UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Department of Food Science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will offer an innovative bean-to-bar course for both craft and industrial chocolate manufacturers June 20-23.

The four-day Penn State Chocolate Short Course, which will be presented in the Rodney A. Erickson Food Science Building on the University Park campus, will be of value to those with both technical and nontechnical duties. Attendees will engage both their minds and hands to gain detailed knowledge of chocolate processing.

During the short course, successful craft-chocolate entrepreneurs, equipment manufacturers and Penn State faculty will instruct participants in the theory and practice of chocolate production from the selection of raw materials through the marketing of the finished product.

Penn State’s Department of Food Science has conducted research about chocolate quality and manufacturing for decades. The findings of many of those studies will be incorporated into the short course, according to Gregory Ziegler, distinguished professor of food science, and Helene Hopfer, Rasmussen Career Development Professor of Food Science, who are coordinating the event.

Most recently, Hopfer and colleagues published a study conducted at Penn State of how roasting time and temperature of cocoa beans influence bitterness and other important sensory characteristics that affect consumer liking of chocolate. The lead researcher in that study, Alan McClure, founder of Patric Chocolate in Columbia, Missouri, also will speak at the short course.

“Participants will get the latest information on chocolate production and quality at this hands-on Penn State Chocolate Short Course,” said Ziegler. “Our lineup of speakers will offer cutting-edge science with practical application to chocolate.”

For more information about the short course or to register, visit the course website or call 877-778-2937.