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Best Chocolate Web
I remember
hearing somebody saying "you will never miss something until you have never
tasted it". Same goes for chocolate. Most people will agree that they really do
love chocolate bars or just a cup of cocoa. Despite this many people have
different feelings about cocoa its effects origins and politics. As the story
goes even the origin of the Cacao plant is still in disputed and so are some of
its effects on its consumers.
The botany of cocoa
Cocoa is a product derived from
plants of the variable species of Theobroma cacao of the family sterculiaceae.
There are three other important species of cocoa. Although Theobroma bicolor,
Theobroma angustifolium and Theobroma grandiflorum are considered as separate
species they are considered by some as subspecies. In practical agriculture, the
three different forms of cocoa form criollos,, forasteros and amelonados with
specific geographical distribution. About 80% of cocoa cultivation is dominated
by forasteros. Despite Ghana being an undisputed world leader in cocoa
production, Theobroma cacao is native of south America.
A bit of Chocolate History.
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It is alleged that cocoa has
been cultivated since early 600Bc. Sometime in history the Aztecs used
cacao seeds as a medium of exchange or money. It had so much value but
most inhumane of all was when twelve beans were used to buy a single
slave. The Aztecs discovered how to make a refreshing and nourishing
drink we call Cacao or Cocoa from the seed of the Cocoa tree. Cacao is
very bitter in its pure form so they mixed it with other flavorings to
make it to enjoyable. Chillies and other kinds of spices were used for
his purpose. The European explorers around the 16th century were
exposed to this valuable plant product and spread the cacao culture
beyond Latin America. Christopher Columbus returned to Europe with
chocolate from the West Indies but not until 1580 that the Spanish
established the first chocolate factory when Fernando Cortez first
carried with him the secret of cocoa and chocolate to Europe from
Mexico. The sweetness that was added to the cacao beverage made it very
well-liked and pricey. Chocolate bars were first seen on the market
years later as improved molding and processing methods were developed. |
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Chocolate Timeline:
600BC –
Cocoa cultivated in plantations in South America
1492 – Christopher Columbus discovers West Indies
1580 – Spanish establish first chocolate factory
1825 - Coenrad Van Houten perfects the extraction of cocoa butter from
cocoa beans.
1880 - Rudolphe Lindt of Switzerland making Glossy Smooth Chocolate
1875 - Swiss man Daniel Peter perfected the manufacture of milk
chocolate
1905 - Cadbury's 'Dairy Milk', first developed in the UK |
Types of Chocolate
Cocoa is a fine bitter powder made
by sifting the cake or liquor produced after cocoa butter has been removed from
roasted and ground up cocoa beans. Extremely high pressure is used to extract
the cocoa butter from the roasted cocoa beans.
Chocolate that we eat on the other hand is made by putting back some of the
cocoa butter into the cocoa powder in special processes. The quantity of cocoa
solids used in the preparation determines the type of chocolate produced. The
more cocoa contained in Chocolate the better the quality and often the more
expensive.
Dark or Plain chocolate often contain very high amounts of cocoa. Baking
chocolate is plain chocolate with no sugar added. Other Chocolate types
are sweets and semi-sweet. Varying quantities of sugar and milk are added
depending on the type of chocolate to be produced and its use.
Couverture is a special kind of
chocolate that has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate, anywhere from 33%
to 38% for a really good brand
Milk chocolate contains the least amount of cocoa if any. Its mostly cocoa
butter and milk flavoured with vanilla extracts.
More Information......
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