CHOCOLATE:
“GIFT OF THE GODS”
Chocolate is the most popular
sweet in the world today.
Chocolate is made from the
beans (seeds) of the cacao plant,
“Theobroma cacao,” which means
“food of the gods.” It was named
and classified in 1740 by Carolus
Linnaeus who commented, “God
creates and Linneaus organizes.”
Cacao is the English translation
of “Kakaw,” the Mayan name for
the Theobroma tree, which is
related to the hibiscus family
of tropical plants. The flowers
of the cacao plant are large
and distinctive, like that of
the hibiscus. The cocoa beans
are enclosed in the cacao fruit
(pod) and must be harvested by
hand, extremely labor intensive.
The harvested beans are covered
with banana leaves for seven days
to ferment and then roasted. Cacao
plants are part of the understory of
the forest, and need some shade
to thrive. They are usually grown
on small farms rather than plantations.
The word “cacao” refers to
the pods, and “cocoa” refers to the
seeds or beans.
The cacao plant originated in
the Amazon and was transported
to Central America and Mexico by
early Amerindians. Trade begins
early in human culture, and not
only provides exchange of materials,
but exchange of ideas and
customs. The plants became an
important part of the culture of
the Olmec, Maya and Aztec. The
beans were used as currency in the
city-states of Mexico.
According to cacao remains in
ancient clay vessels, chocolate
was used as a beverage during the
Olmec period 4,000 years ago.
Mayan and Aztec records describe
the use of chocolate beverages
during religious rituals. The Aztec
deity Quetzalcoatl, depicted as a
feathered serpent and revered as
the god of wisdom, protected the
secret of chocolate cultivation. The
cacao beans used in the rituals were
ground and mixed with corn and
spices and shaken with water to
produce a froth.
The mystique attached
to chocolate intrigued the
Conquistadores like Cortez, who
sent cocoa beans back to Europe.
Columbus and his son Ferdinand
noticed how carefully natives
picked up cocoa beans that had
fallen and assumed there was value
attached to them,
although the bitter
taste of chocolate
was not pleasant.
European cooks added
sugar and vanilla
to chocolate and the
product enhancement
succeeded in a big
way. The popularity
of sweetened and
flavored chocolate
added an economic
imperative to seek
out sugar cultivation
in the New World colonies and the
slave trade provided the labor for
sugar production.
There are four types of chocolate
that are consumed: Milk, Dark,
White and Ruby chocolate. Milk
chocolate contains ground cocoa
beans, milk and sugar. The percentage
of cocoa varies. American milk
chocolate contains 10% cocoa and
EU milk chocolate contains 25%
cocoa. Milk chocolate is the most
popular type of chocolate.
Dark chocolate has several categories:
semisweet, bittersweet and
couverture. Semisweet contains
cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter
which is fat derived from cocoa
beans. Bittersweet contains less
sugar than semisweet, along with
cocoa beans and cocoa
butter. Cocoa butter
provides the pervasive
aroma associated with
chocolate and stimulates
the taste buds. It
also is used in cosmetics.
The most popular
form of semisweet and
bittersweet chocolate
is Ghirardelli baking
bits, which contain 60%
cocoa. Couverture dark
chocolate has a higher
percentage of cocoa
butter and is used for
dipping, molding and
coating. Dark chocolate
contains a minimum of 35%
cocoa beans and certain specialty
types may contain a higher percentage
of cocoa, adding to the intensity
of chocolate taste.
White chocolate does not contain
cocoa beans, only sugar and cocoa
butter. The fourth type of chocolate
is Ruby Chocolate which is derived
from a rare type of cocoa bean, the
red or ruby bean, which imparts a
pink color to it and a scent similar
to raspberries. Ruby chocolate
has only been on the market since
2017. It is made by Barry Callebaut
and is quite rare.
Seventy percent of the world’s
chocolate comes from the West
Coast of Africa and smaller
amounts are from Southeast Asia
and Brazil. The Mars Wrigley
Confectionary is the largest manufacturer
of chocolate, and its candy
bar, “Snickers,” is the best selling
candy bar worldwide. “Snickers”
contains milk, sugar and peanuts.
North Shore Towers Supermarket
Mayan statue holding
cacao pod, courtesy
Brooklyn Museum
Cacao pod
and beans
Ruby Chocolate
White Chocolate
February 2021 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 29