The history of chocolate
Source of Recipe
the web
Many people believe that chocolate was originated by the Aztecs, but it has been found to date back to the time of the ancient Mayan civilization, and some argue even farther back to the Olmec civilization which preceded the Maya. The word "cacao" is a Mayan word dating back to as early as 500 A.D. Chocolate was thought of by these people as a cure for several ailments including diarrhea and fatigue and was consumed in the form of a hot, bitter, frothy drink made of ground cacao beans and a variety of local ingredients, including vanilla, wine, and chili pepper.
Christopher Columbus was the first known European to come in contact with cacao around 1500 A.D. but did not bring any of it back to Spain. However 20 years later Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez brought chests full of cacao beans back with him from his voyage. The beans were treasure stolen from the Aztecs. The first official shipment of cacao was made in 1585 from Veracruz to Seville. At this time the chocolate was still served as a bitter beverage, but experimentation began and sugar was soon added.
In 1828, Dutch chocolate maker Conrad van Houten patented a hydraulic press to remove cocoa butter from the bean. What was left was a cake that could be pulverized into cocoa powder.
The making of chocolate
Cacao, common name of the Theobroma Cacao tree, is of the seed of that tree and of other trees in the Theobroma genus of the family Sterculiaceae, which also contains the cola. The Sterculiaceae are in the order Malvales. The Theobroma Cacao tree is a native of Central and South America but is now grown around the world near the equator. Theobroma cacao is a perennial tree that produces several harvests every year. Theobroma cacao grows to a height of about 6 m (about 20 feet) and has shiny leaves, as long as 30 cm (12 in), and small pink flowers on the trunk and older branches. Only about 30 of the 6000 annual blossoms eventually bear seeds. commonly called cocoa beans, the seeds are surrounded by a yellow or reddish-brown pod about 28 cm (about 11 in) long. Chocolate comes from the almond shaped beans that grow inside the pods. Cocoa beans, as they are known in the United States, develop their distinctive chocolate flavor, color, and aroma only after they have been fermented, dried, and roasted.
Cocoa is common name for powder derived from the fruit seeds of the cacao tree and for the beverage prepared by mixing the powder with milk. When cocoa is prepared, most of the cocoa butter is removed in the manufacturing process. After the fat is separated and the residue is ground, small percentages of various substances may be added, such as starch to prevent caking, or potassium bicarbonate to neutralize the natural acids and astringents and make the cocoa easy to dissolve in liquids. Cocoa contains as much as 20 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrate, and 40 percent fat. It is also mildly stimulating because of the presence of theobromine, an alkaloid that is closely related to caffeine.
The processing of the cacao seeds, better known as cocoa beans, is complex. The fruit is cured or fermented in a pulpy state for 3 to 9 days, during which the heat kills the seeds and turns them brown. The enzymes activated by fermentation impart the substances that will give the beans their chocolate flavor later during roasting. The beans are then dried in the sun and cleaned in special machines before they are roasted to bring out the chocolate flavor. They are then shelled in a crushing machine and ground into chocolate. During the grinding, the fat melts, producing a sticky liquid called chocolate liquor, which is the primary ingredient in all forms of chocolate (except white). The liquor is used to make chocolate candy or is filtered to remove the fat and then cooled and ground to produce cocoa powder.
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