Chocolate - Food of the Gods Prepared by The Food Club’s Technical Department An Overview Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. The beans were first cultivated thousands of years ago in Central America where the Indians believed cocoa to be of divine origin, hence the generic name meaning "Food of the Gods". They made a thick beverage by pounding the roasted cocoa beans with maize and capsicum peppers. It was a savoury mixture and nowadays it would probably taste rather unpleasant to us. Cocoa beans were used by Aztecs as currency (100 beans would buy a slave) and used to pay Tribute to the Aztec emperors. Large quantities were found in Montezuma’s palace when he was defeated by Cortez in 1519. The Spaniards did not like the Indian method of using the beans and they developed a product that was more palatable by mixing the ground roasted beans with sugar and vanilla. This was so successful that the dried beans were sent back to Spain where the first chocolate factories were opened. Cocoa beverage then became popular in Italy and France early in the 17th century and soon afterwards in Holland, Germany and England. Chocolate houses appeared alongside the coffee houses and were used as clubs. However, cocoa was expensive at over £1.00 per lb so only the wealthy could buy it. In 1828 van Houten, a Dutch manufacturer, invented a method of removing much of the fat from the bean, which made it even more palatable and digestible. The fermented beans are roasted, when water and acetic acid are driven off and the characteristic aroma of chocolate is produced. The beans are then cracked to form nibs and the shell (12%) and embryo (1%) are removed by winnowing. The nibs are ground to produce cocoa mass and, after removal of some of the fat, this is used to make cocoa powder. In the manufacture chocolate the cocoa mass is ground with sugar, extra cocoa fat is added and lecithin may also be added to make the mixture flow more easily. To manufacture milk chocolate, dried or powdered milk is incorporated. If you like chocolate then the latest research from the Nutrition Department of the University of California could be welcome news. Their scientists confirm that chocolate is good for you. It was thought to clog your arteries, rot your teeth and induce migraines but they have now shown that it helps to dilate your arteries and lets the blood flow more smoothly. It is also believed that it helps the body fight heart disease by reducing the particles in the blood making heart attacks less likely. At a meeting of The Food Club we had the pleasure of sampling some superb hand made chocolates from Linden Lady. Their web site can be viewed at www.lindenlady.com
Chocolate - Food of the Gods.Sept2000 |
