot of good, rich farmland around Hershey, Pennsylvania, and there are a lot of independent farmers working the same fields their grandfathers did. This is Pennsylvania Dutch country. Tradition is important here, and in some ways, things haven't changed much since the turn of the century. The air is still clean and fresh. The landscape is well-kept, peaceful, quiet. Of course, this is true in many agricultural areas. But Hershey is different. The town, which has a population of under 10,000, was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1903. It was a most unusual community then, and it is now. For one thing, the educational and cultural facilities are unique. The Milton Hershey's School with its 10,000 acre campus is a private school, a tuitionfree private school for needy boys and girls who don't have adequate care from one of their natural parents. Today, nearly 1,500 students live and study here, carrying on the traditions started by Mr. Hershey back in 1909. The entire state benefits from the medical center which was built with a grant from the MS Hershey Foundation. The complex is owned and operated by Penn State University and provides complete patient care while maintaining extensive research and educational programs. But Hershey isn't all classrooms and laboratories. Hershey Park is a happy experience for every member of the family. Owned and operated by Hero, another company Milton S. Hershey founded, Hershey Park is one of the major theme parks in the East. Holiday magazine called it the cleanest and greenest in America. [Music] The arena next door is the home of the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. And there's some headline event going on in town almost every night. In sports, theater, music, and dance, the people around here are accustomed to seeing big names from Hollywood, New York, Nashville, as well as touring foreign performers. The little rural community of Hershey attracts nearly 2 million visitors every year. Many come to see the formal rose gardens, and those who enjoy golf will find there's more golf per square foot than any place else in the world. Hershey is a most unusual community, and the reason goes back to the year of 1903 when Milton Hershey decided to build the world's largest chocolate factory in the cornfields of Dair Township. This is where it all began. The town grew up around the factory independently but benefiting from steady employment and Mr. Hershey's personal legacy of concern for the community and the individual. While things in and around the factory have changed over the years, the taste of milk chocolate is as popular as ever, and the business of making milk chocolate products is as fascinating as ever. The great American great American chocolate factory. [Music] Chocolate is a happy flavor. It's America's favorite and it blends happily with other natural flavors. There are probably hundreds, maybe thousands of different ways we can enjoy chocolate in foods we buy at the store or make at home. [Music] la. [Music] When Milton Hershey built his factory, milk chocolate was a delicacy enjoyed primarily by the wealthy. But by developing his own special formulations and manufacturing techniques, he proved that milk chocolate could be made and shipped all over America at a price most people could afford. Choosing this site was no accident. Mr. Hershey knew that to mass-produce milk chocolate, he'd need milk and lots of it. So, this location was ideal. The rich dairy farms here could produce many thousands of gallons of fresh milk every day. That's still true. Every day, rain or shine, all year round, stainless steel tank trucks visit dairy farms in the region to pick up fresh whole gradea milk. Hershey buys the entire output of more than 1,000 farms, amounting to over 1 million pounds of milk a day. In this business, that's how milk is bought and sold, by the pound. Beginning right at the farm, Hershey ensures that all government standards for quality and cleanliness are met or exceeded. The company maintains a staff of field representatives to inspect each farm on a regular basis. And the milk haulers conduct a series of quality checks, too. Every time a milk hauler visits a farm, he takes what's called a universal sample, which will go to the lab for testing. [Music] The tank trucks hold up to 6,000 gallons or about 50,000 lbs of milk. The receiving station at the factory is open 24 hours a day and the trucks are thoroughly scrubbed and sanitized after each delivery. The universal sample from each farm is brought immediately to the milk receiving laboratory. Here tests for bacteria count and butter fat content are among the many conducted in a continuous tightly controlled quality assurance program. But obviously it takes more than milk to make milk chocolate. And the factory requires a constant flow of natural ingredients from many different countries around the world. In the lush tropical growing areas of South and Central America, Africa and the South Pacific, we find such fruits as coconuts, bananas, pineapple, and we also find vast fields of sugar cane. Unlike most crops which are grown for their fruit or leaves or roots, it is the cane itself, the stalk, that is important here. When the cane is ready, harvest crews work seven days a week to bring in the crop. The large knife they use is called a machete, a universal tool in tropical agriculture. Hershey uses sugar from many different parts of the world, including cane and beet sugars grown in the United States. Here in the tropics, as in the states, it's impractical to transport bulky loads of cane over long distances. So, small sugar mills are usually scattered throughout the growing region for immediate processing. The cane is squeezed and ground under tremendous pressure, releasing the juice which is caught in troughs under the grinding wheels. The fibrous woody waste is removed by conveyor belt to help fuel the mill's boiler. Initial processing transforms the raw juice into a thick brown sugar syrup. In subsequent refining procedures, impurities and liquid are extracted to produce the white crystals of sugar we're all familiar with. Sometimes within a few miles of the cane fields, other farmers are cultivating very delicate, very special trees, usually planted under taller varieties of trees to protect them from direct sunlight. These are cocoa trees, and their seeds are the basis of all cocoa and chocolate products. The seeds called cocoa beans grow within these pods which are about 6 to 10 in in length. The correct scientific name for this fruit is theobma cacao which means food of the gods. These unusual trees thrive within 20° of the equator and have a continuous growth cycle. The fruit seems to be attached half-hazardly because the tiny blossoms grow directly from the trunk or main branches instead of at the ends of smaller branches. This is nature's way of protecting the heavy clusters of ripened fruit which need solid support. It takes 5 to 6 months for the pods to reach maturity and harvesting techniques vary from region to region, from farm to farm. In many areas, the growing and marketing of cocoa beans is the prime source of income. And the small independent farmer, like his counterpart in other agricultural areas of the world, depends upon a good harvest. But since the trees have a continuous growth cycle, there is no one week or month when an entire crop is ready. The pods are cut down as they ripen. In some larger operations, the pods are collected and taken to a central station for opening. Often, as in this case, they're opened in the field with razor sharp machetes. Working side by side, father and son efficiently strip the wet beans from the pods onto handy banana leaves. An expert worker can open seven or eight pods per minute, each one containing 30 to 40 cocoa beans surrounded by a white pulp. [Music] Beasts of burden still play an important role in many cocoa growing regions as small farmers bring their beans to a central area for fermentation and drying. Here, payment is made by the box, a volume measurement that's equal to about 30 lb of wet beans. The cocoa beans are then heaped into piles and allowed to ferment. Natural fermentation causes a chemical change in the pulp, which helps develop the color and flavor of the cocoa bean. It also hardens the skin of the bean into a protective shell, which will be removed later in the factory. The piles are covered with plantin or banana leaves to help contain the heat during the 5 to 6 day fermentation process. The fermented cocoa beans are then spread out to dry in the sun for 6 to 7 days. They are turned over regularly and these drying platforms are built on tracks so that in the event of rain they can be rolled under tin roofs for protection. The dried beans are less susceptible to disease and mold, and they are now ready for shipment overseas. [Music] A tropical port is a busy place with a variety of agricultural produce being exported and an even wider variety of manufactured goods being imported. In larger ports, railroad tracks go right out onto the docks. The dried cocoa beans, now packed in 140lb bags, are transferred from a box car to the hold of an oceangoing freighter. Destination, the United States of America. Cocoa beans on route to the factory in Hershey will arrive at one of our large east coast ports of entry, often Philadelphia. The beans are quickly offloaded and the first of a continuing series of quality assurance tests and inspections begins right here. With a device called a thief, samples are taken from each incoming shipment for laboratory analysis. [Music] Carloads of beans arrive at the factory throughout the year from the world's great cocoa growing regions. beans from Ghana and Nigeria, from Brazil and the Dominican Republic, from New Guinea and Malaysia, actually from more than a dozen different countries. And because each region produces a bean with its own distinctive flavor, each is delivered automatically from the rail sighting to individual storage silos. The total capacity of this facility is 90 million pounds. And if you want to figure it out, you'll find that'll make a lot of chocolate bars. There's a constant flow of incoming ingredients, and acres of warehouse space are devoted to the storage of peanuts and almonds. Hershey uses huge quantities of almonds, some of them coming from the company's own groves in California. Peanuts arrive in even greater quantities. Thousands of tons a year from our southern and southwestern states pass through this warehouse to be used in a variety of products. In the research laboratories, this panel plays a significant role in determining how ingredients will be used, which new product recipes will actually go into factory production. Being a member of the taste panel is an unusual job and a great responsibility identifying and charting subtle differences in flavor, fragrance, texture. Of course, some formulations remain unchanged year after year, and the details of all of them are highly guarded secrets. Factory production schedules determine the quantities of specific ingredients that will be drawn from storage on any given day. Since five or six different types of chocolate may be in production at the same time, scheduling the flow of cocoa beans is especially complex. Beans are withdrawn from the storage silos according to type and origin in an elaborate cleaning and sorting machine. Currents of air and a series of saves remove foreign matter. Then they are rooted by conveyor belt to a storage tank which supplies the blending department. Here, [Music] proportions for specific recipes are programmed into the automatic blending machines. Each station introduces one type of bean to the continuous flow blending process. Precise quantities are measured in pounds per minute. In an extension of the continuous flow process, the blended beans travel through huge ovens. It's impossible to see inside, but dry roasting at temperatures over 400° F or 204° C develops the flavor and aroma of the beans. Then, in a completely enclosed process, the shell of the bean is removed and the inner meat is broken into fragments called nibs. Nibs of the various blends are transported to specified hoppers which feed the giant triple milling machines on the floor below. [Music] The roasted nibs have a natural cocoa butter content of about 55% which is released during the milling process. The result is a free flowing liquid. Traditionally, this has been called chocolate liquor, although it has no alcoholic content. All products made in the factory begin with this liquor. However, back before Milton Hershey went into business, it was discovered that chocolate beverages tasted better when the cocoa butter content of the liquor was reduced. So, in making cocoa and cocoa products today, these giant presses squeeze most of the cocoa butter out of the liquor. [Music] The butter is drained away and will be used in the making of milk chocolate. The dry cake that remains after the butter is squeezed out is pure cocoa. So the basic difference between cocoa and chocolate is the amount of cocoa butter present. The cake goes through several grinding and refining processes until it's ready for packaging as pure cocoa or is blended with other ingredients. In another section of the factory, whole milk is being condensed. The first of many complex procedures in the making of milk chocolate. When almost all of the water content has been removed and the milk has reached the consistency of taffy, chocolate, liquor and sugar are added and the mixture looks good enough to eat. Right now, however, many more steps lie ahead. The mixture gets drier and drier until finally it is conveyed as a coarse powder to another series of mixing tanks. [Music] The blending and mixing are computer controlled. And from this console, additional cocoa butter is introduced to make the finished chocolate richer in flavor, creamier in texture. The mixture is now in a liquid state. And from this control center, the flow is directed to one of many coning machines. The name conch began years ago when the machines were shaped like the sea shell. Today there are a variety of shapes and sizes in use. Inside constant stirring and low heat develop the flavor of the mixture which is now called chocolate paste. This rotary action conch is preferred for some types of chocolate. While other chocolates benefit most from longitudinal conching techniques, the chocolate paste entering a conch is thick and visibly coarse in texture. In a back and forth or reciprocating action, large granite rollers rub the paste over a corrugated granite base. After 72 hours of conching, this chocolate has reached a rich, mellow consistency with flavor to match. If you were a member of our camera crew, you'd agree that chocolate in the conching stage smells just as good as it looks. But it isn't quite ready for cooling and packaging. Not yet. One final and important operation is required. And these men are preparing to pump the chocolate paste from the conch to the refining department. [Music] In the refining process, massive steel rollers reduce the particle size of the blended ingredients, making a fine paste even finer, really velvety smooth in texture. While the chocolate paste is being refined, the peanuts and almonds required for some products are prepared for roasting. After cleaning, an electronic sorting machine inspects all peanuts by color, automatically rejecting any that are below standards. Almonds must pass equally rigorous inspections as they are cleaned and slit prior to roasting. This has got to be one of the most aromatic departments in the factory. Peanuts and almonds are roasted in these stainless steel ovens in an automated process that develops and enhances the natural nut flavor. The result of this special process is a flavor that is deliciously different. a flavor that blends especially well with milk chocolate in the finished product. As the nuts are conveyed to many different departments, the refined milk chocolate paste is cooled to a working temperature of 82° F, 28° C. To make solid bars of milk chocolate, rows of stainless steel molds on an endless belt are filled over and over again during each production shift. [Music] The belt passes under two depositors, each filling alternate rows of molds automatically. If an almond bar is being molded, the nuts are deposited in the molds before the chocolate. Throughout [Music] the factory, roundthe-clock surveillance is maintained by quality assurance technicians. Chocolate samples are delivered to the laboratory for analysis to asssure adherence to all quality standards. The performance of each machine is also checked regularly. Here, a sample tray from depositor number 53 is weighed to make sure it is depositing the specified amount of chocolate. The filled molds are vibrated and cooled as they travel through a long tunnel. Vibration of the chocolate while it's still in a semi-liquid state helps to assure a solid, well-formed bar with no air pockets or bubbles. At the end of the tunnel, finished milk chocolate bars emerge and move toward the automatic packaging equipment without any human contact. [Music] Of course, not all chocolate is molded. This unique shape is achieved by ejecting or dropping chocolate onto a moving belt. [Music] Chocolate is made to be eaten and no One can enjoy its pleasures if it's kept here in the factory. So, packaging of the various products is probably as important as making them. It takes special skills, experience, and equipment to prepare products for delivery to stores all over the country so they can be placed on the shelves fresh, undamaged, and properly labeled. [Music] Solid chocolate bars, liquid syrups, and powdered cocoa. require different types of containers in a wide variety of sizes. Paper and cardboard and tin and steel must be cut, shaped, filled, sealed. So, with complex machines and materials handling systems in operation all over the factory, it's a wild and wonderful scene. As much fun to watch as it is to eat the products themselves. Well, almost. Containers [Music] are filled and weighed automatically. If there's anything wrong, the can is rejected. automatically. And wherever you turn, you're likely to find a quality assurance technician picking up samples for the lab. [Music] Before [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] any product leaves the factory, It and its ingredients have been checked, tested, analyzed, and scrutinized every step of the way. In the quality assurance laboratories, experts in nutrition, food science, and microbiology are guided by the product excellence program. They maintain standards that are stricter, more comprehensive than those imposed by government agencies. and their efforts assure consumers that they'll get the quality and quantity they expect. Another consumer service is generated by home economists in the test kitchen. These specialists experiment with chocolate and cocoa in a wide range of recipes that can be followed in the home. Successful new ideas and traditional favorites are photographed so collections of illustrated recipes can be printed for free distribution. Press releases are also used by newspapers and magazines all over the country without mention of brand names, introducing readers to new and delicious uses of chocolate. We hope you've enjoyed this brief introduction to the great American chocolate factory and the community surrounding it. Chocolate is a happy flavor and this is a happy town. If you ever get a chance to visit, you might want to see Chocolate World, where a simulated tour of the factory is conducted all year round with no charge for admission. Thanks for watching and have a happy day. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]