CHOCOLATE Chocolate is made from the fermented and roasted ground - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CHOCOLATE �

Chocolate is made from the fermented and roasted ground beans of Theobroma cacao. � (Theobroma ~ “Food of the Gods”) �

Theobroma Cacao is a small (~20 feet) evergreen understory (shade loving rainforest) tree native to the deep tropical region of the Americas, growing these fruit pods. �

Forastero is more round ! Criollo is more pointy � Three most common varieties of Cacao are: � 1. Criollo: “native”; 2. Forastero: “foreign” most common because typically higher yielding and more vigorous; and 3. Trinitario: “hybrids”. Most chocolate is made from Forastero. “Fine flavor” cacao beans are generally Criollo, and represent less than 5% per annum of modern chocolate production. �

There is evidence that cacao was used in Mesoamerica as a beverage as far back as 1900 BC. �

The word “chocolate” comes from the Nahuatl (a Mexican indigenous language) xocol � tl which literally means “bitter water”. �

Pre-colombian cultures drank chocolate with vanilla, maize, chili pepper and other ingredients, and incorporated it into meals. The Aztec culture seems to have revered cacao as sacred, and it was highly valued in trading. It is believed that the Hernan Cortes brought chocolate back to his homeland of Spain from an expedition in the 1500 � s. �

Chocolate became popular in the Spanish courts and then other parts of Europe, only with the addition of refined sugar and milk. In the 1600 � s chocolate was first used for baking and rolls, and in that form, chocolate was firmly considered a confection or dessert. �

In the 1800 � s “Dutch process” was developed to turn the acidity of cocoa into a neutral ph, and this enabled chocolate to be used more widely for baking. Joseph Fry and John Cadbury first emulsified chocolate into a solid and created the first chocolate � bar � . Currently, natural or “Roma process” (not Dutch) can be used for chocolate of all kinds, and containers higher antioxidants. �

Growing Cacao is labor intensive: it takes most trees 5 or 6 years before bearing fruit. Each tree bears an average of 30 usable pods a year, which translates to roughly 1000 beans a year. It takes 500 beans to make 1 pound of dark chocolate – so in the best of circumstances, each tree produces beans for only 2 pounds of chocolate. �

Once the cacao beans are scooped from the pods, they are fermented during 2-8 days in a natural process whereby the sugar in the pulp is converted to acids that change the chemistry of the beans, and dried in the two-step curing process that sets in motion the development of the flavor nuances which make tasting chocolate so exciting. �

Basic steps to make chocolate from Cacao include: 1. Roasting beans (like coffee); 2. Cracking (into nibs) and separating; 3. Grinding into cocoa mass/chocolate liquor (cocao solids and cocoa butter); 4. Any conching (heating/rolling) to refine flavors and texture and adding other fats/sweeteners; 5. Tempering (controlling temperature to manage crystal structures) for consistency, shine, melting point, etc. 6. Mixing, matching, molding and more with other ingredients and inclusions for final deliciousness! �

Pure dark Chocolate contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from polyphenols/flavonoids, which act as antioxidants (fighting free radicals). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and cocoa � s epicatechin and gallic acid are thought cardioprotective. Theobromine and phenethylamine are linked to serotonin levels in the brain, and are believed to balance hormones in the body. Recent studies have shown even greater benefits of moderate dark chocolate consumption than had been previously understood. �

Today Cocoa is grown in tropical regions around the globe. �

Cacao beans are generally shipped around the world as a commodity for manufacture far from their point of origin, and often shipped again as a finished product in the form of chocolate. �

Western Africa produces almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa, with Côte d'Ivoire growing almost half of it. �

Unlike almost every other major agricultural commodity - corn, coffee, palm oil, sugar - the world's cocoa is still grown overwhelmingly by small farmers, each owning less than four hectares of land. �

The majority of the world � s Cacao is grown outside of organic standards (grown “conventionally”), using one of the highest levels of harmful pesticides of almost any industrial agricultural product. �

A short list of chemicals used in “conventional” Cacao farming includes: aldicarb, azinphos methyl, benomyl, carbaryl, chloropyrifos, cypermethrin, dimethoate, the 'drins' (aldrin, dieldrin and endrin), diazinon, endosulfan, gamma-HCH, methyl parathion, paraquat…. All of which have been demonstrated extremely harmful to human health and to all life. Local communities with high levels of spraying are deeply affected, and the flow downstream of such chemicals is considered a major cause of environmental damage. �

It is also estimated that over 200,000 children work in Cacao plantations in the Ivory Coast, in varying conditions, where tens of thousands are verified victims of human trafficking. �

There are still families and communities who grow Cacao sustainably. These often indigenous family farmers use fewer chemicals and pesticides – sometimes because they don � t have the disposable income to purchase them, and sometimes because they are wary of the damage such chemicals do to land. Often their land has been cared for over generations, and these farmers do not envision the option or choice to “move on” from damaged land, as many global companies have historically done (or to stay on an increasing path of greater and more expensive patented chemical inputs). Given the narrow economic benefits achieved by those producers and aggretors, employing the worst of social and environmental practices - sustainable farmers can have a hard time competing or even surviving in a global market where commodity prices are often determined by goods produced with such negative practices. �

Raising the bar �

Fair Trade and organic practices support farmers, families, communities, and the ecosystems that support all life on our planet. �

The development lab ladies…. �

Point of origin. From bean to... �