Section 3. Cocoa and Chocolate
500. The cocoa bean ; growing and making it ready for
market. — Cracked and powdered cocoa,^ all chocolate ^
1 A confusing use of terms has resulted from retaining both the
name chocolate., by which plant and beverage were known to the
BEVERAGES: TEA, COFFEE, COCOA 315
preparations, and cocoa shells are products of the seeds of
the chocolate tree, a native of the tropic countries of
America. These seeds, called cocoa heans^ which are
about the size of almonds, lie surrounded by fibrous
pulp, in a brownish yellow pod about a foot long. When
fresh, they are whitish in color, and ver}^ bitter. The
pods as they ripen are cut off with knives fastened on
poles, and left on the ground to dry for twenty-four
hours. The seeds are then taken out and thrown into
heaps to ferment for from two to five days. During
this process they darken in color, and become milder in
taste. After this they are roasted, further to improve
their flavor; but, instead of being ready for use, as
coffee then is, cocoa must go through the hands of the
manufacturer before reaching the cook.
501. How chocolate and cocoa are manufactured. — In
the factory the beans are cracked into the irregular bits
we know as cocoa nibs or cracked cocoa. The papery
shells are winnowed out to be sold by themselves, while
the nibs are either put up for market, or undergo fur-
ther preparation. Cocoa beans contain so much fat
that when ground they become not powder, but paste.
The cocoa paste, run into molds and cooled, forms
cakes of plain chocolate ; if flavored and sweetened
before being molded, it forms sweet chocolate.
Breakfast cocoa is made by extracting from cracked
natives of Mexico, and cacao, the name given them by the Spanish.
The chocolate tree belongs to a different family from the cocoanut
palm.
316 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COOKERY
cocoa, by means of powerful presses, a large proportion
of its fat, and grinding to powder the dry substance
left. The fat is sold as cocoa-butter, for making per-
fumes and ointments, and for other purposes. Dutch
manufacturers, instead of removing the fat, emulsify it
(§ 179) by the addition of alkalies. Their method is
not, however, altogether desirable, and it is probable
that no imported cocoa or chocolate excels that made
by leading American firms.
502. Composition and food value. — Linnaeus, the great
botanist, named cocoa theohroma^ "food of the gods."
Roasted cocoa contains about 50 per cent of fat, 15 to
18 per cent of nitrogenous compounds, and 10 to 13
per cent of starch. Note fat globules on the surface
of chocolate that has been standing. Boil one tea-
spoonful of breakfast cocoa with one-quarter cupful of
water, and test -it with iodine for starch. It has also
a small amount of theobromine, a substance similar to
caffeine, but so much less powerful that neither cocoa
nor chocolate has the stimulating effect of tea and
coffee on the nerves. Unlike tea and coffee, cocoa
preparations are food, whether eaten or taken in the
form of a drink, since, even in the latter case, the cocoa
itself, not merely an infusion of it, is swallowed. For
children and young people it is the best of hot drinks.
People who do not like prepared cocoas often like
cracked cocoa ; while even cocoa shells alone makes an
economical beverage, recommended particularly for the
sick.
BEVERAGES: TEA, COFFEE, COCOA 317
Page 140
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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Section 3. Cocoa and Chocolate
500. The cocoa bean ; growing and making it ready for
market. — Cracked and powdered cocoa,^ all chocolate ^
1 A confusing use of terms has resulted from retaining both the
name chocolate., by which plant and beverage were known to the
BEVERAGES: TEA, COFFEE, COCOA 315
preparations, and cocoa shells are products of the seeds of
the chocolate tree, a native of the tropic countries of
America. These seeds, called cocoa heans^ which are
about the size of almonds, lie surrounded by fibrous
pulp, in a brownish yellow pod about a foot long. When
fresh, they are whitish in color, and ver}^ bitter. The
pods as they ripen are cut off with knives fastened on
poles, and left on the ground to dry for twenty-four
hours. The seeds are then taken out and thrown into
heaps to ferment for from two to five days. During
this process they darken in color, and become milder in
taste. After this they are roasted, further to improve
their flavor; but, instead of being ready for use, as
coffee then is, cocoa must go through the hands of the
manufacturer before reaching the cook.
501. How chocolate and cocoa are manufactured. — In
the factory the beans are cracked into the irregular bits
we know as cocoa nibs or cracked cocoa. The papery
shells are winnowed out to be sold by themselves, while
the nibs are either put up for market, or undergo fur-
ther preparation. Cocoa beans contain so much fat
that when ground they become not powder, but paste.
The cocoa paste, run into molds and cooled, forms
cakes of plain chocolate ; if flavored and sweetened
before being molded, it forms sweet chocolate.
Breakfast cocoa is made by extracting from cracked
natives of Mexico, and cacao, the name given them by the Spanish.
The chocolate tree belongs to a different family from the cocoanut
palm.
316 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COOKERY
cocoa, by means of powerful presses, a large proportion
of its fat, and grinding to powder the dry substance
left. The fat is sold as cocoa-butter, for making per-
fumes and ointments, and for other purposes. Dutch
manufacturers, instead of removing the fat, emulsify it
(§ 179) by the addition of alkalies. Their method is
not, however, altogether desirable, and it is probable
that no imported cocoa or chocolate excels that made
by leading American firms.
502. Composition and food value. — Linnaeus, the great
botanist, named cocoa theohroma^ "food of the gods."
Roasted cocoa contains about 50 per cent of fat, 15 to
18 per cent of nitrogenous compounds, and 10 to 13
per cent of starch. Note fat globules on the surface
of chocolate that has been standing. Boil one tea-
spoonful of breakfast cocoa with one-quarter cupful of
water, and test -it with iodine for starch. It has also
a small amount of theobromine, a substance similar to
caffeine, but so much less powerful that neither cocoa
nor chocolate has the stimulating effect of tea and
coffee on the nerves. Unlike tea and coffee, cocoa
preparations are food, whether eaten or taken in the
form of a drink, since, even in the latter case, the cocoa
itself, not merely an infusion of it, is swallowed. For
children and young people it is the best of hot drinks.
People who do not like prepared cocoas often like
cracked cocoa ; while even cocoa shells alone makes an
economical beverage, recommended particularly for the
sick.
BEVERAGES: TEA, COFFEE, COCOA 317