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Cocoa Plant
Cocoa bean. a. a a Manufacture.
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. The seeds occur in even rows inside a cucumber-shaped pod from eight to twelve inches in length, each pod containing from BEVERAGES twenty to forty seeds. When the pods are ripe they are cut from the trees by means of knives on long poles. The seeds are removed from the pods and allowed to ferment to get rid of part of the bitter flavor that is characteristic of the unfermented seed. They are then roasted and shipped to the various chocolate factories. Here the shells are removed and the inner part of the bean broken up into cocoa "nibs."
In the manufacture of bitter chocolate, the cocoa nibs are run through hot rollers and ground to a soft paste which is then run into molds and allowed to harden. If sweet or flavored chocolate is to be made the sugar and flavoring are added before the paste is poured into the molds.
The fat in the chocolate is objectionable to some people, so a large amount of this fat is removed by means of pressure and the dry substance left is then ground to a powder and sold as cocoa. The fat is sold as cocoa butter to be used for ointments, salves, etc.
Composition.
Cocoa contains a stimulant called theobromine, similar to the theine and caffeine in tea and coffee, though its stimulating effect is believed to be less than that of tea or coffee. Cocoa also contains fat and starch in quite large quantities, so that cocoa, unlike tea and coffee, is a real food. Cocoa nibs contain about fifty per cent fat and from eight to twelve per cent starch. Hints in Making Tea, Coffee and Cocoa. 1. One heaping T. coffee, one level t. tea or one rounding t. cocoa to one C. liquid is the proportion usually allowed to each person. 2. Tea should never be boiled. If it is boiled it will contain enough tannic acid to make it unfit to be taken into the stomach. 3. Cocoa should always be boiled to cook the starch. 4. Sometimes a small amount of cornstarch is mixed with the powdered cocoa before cooking to make it seem richer and creamier; one-half t. cornstarch to each rounding t. cocoa. 5. A few drops of vanilla added to the cocoa just before it is served improves the flavor for some. 6. A spk. of salt added to coffee and to cocoa will help bring out the flavor. 7. When milk, instead of cream, is used with coffee it will seem richer if it is heated before being added to the coffee. 2