Student's manual in household arts

Coffee contains caffeine, a substance similar to the theine in tea, tannic acid and an aromatic oil besides several other less important ingredients. The effect of coffee on the body is very much like that of tea. Its stimulating power and action on the tissues of the body being beneficial to a grown person if not taken to excess, but decidedly harmful to a growing child. Buying Coffee. After coffee is roasted, it loses its flavor rapidly, especially if it has been ground. For this reason for family use it should be purchased in small quantities and kept tightly covered. If it can be roasted and ground at home of course it will be less liable to lose its flavor. For filtered coffee the grains should be pulverized and for boiled coffee they should be ground coarse or medium. COCOA. History. Mexico is the home of the cacao tree from which we obtain chocolate and cocoa. Cortez found the Aztec Indians using this delicious drink when he conquered Mexico. He carried it back with him to Spain and from there its use has spread all over the world. Several hundred million pounds of cacao beans are used every year. COCOA PLANT, a. Cocoa bean. 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 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, tlere 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 isi-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 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, person. 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. Hot Tea. 3 rounding t. tea 6 C. boiling water 1. Put freshly drawn water on to boil. 2. As soon as it is boiling scald an earthen or granite teapot, put in the tea and pour the boiling water over it.