Chocolate made from cocoa

In the meantime, we can all reap the benefits of chocolate without the fat and the calories. Chocolate is made from cocoa, butter, cocoa butter, and sugar. The healthy fiavonoids are in the cocoa. So enjoy cocoa in a variety of delicious ways, including hot cocoa and the desserts detailed in the recipe section in chapter 17. Buy pure cocoa powder, not the instant mixes that also contain sugar and fat, to get the most of both fiavonoids and flavor. 

Montezuma II (about 1466-1520) drank Xocolatl, [134] a chocolate drink made from cocoa, before he paid coiut to his wives, and Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725-1798) was convinced that chocolate possesses aphrodisiac properties. The Aztecs used vanilla to enhance the aroma of chocolate, centuries before in 1520 the Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes (1485-1547) tasted it at the court of Montezuma (Fig. 3.31). 

Cocoa was already known in Mexico as early as 1500 BC. Christopher Columbus brought the plant to Europe after his fourth American voyage in 1502, but the drink made from cocoa was first tasted only in 1528 by Spanish conquistador Heman Cortes. Chocolate drink first appeared in Spain in 1544, cocoa trade began between Seville and Veracruz in 1585. Therefore, caffeine in cocoa made its first European appearance before caffeine from coffee or tea did (Fig. 2.35). 

Two chocolate beverages made from unsweetened cocoa contained 228 and 284 mg theobromine per serving 32 Burg reported 272 mg theobromine and 6 mg caffeine per cup of beverage made from African cocoa, and 232 mg theobromine and 42 mg caffeine for a similar beverage made with South American cocoa.34 Both beverages were prepared according to manufacturer s directions. 

Chocolate has antioxidant properties for low-density lipoproteins and hence could prevent heart disease. Foods and beverages derived from cocoa beans have been consumed by humans since 460 a.d. Cocoa pods from the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) are harvested and the beans removed and fermented. Dried and roasted beans contain about 300 chemicals including caffeine, theobromine, and phenethylamine. Chocolate liquor is prepared by finely grinding the nib of the cocoa bean and is the basis for all chocolate products. Cocoa powder is made by removing part of the cocoabutter from the liquor. Bittersweet chocolate, sometimes called dark chocolate, contains between 15 and 60% chocolate liquor, the remainder being cocoa butter, sugar, and other additives. Milk chocolate is the predominant form of chocolate consumed in the U.S. and typically contains 10 to 12% chocolate liquor. 

Coffee, cocoa and tea liqueurs are produced with extracts made from the corresponding raw materials. Emulsion liqueurs are e.g. chocolate, cream and milk liqueurs, mocha-with-cream-liqueurs, egg liqueur (egg cream Advokat) and liqueurs with the addition of eggs. The widely consumed egg liqueur is a preparation made from... 

The physical properties of PKOs resemble particularly closely those of cocoa butter, and it is generally acknowledged that the best types of CBS are made from this fat. Substantial quantities of PKO are therefore fractionated in Western Europe, the US and Malaysia for this purpose. Coconut stearin, on the other hand, while having exceptionally sharp melting properties and mouth feel, has a melting point which is too low for substitute chocolate and most coatings. It is also obtained in lower yield and so is more costly to produce. Its uses, therefore, are restricted to the finest biscuit creams and a small number of luxury products. 

By now it is clear that vanillin can be made from lignin, but why is synthetic vanillin needed at all The answer is quite simple there isn t enough natural vanillin to go round. The world currently consumes about 12,000 t of vanillin each year, only 18001 of which is produced in vanilla plants (e.g. Vanilla planifolid). Vanilla originates in Central America, and when Heman Cortes conquered the Aztee Empire, vanilla was already in use to flavor chocolate. Vanilla and cocoa arrived together in Europe in 1528 (—>2.22). 

In this example, 11 dark chocolates from the French market were analysed (Table 6.1). As can be seen, this selection includes chocolates made with various cocoa contents. Some products are from major brands, as well as from private labels, and two products are fair trade and organic chocolates. 

To avoid confusion, it is necessary to note the following popular usage of well-known descriptions (i) Cacao refers to the plant Theobroma cacao L., (ii) Cocoa refers to the beans and to the product made from them which is ready to mix into a beverage and to its use as a powdered flavoring material or in the making of a chocolate beverage, and (iii) Chocolate refers to the solid product based on ground roasted cocoa beans. 

Swedish punch is made of arrack and spices and has an alcohol content of at least 25%. Cocoa, coffee and tea liqueurs are made from the corresponding extracts of raw materials. Emulsion liqueurs are chocolate, cream and milk liqueurs, mocca with cream liqueur, egg liqueur (the egg cream, Advokat ), egg wine brandy, and other liqueurs with eggs added. The widespread and common egg liqueur is made from alcohol, sucrose and egg yolk. Herb, spice and bitter liqueurs are made from fruit saps and/or plant parts, natural essential oils or essences, and sugar. Examples are anise, caraway, curacao, peppermint, ginger, quince and many other liqueurs. 

The cocoa bean is the basic raw ingredient in the manufacture of all cocoa products. The beans are converted to chocolate Hquor, the primary ingredient from which all chocolate and cocoa products are made. Eigure 1 depicts the conversion of cocoa beans to chocolate Hquor, and in turn to the chief chocolate and cocoa products manufactured in the United States, ie, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and sweet and milk chocolate. 

The coca plant is an evergreen, native to South America, particularly the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Columbia, and should not be confused with the cocoa plant, from which chocolate is made. Although the coca plant is natural to South America, it has been successfully cultivated in Java, West Indies, India and Australia. 

Cacao Nibs Cacao nibs are crushed bits of cacao beans—which are actually not beans at all, but seeds from the Theobroma plant. Most often, these beans are dried or roasted and then extracted to make cocoa butter for chocolate, or ground into powder to make cocoa powder. Cacao nibs are crushed cacao beans that have not been made into chocolate or cocoa powder. You can find them raw or roasted, and they resemble espresso beans in texture and crunch. They contain no added sugar, so they re bittersweet. They add great texture to cookies—I even use them as a topping for ice cream. They can be found at most specialty and health-food stores or online. Make sure you buy the finely ground variety. 

Belonging to the same chemical group as atropine is the important alkaloid cocaine, C17H21O4N. It is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant, Erythroxylon coca, which grows in South America (Bolivia and Peru) and in Java and Ceylon. Distinction should be made between the coca plant and the cacao bean from which cocoa and chocolate are made. 

Tewkesbury et al. [42] studied the cooling of chocolate from the molten state. The single event that occurs during this step is the crystallization of the fat phase, often mainly cocoa butter. They used commercially available software, FIDAP, to compute the simulations. With it, they solved the heat conservation equation with a finite element method and made a basic assumption for crystallization The release of latent heat is assumed to be linear in the melting range of the cocoa butter, chosen to be between 21°C and 32°C. With this hypothesis, all parameters present in the equations are known for the liquid and solid phases ... 

---