QandAs: Food

What Is Chocolate?

Answer:
Chocolate is a key ingredient in many foods. Most

Americans rank chocolate among their favorite food flavors. The story of chocolate can be found all over the world, and it has been used for over 2,000 years.

This food product was first discovered in Central and South America where the cacao tree first grew. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. This tree grows in the shade of the tropical rainforests located near the equator. As rainforests continue to dwindle, researchers are currently looking into better ways to manage cacao farms while preserving the environment.

Throughout each year, the cacao tree will flower and then produce brightly colored pods which are roughly the size and shape of a small football. By slicing open these pods, you can find the source of chocolate. Embedded in a sweet pulp, you will find the cacao seeds. Within each pod, you will find thirty to fifty of these seeds, which are each about the size of an almond. The seeds in one pod will create enough chocolate to make roughly seven milk chocolate candy bars.

The processing of cacao seeds is almost identical to that of coffee. A main harvest will happen twice a year, but in between these main harvests, farmers will regularly check the plants for ripened pods and harvest them as they are ready. After scooping out the seeds, the seeds must then be fermented, dried, roasted, and then they are ground up into a powder to release the chocolate flavoring.

The cacao tree survives quite well in the wild, but they are not suited as well for a well lit organized farm. The tree is very finicky about the environment, and in order to grow and bear fruit, the following conditions must be met: regular rainfall; steady, warm temperatures; constant, high humidity; partial shade; rich, well drained soil; and canopy trees to protect the trees from wind and moisture loss. If any of these conditions are not met, the cacao tree will stop bearing fruit. Additionally, the seeds will not germinate after they are planted if the seeds are exposed to either low temperatures or low humidity.

Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus gave the cacao tree its scientific name, Theobroma, which means the “food of the gods.”