The best chocolate bars in Modica

We are in Modica, a city that has been lying since time immemorial on a plateau where two small rivers merge that divide l&' a plateau into four hills, and which come together to create the Modicano river, now covered for more than a century by &' current Corso Umberto I, the main axis of the city and a crossroads of stories and traditions. And it is precisely here, in Modica, that the art of Modica chocolate develops; the art of Modica chocolate, a symbol of one of the innumerable excellences of Sicily and in full of &' the whole of Italy. #39 In fact, our journey into the fantastic and magical world of Modica chocolate begins right here.

Modica chocolate: a bit of history

The origins of Modica chocolate are uncertain and this is mainly due to the succession of different foreign dominations that Sicily underwent over the centuries: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards. In short, a crossroads of peoples and cultures. However, it is a common opinion that it was the Spanish who introduced this particular cocoa processing to Sicily during the 16th century. At that time, in fact, the &' island was part of the possessions of the Spanish crown and what at the time was the County of Modica, was one of the most important fiefdoms in all of southern Italy, even founded in 1296.

However, the recipe had been brought by the Spanish conquerors directly from the Americas, in particular by collecting the recipes of the Aztec people, inhabitants of present-day Mexico who considered chocolate, cultivated for millennia, so precious that it was considered a gift from the gods. In fact, the Aztecs used cocoa beans as coins and, thanks to their energizing and cardio-tonic properties, they also used them in part to pay soldiers. It is no coincidence that processes similar to that of Modica chocolate are found both in Spain and in some communities in Mexico and Guatemala. Before becoming a widespread and well-known product worldwide, Modica chocolate was a household product that was prepared by noble or bourgeois families who used it to celebrate important events such as, for example, Christmas.

Processing of Modica Chocolate

The cocoa obtained from roasted and ground seeds and not separated from cocoa butter, as is common practice in the production of chocolate, is heated to make it fluid. Cocoa heated to a temperature not exceeding 40 °C is mixed with granulated or cane sugar and spices or lemon or orange peels. Chocolate has a high percentage of cocoa mass, at least 65%, even in the “classic” versions, up to 90% of cocoa mass in the purest versions.

In the beginning, the processing took place by hand and took place on a crescent-shaped work table built entirely of lava stone and already heated, where the compound was then mixed with a special cylindrical stone rolling pin, called pistuni, of different weight and thickness in relation to the current processing phase. In fact, there were mainly four processing phases: the first, the second and the third passed, up to the refining, also called stricata. Currently in many laboratories these processing phases are no longer carried out by hand but by modern tempering machines.

The compound obtained is kept at a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 °C, which does not dissolve the sugar crystals contained therein, which therefore remain intact at &' inside the dough. It is precisely this cold processing that gives Modica chocolate its characteristic graininess and friability. When the mixture is still pasty, it is poured into special rectangular-shaped tin molds called sheets that are beaten so that the chocolate, once solidified, takes its shape and any air bubbles come to the surface in order to make the product as compact as possible. The chocolate bar thus obtained is shiny, sometimes more opaque, and has grooves. The color is dark black with brown reflections and the characteristic texture is grainy, crumbly and at the same time coarse-grained.

The strength of Modica chocolate is therefore represented both by the simplicity of its processing, characterized by the lack of sugar conching, and by &' the absence of foreign substances such as vegetable fats, milk or soy lecithin.

Flavors of Modica Chocolate

Modica chocolate has always been produced mainly in three variants: classic, flavored with cinnamon or vanilla. Only fairly recently has chili been rediscovered, which in reality turns out to be one of the oldest and most used flavors over the centuries. Currently, however, almost all the artisanal workshops that produce this product now offer numerous new flavor variants that go hand in hand with the production of more traditional flavors: coffee, orange, lemon, mixed citrus fruits, anise, carob but also mint, almonds, white pepper, pistachio, ginger, salt from Trapani and many others. Having said that, it must be added that we at Spaghetti & mandolino have also selected for you some varieties of Modica chocolate, a bit' more refined and special to discover.

What are you waiting for? The best chocolate in Modica awaits you