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THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT
(THEOBROMA CACAO)
AND
ITS PRODUCTS
THE FRUITING-STEM OF A CHOCOLATE-PLANT, THE FLOWERS, YOUNG FRUIT,
AND RIPENED POD ALL SPRINGING FROM THE OLDER WOOD.
WVEESITT
DORCHESTER, MASS.:
WALTER BAKER AND COMPANY.
1891.
Copyright, 1890,
BY WALTER BAKER AND COMPANY.
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTORY 5
I. OUTLINE OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CHOCOLATE PLANT.
ITS PRIMITIVE CULTIVATION. EARLY METHODS OF UTIL-
IZING THE SEEDS. INTRODUCTION OF THE BEVERAGE INTO
EUROPE 7
II. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHOCOLATE PLANT. THE
PRESENF RANGE OF THE PLANT UNDER MODERN METHODS OF
CULTIVATION. COMMERCIAL RELATIONS 16
III. THE SEEDS OF THE CHOCOLATE PLANT, AS THEY APPEAR IN
COMMERCE. THEIR MICROSCOPIC AND CHEMICAL CHARACTER 23
IV. MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE, AND BREAKFAST COCOA ... 26
V. SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHOCOLATE SEEDS. VALUE
OF CHOCOLATE AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD. APPLICATIONS OF
COCOA-BUTTER 32
VI. A FEW CULINARY RELATIONS OF CHOCOLATE AND BREAKFAST
COCOA, BY MRS. ELLEN H. RICHARDS AND Miss PARLOA . 35
INTRODUCTORY.
T^OUR years ago, a convenient handbook on the pro-
duction and use of various preparations of the
chocolate plant was published by our firm. The present
work is designed to give, with considerably more detail,
some of the interesting facts relative to the early history
and cultivation of the chocolate tree, as well as a fuller
account of its botany -and the chemistry of its products.
Since this brochure will doubtless fall into the hands
of some who do not have access to the earlier work, we
have used with freedom some of the material employed
in that; but we hope that these necessary repetitions will
increase instead of impair the value of the pages now
before the reader.
We trust that this second treatise may be acceptable to
our many friends who gave so warm a welcome to the
first.
WALTER BAKER AND COMPANY.
DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,
1891.
OF
UNIVERSITY
THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT,
I.
OUTLINE OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE
CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
A T the discovery of America, the natives of the narrower portion
*** of the continent bordering on the Caribbean Sea, were found
in possession of two luxuries which have been everywhere recog-
nized as worthy of extensive cultivation ; namely, tobacco and choco-
late. The former of these has made its way into climates totally
unlike that of its early home ; the other of these plants, since it
cannot bear the low temperature occasionally experienced in our
subtropics, is more restricted in its range. The chocolate-plant is
confined to the warmer regions of the globe, where it finds the
congenial climatic conditions which it enjoyed and still enjoys in
its earliest home in America.
The first references to the chocolate-plant and its products are
found in the accounts of the explorers and conquerors who followed
Columbus. These first descriptions of this singular tree, of its
fruits and seeds, of its uses and the methods of cultivation, are
remarkably accurate in all essential particulars.
One of the earliest, if not indeed the very earliest, delineations
of the chocolate-tree is in a rare volume by Bontekoe. The en-
graving, which is here reproduced with fidelity, represents the
chocolate-tree with its comparatively large fruits or pods borne on
8
THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
the main stem. This might be thought at first to be an error of
the artist, but it is in fact a rude expression of one of the most
remarkable peculiarities of the plant. As will be shown presently,
when a fuller description of the 'plant is given, the fruits are, as a
rule, formed on the older parts. Another interesting feature is
shown in the engraving: 1 the chocolate-tree is sheltered by a larger
tree of some other kind near it. We shall see shortly, that this
practice of planting a sheltering tree to shade the young chocolate
plants for a time, is still kept up wherever the plant is successfully
cultivated. It is certainly interesting that this point in cultivation,
which might easily have been thought to be accidental or local, was
delineated more than three centuries ago. By the natives of tropi-
cal America, the seeds of the chocolate-plant, which will be more
1 The figure in the left of the foreground is said by Bontekoe to represent the
native method of procuring fire by rapidly twirling a pointed stick in a groove of a
piece of wood placed on the ground.
OUTLINE OF ITS EARLY HISTORY.
particularly described in a later chapter, were first roasted and
then rudely ground. For this purpose they employed the flat or
curved surface of the sort of stone used by them to grind their
maize, or Indian corn. In the engraving, one of the most simple
mills or flat mortars is seen with its roller. The roller was merely
a short thick stone of a cylindrical shape, which could be used with
one or both hands somewhat after the manner of the common roll-
ing-pin everywhere used in
kitchens. By this simple ap-
pliance, the crushed seeds
were mixed with various in-
gredients, among which may
be mentioned spices of dif-
ferent kinds. A modification
of this was later used in
Spain. See page 15.
The drinks made from
this coarse chocolate were
frequently very complex, but the chocolate itself was the chief
constituent. It was the custom to beat the mixture into a froth
or foam, by means of stirrers, of mallet-like forms; in fact, it is
said by some writers that the very name chocolate, is derived
from a native word indicating the noise made by the stirring of
the beverage.
Thus, Thomas Gage, in his " New Survey of the West Indies,"
says (under date of 1648), " The name chocolatte is an Indian name,
and is compounded from atte, as some say, or as others, atle, which
in the Mexican language signifieth water, and from the sound
which the water (wherein is put the chocolatte) makes, as choco,
choco, cJioco, when it is stirred in a cup by an instrument called
a 'molinet/ or ' molinillo,' until it bubble and rise unto a froath."
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF A STONE MILL,
OR FLAT MORTAR.
10
THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
The same writer gives us an interesting account of the native
method of preparing the drink. From the extract, which is
copied without -change of the quaint spelling, it will be seen how
wide the use of chocolate
was in Europe towards the
middle of the seventeenth
century :
" Now, for the making or
compounding of this drink, I
shall set down here the method.
The cacao and the other in-
gredients must be beaten in a
morter of stone, or (as the
Indians use) ground upon a
broad stone, which they call
Metate, and is only made for
that use. But first the ingre-
dients are all to be dried, ex-
cept the Achiotte, with care
that they be beaten to powder,
keeping them still in stirring
that they be not burnt, or be-
come black ; for if they be
overdried, they will be bitter
and lose their virtue. The cin-
namon and the long red pep-
per are to be first beaten with
the anniseed, and then the ca-
cao, which must be beaten by
little and little till it be all powdered, and in the beating it must be
turned round that it may mix the better. Every one of these ingredients
must be beaten by itself, and then all be put into the vessel where the
cacao is, which you must stir together with a spoon, and then take out
that paste, and put it into the morter, under which there must be a
SOME OF THE FORMS OF CHOCOLATE STIRRERS
("MOLINETS").
From a treatise published in the Seventeenth Century.
OUTLINE OF ITS EARLY HISTORY. II
little fire, after the confection is made ; but if more fire be put under
than will only warm it, then the unctuous part will dry away. The
Achiotte also must be put in in the beating, that it may the better take the
colour. All the ingredients must be searced, save only the cacao, and
if from the cacao the dry shell be taken, it will be the better. When
it is well beaten and incorporated (which will be known by the short-
nesse of it), then with a spoon (so in the Indias is used) is taken up
some of the paste, which will be almost liquid, and made into tablets,
or else without a spoon put into boxes, and when it is cold it will be
hard.
"Those that make it into tablets put a spoonful of the paste upon a
piece of paper (the Indians put it upon the leaf of a plaintin tree), where,
being put into the shade (for in the sun it melts and dissolves), it grows
hard ; and then bowing the paper or leaf, the tablet fals off by reason
of -the fatnesse of the paste. But if it be put into anything of earth or
wood, it stickes fast, and will not come off but with scraping or break-
ing. The manner of drinking it is diverse ; the one (being the way
most used in Mexico) is to take it hot with Atolle, dissolving a tablet in
hot water, and stirring and beating it in the cup, when it is to be drunk,
with a Molinet, and when it is well stirred to a scumme, or froth, then
to fill the cup with hot Atolle, and so drink it sup by sup. Another way
is that the chocolate, being dissolved with cold water and stirred with
the Molinet, and the scumme being taken off and put into another
vessel, the remainder be set upon the fire, with as much sugar as will
sweeten it, and when it is warme, then to powre it upon the scumme
which was taken off before, and so to drink it. But the most ordinary
way is to warme the water very hot, and then to powre out half the cup
full that you mean to drink ; and to put into it a tablet or two, or as
much as will thicken reasonably the water, and then grinde it well with
the Molinet, and when it is well ground and risen to a scumme, to fill
the cup with hot water, and so drink it by sups (having sweetened it
with sugar), and to eat it with a little conserve or maple bred, steeped
into the chocolatte.
" Besides these ways there is another way (which is much used in the
Island of Santo Domingo), which is to put the chocolatte into a pipkin
with a little water, and to let it boyte well till it be dissolved, and then
12 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
to put in sufficient water and sugar according to the quantity of the
chocolatte, and then to boyle it again untill there comes an oily scumme
upon it, and then to drink it.
" There is another way yet to drink chocolatte, which is cold, which
the Indians use at feasts to refresh themselves, and it is made after this
manner : The chocolatte (which is made with none, or very few, ingre-
dients) being dissolved in cold water with the Molinet. they take off the
scumme or crassy part, which riseth in great quantity, especially when
the cacao is older and more putrefied. The scumme they lay aside in a
little dish by itself, and then put sugar into that part from whence was
taken the scumme, and then powre it from on high into the scumme, and
so drink it cold. And this drink is so cold that it agreeth not with all
men's stomachs ; for by experience it hath been found that it doth hurt
by causing pains in the stomach, especially to women.
"The third way of taking it is the most used, and thus certainly it
doth no hurt, neither know I why it may not be used as well in England
as in other parts, both hot and cold ; for where it is so much used, the
most, if not all, as well in the Indias as in Spain, Italy, Flanders (which
is a cold countrey), find that it agreeth well with them. True it is, it is
used more in the Indias than in the European parts, because there the
stomachs are more apt to faint than here, and a cup of chocolatte well
confectioned comforts and strengthens the stomach. For myself I must
say, I used it twelve years constantly, drinking one cup in the morning,
another yet before dinner between nine or ten of the clock ; another
within an hour or two after dinner, and another between four and five
in the afternoon ; and when I was purposed to sit up late to study,
I would take another cup about seven or eight at night, which would
keep me waking till about midnight. And if by chance I did neglect
any of these accustomed houres, I presently found my stomach fainty.
And with this custome I lived twelve years in those parts healthy, with-
out any obstructions, or oppilations, not knowing what either ague or
feaver was."
After its introduction into Europe from America, chocolate
was used at first only as a luxury, but it has steadily advanced
OUTLINE OF ITS EARLY HISTORY.
FRONTISPIECE OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST WORKS ON CHOCOLATE.
in popular esteem until it is now recognized as one of the neces-
saries of life.
It would be interesting to speculate as to the accidents which
led to the original use of such beverages as coffee, tea, and
chocolate. The earliest employment of the two former is veiled
14 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
in as deep a mystery as that which surrounds the chocolate-
plant. All were used at the outset by what we have been
accustomed to call the uncultivated races of mankind, but we
cannot surmise what first attracted their attention to these
plants. One can only say that by the natives of lands where
the plants grow naturally, they have all been used from time
immemorial, and that all three are welcome gifts from a rude
state of civilization to the highest which exists to-day. By the
savages and the Aztecs of America, by the roving tribes of
Arabia, and by the dwellers in the farther East, the virtues of
these three plants were recognized long before any one of them
was introduced into Europe.
There is reason to believe that long before the discovery of
America, Tea and Coffee had been vaguely known to travellers
in the Orient, as curiosities, much as we to-day regard the Kola-
nut and Mate, but neither Tea nor Coffee was then employed as
a beverage anywhere in Western Europe. In fact, all trust-
worthy evidence in the case leads us to a surprising conclusion,
namely, That Chocolate was the first of these beverages to at-
tract the attention of Europeans. This beverage rapidly made its
way throughout Europe, beginning from Spain and Portugal,
whither its discoverers had brought it. The other beverages,
Tea and Coffee, soon followed, and after a short time became
associated together in popular regard.
In a duodecimo work published in 1685, and now very rare,
the beverages derived from these three plants are described in
a clear and forcible manner. The reproduction of the frontis-
piece of this book, given above, shows how intimate the asso-
ciation of these beverages was regarded even two centuries ago.
It is interesting to observe the distinction made by the artist in
the receptacles and cups for holding these three different drinks.
OUTLINE OF ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 15
On the floor, near the vase, is seen one of the chocolate-stirrers
described on page 10.
At the outset the manufacture of chocolate in Europe was
carried on with substantially the same appliances as those used
by the natives. A curious indication of this is afforded by the
engraving, which shows that the Portuguese mill was to all in-
tents modelled after that used by the Mexicans.
CHOCOLATE-GRINDING IN THE SEVENTEENTH
CENTURY.
From an early engraving.
II.
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHOCOLATE-
PLANT.
THEOBROMA CACAO.
chocolate plant is known to botanists as Theobroma
Cacao. The first or generic word in this name means
food of the gods. The genus contains six species, only one
of which is generally cultivated. It is probable, however, that
some of the seeds which find their way into commerce are
yielded by other and wild species. It is, moreover, more than
ITS NATURAL HISTORY.
4
FLOWERS, FRUIT, AND SEEDS OF THEOBROMA.
From an old engraving.
likely that among the numerous varieties of Theobroma Cacao
now cultivated there may be some hybrids between the different
forms.
The plant belongs to the Sterculiaceae, a natural order con-
taining forty-one genera and five hundred and twenty species.
The general habit of the tree is well shown in the engraving.
i8
THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
FLOWERS, FRUIT, AND SEEDS OK THEOBROMA.
Front a recent drawing.
ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 19
The seeds of the plant are borne in pods, represented in the
illustrations on pages 17 and 18, the former taken from one of
the early works on the subject. No. I in the first engraving ex-
hibits the ripened pod, 5 and 6 the fruits in different stages of
growth. No. 2 shows the pod cut open and displays some of the
seeds, while 3 and 4 are the seeds themselves, the former in
its natural state, the latter with the seed-coats removed.
The pod is irregular and angular, much like some forms of
cucumbers, but more pointed at the lower extremity, and more
distinctly grooved. It measures in length nine inches to a
foot, or even more, and about half as much in diameter. The
color, when young, is green, becoming later dark yellow or yellow-
ish brown. The rind is thick and tough. The pod is filled with
closely packed " beans," or seeds, imbedded in a mass of cellular
tissue, sometimes of pleasant subacid taste. The seeds are about
as large as ordinary almonds, whitish when fresh, and of a dis-
agreeable bitter taste. When dried they become brown.
The fruits are about four months in ripening; but they appear
and mature the whole year through. In point of fact, however,
there are chief harvests, usually in early spring, but this is different
for different countries.
The following extract from a comparatively recent consular
report gives a clear idea of the modern method of cultivating
the plant in some parts of South America. The extract was
given in our former edition, but it is thought best to tran-
scribe it here.
"The tree grows to the average height of thirteen feet, and from
five to eight inches in diameter, is of spreading habit and healthy
growth, and although requiring much more care and attention than
the coffee-tree, yet its equally reliable crops require comparatively
little labor in properly preparing for the market.
20 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
x
"... There are two varieties of the cocoa-tree cultivated in Venez-
uela, known as El Criollo and El Trinitario, respectively, the former
of which, though not so prolific, nor as early fruiting as the latter, is
yet superior to it in size, color, sweetness, and oleaginous properties
of the fruit, and in the fact that it always finds ready sale, while the
latter is often dull or neglected. The difference in price of the two
varieties is also marked, the former being quoted at $28 to $30 per
fanega (no pounds), while the latter commands approximately half
that price.
" While coffee can be successfully cultivated under a temperature of
60 degrees F., the cocoa-tree, for proper development and remunera-
tive crops, requires a temperature of 80 degrees F. ; hence the area of
the cocoa belt is comparatively restricted, and the cocoa-planter pre-
sumably has not to fear the fierce competition that he has encountered
in the cultivation of cotton and coffee. Besides the condition of
temperature above stated, this crop needs a moist soil and humid
atmosphere; and so the lands along the coast of the Caribbean sea,
sloping from the mountain-tops to the shore, bedewed by the ex-
halations of the sea and irrigated by the numerous rivulets that
course down the valleys, are found to be, in all respects, well adapted
to the profitable cultivation of cocoa. And while the lands in the
interior possessing facilities for irrigation may be said to be equally
as good for the purpose, yet the absence of roads, and the conse-
quently difficult transportation of produce on the backs of donkeys
over rugged mountain paths, materially reduce the profits on the crop
before it reaches the market.
" A cocoa plantation is set in quite the same manner as an apple-
orchard, except that the young stalks may be transplanted from the
nursery after two months' growth. No preparation of the soil is deemed
necessary, and no manures are applied. The young trees are planted
about fifteen feet equidistant, which will accommodate two hundred
trees to the acre. Between rows, and at like spaces, are planted rows
of the Bucare, a tree of rapid growth, that serves to shade the soil
as well as to shield the young trees from the torrid sun. Small per-
manent trenches must be maintained from tree to tree throughout the
entire length of the rows, so that, at least once in the week, the stream,
ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 21
descending from the mountains, may be turned into these little chan-
nels and bear needful moisture to trees and soil. At the age of five
years the plantation begins to bear fruit, and annually yields two
crops, that ripening in June being termed the crop of San Juan, and
that maturing at Christmas being known as the crop of La Navidad.
The average age to which the trees attain, under proper care, may be
estimated at forty years, during which period it will give fair to full
crops of fruit ; but of course it must be understood that, as in our
fruit orchards, a new tree must be set from time to time to replace one
that may be decayed or blighted. After careful inquiry it may be
safely stated that the average crop of the cocoa plantation at ten
years of age, and under a proper state of cultivation, will amount to
five hundred or six hundred pounds per acre."
The method of preparing the fruit for shipment is thus de-
scribed in the " Encyclopaedia Britannica " : -
" In gathering, the workman is careful to cut down only fully
ripened pods, which he adroitly accomplishes with a long pole armed
with two prongs, or a knife at its extremity. The pods are left in a
.heap on the ground for about twenty-four hours; they are then cut
open and the seeds are taken out and carried in baskets to the place
where they undergo the operation of sweating or curing. There the
acid juice which accompanies the seeds is first drained off, after which
they are placed in a sweating-box, in which they are enclosed and
allowed to ferment for some time, great care being taken to keep the
temperature from rising too high. The fermenting process is, in some
cases, affected by throwing the seeds into holes or trenches in the
ground, and covering them with earth or clay. The seeds in this pro-
cess, which is called " claying," are occasionally stirred to keep the fer-
mentation from proceeding too violently. The sweating is a process
which requires the very greatest attention and experience, as on it,
to a great extent, depends the flavor of the seeds and their fitness for
preservation. The operation varies according to the state of the
weather, but a period of about two days yields the best results. There-
after the seeds are exposed to the sun for drying, and those of a fine
22 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
quality should then assume a warm, reddish tint, which characterizes
beans of a superior quality."
Cocoa-beans are derived chiefly from the following sources,
here arranged alphabetically. A recent author has classified
them under two heads, unfermented and fermented ; but this
classification is very misleading, since it happens that from a few
of the places mentioned variable proportions of both sorts are
brought to market. Ariba (Ecuador), Bahia (Brazil), Caracas
(Venezuela), Cayenne (French Guiana), Ceylon, Guatemala, Haiti,
or Port au Prince, Java, Machala, or ordinary Guayaquil (Ecua-
dor), Maracaiba (Colombia), Mararion (Brazil), St. Domingo,
Surinam (Dutch Guiana), Trinidad (W. I.), from Africa, the
Seychelles, Martinique, and Bourbon, variable amounts are begin-
ning to appear as regular products. It is generally understood
that some of the best sorts of South American cocoa are con-
sumed at home and do not find their way, in definite quantities,
or as a stated supply, to any foreign ports. Among these are
Soconusco and Esmeraldas. At the last French exposition these
and other very fine sorts from Venezuela and Ecuador were ex-
hibited. New fields are being opened up in many directions to
meet the increasing demand for the product.
III.
THE SEEDS OF THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT AS THEY
APPEAR IN COMMERCE. THEIR MICROSCOPIC
AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERS.
THE seeds of the chocolate-plant are brought into the market
in their crude state, as almond-shaped " beans," which differ
in color and somewhat in texture. It is not uncommon to find
the external surface of the bean more or less covered with a
thin irregular layer of attached earth, but this is generally pretty
well cleared off during the transportation.
Upon the color of shell and kernel, the relative brittleness, the
flavor, and the odor, depends the market value of the seeds.
The dried seeds have a papery, brittle shell, which is very
smooth on the inside, but on the outside exhibits, under the
microscope, a few short hairs and round excrescences. But these
are mostly lost by the rough handling and by the attrition of the
seeds with one another during transportation. The kernel consists
of two large cotyledons or seed-leaves, reddish-gray or reddish-
brown, with a shining, oily surface ; the whole crushing rather
easily into a loose mass of fragments. The kernel, when dry, has
a minute, tough, almost stony radicle which separates easily from
the cotyledons. Microscopic examination shows that the cells of
the seed-leaves contain albumen, oily matters, sometimes in a
crystalline condition, crystals of an entirely different shape,
starch, coloring substances in special receptacles known as pig-
24 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
ment-cells, and ducts with spiral markings. The starch grains
do not have any very characteristic form or markings : they are
generally spherical and simple. The only peculiarity worth men-
tioning, is the relative slowness with which they are acted on by
hot water and by iodine. The coloring substances are mainly of
a carmine or violet color, and are distinguished by the change of
shade when an alkali is added, becoming thereby darker.
These are the only structural elements which a pure powder
or paste of chocolate should show under the microscope. Any
other substances must be recognized as accidental or intentional
additions.
All seeds of whatever kind contain, as a part of their substance,
the matter of which cell-walls are made ; namely, cellulose. The
percentage differs in different seeds, in those of the chocolate-
plant being about three in the hundred. Cellulose has the same
chemical composition as starch ; but its physical properties are not
the same as those of starch, among which may be mentioned its
entire insolubility in boiling water.
Starch forms, on an average, eight to ten per cent of chocolate-
seeds. It consists of minute spherical grains, not distinguishable
from that found in many other kinds of seeds. Traces of gum
and of other allied bodies are also present in the seeds.
Albuminoids, or substances resembling, in a general way, the
albumin of egg, occur in chocolate-seeds as they do in other seeds,
and in a somewhat higher amount than in certain other cases in
which the seeds are used as food. The percentage ranges from
about fifteen to twenty, depending on the variety. These albumin-
oids are compounds of nitrogen, and are extremely nutritious. In
the seeds they occur in a readily assimilable form, fit for digestion.
Their peculiar relations as flesh-formers are referred to in the
section treating of the physiology of chocolate-seeds.
ITS SEEDS AS THEY APPEAR IN COMMERCE. 2$
Cacao-red occurs as a coloring matter in small amount. It is
rendered dark by alkalies.
Theobromine, the active principle of the cocoa-bean, consti-
tutes less than one per cent of the weight of the seeds, but it
varies greatly in amount in different seeds, ranging from -ffa of
one per cent in some, to a trifle over one per cent in others.
The ash left on completely burning cocoa-beans is not far from
four per cent. Its composition is substantially that of the ash
of seeds of other plants.
Cocoa-butter, or oil, constitutes not far from fifty per cent of
good cocoa-beans. The oil is remarkable for its freedom from
rancidity and its very bland character. Its uses are innumerable.
The following averages of many analyses by a leading recent
authority may be of interest :
UNROASTED.
Moisture 7.11
Oil 51.78
Theobromine ... .35
Starch 5.78
Cellulose 3.1
Other carbohydrates, glucosides, etc. . . . 10.05
Protein matters 15.61
Ash 3.60
ROASTED.
Moisture 6.51
Oil 49. 24
Theobromine 43
Starch 10.43
Cellulose 3.1
Other carbohydrates, glucosides, etc. . . . 7.78
Protein matters 18.33
Ash 3-9 2
IV.
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE AND BREAKFAST
COCOA.
have already called attention to the simple process by
which the natives of Central America prepared a nutri-
tious beverage from the seeds of the chocolate-plant. The essen-
tial features of this process, modified and greatly improved by
modern science, are worthy of consideration at this time.
The selected cocoa-beans are first cleaned from the dust and
attached particles which have come from various sources during
the fermentation of the seeds. The machines for cleaning the
beans are very ingenious and effective, removing from the seed-
coat every trace of foreign matter.
The cleaned seeds are next roasted in the most careful manner,
every precaution being taken to secure a uniform effect through
the whole mass. During the roasting the seeds change color
somewhat and become more or less modified in taste. In under-
roasted seeds the flavor is not fully developed, while in over-
roasted seeds the pleasant taste is likely to become greatly
impaired, or it may even be wholly replaced by a bitter and
harsh flavor. These relations of color and taste to the roasting
of the seeds make this portion of the manufacture one of the
most delicate processes from beginning to end.
By the roasting the shell becomes more readily detachable,
and its complete removal is the next step. The crushing of the
seeds into small fragments is easily accomplished ; and this is
CHOCOLATE AND BREAKFAST COCOA. 2?
followed by a thorough winnowing, by which the lighter shells
are carried away by themselves, leaving the clean fragments of
the roasted seeds ready for further manipulation.
Among the fragments can be detected minute and very tough
bits of tissue. These bits are the hardened germs, or rather
portions of the germs, and these are separated from the rest by an
apparatus of much simplicity and efficiency.
The clean shells are usually placed at once in packages for
transportation. They are extensively used for the domestic prep-
aration of a wholesome and very low-priced drink. This beverage
contains a fair proportion of the active principle of the chocolate-
seeds themselves, and the flavor is suggestive of chocolate.
The cleaned fragments constitute the so-called " cocoa-nibs "
of some foreign markets, and in this state they are used for the
preparation of a simple decoction. But in this form they require
to be boiled a good while for the development of flavor, and it is
therefore better to have them treated beforehand in order to
reduce the time of boiling; and this is all the more necessary,
since during the long boiling a part of the more delicate aroma
peculiar to chocolate-seeds is apt to be dissipated.
We are next to trace these fragments, through the chocolate-
mill, and afterwards follow similar fragments through the cocoa-
factory.
In the preparation of chocolate, the fragments are ground by
a complicated mechanism until they attain the greatest degree of
fineness, and constitute a perfectly homogeneous mass or paste.
If the chocolate is to be a plain chocolate, it is to receive its
delicate flavoring and then go directly into the moulds for shaping
it. Every step of the process has to be watched with the most
assiduous care. When the chocolate is formed and properly
cooled, it is wrapped and packed for the market.
2.8 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
But if the chocolate is to be sweetened, a definite amount of
the purest sugar, previously pulverized, is to be added, the whole
ground and commingled, the proper flavoring of pure vanilla added,
and the semi-solid mass formed in moulds as before. After being
moulded it is sent to the packing-room and wrapped.
The variations in the process are innumerable, but all of them
are comparatively unimportant when taken singly ; the skill in the
manufacture requires that each of these slight changes should be
made at just the right time and in the right way. In the manu-
facture of Walter Baker and Co.'s chocolate, this skill has become
developed to a very high degree during the hundred years of
success. That the firm is ready to avail itself of every appliance
known in modern manufacture, is seen by their adoption of the
complicated machinery illustrated on page 29. This chocolate-
machine has a capacity of fr.e tons of pure chocolate daily. It
is accessible to visitors, who may apply at the office in Dorchester
for permission to see it in operation.
It is unnecessary to detail the steps of manufacture of many
of the chocolate specialties of the firm.
We turn now to the consideration of breakfast cocoa.
The manufacture of breakfast cocoa is based upon two impor-
tant factors : first, the removal of a definite portion of the cocoa-
oil from the roasted seeds ; and second, increasing the miscibility
of the powdered seeds by securing the greatest practicable degree
of fineness.
o
r
>
H
M
2 *
I s
3
3 5
PI
1 in
I:
1 J T
THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT:
While the oil of the chocolate-seed is perfectly wholesome,
there are some persons who find in the percentage natural to
the seeds a too large amount for easy digestion. The removal
of a part of this, which
might with propriety be
called an excess of the oil,
was practised even in very
early days, as is seen in the
cut herewith given, taken
from an old work on the sub-
ject. The present method
of extracting the oil is not
essentially different, save in
a few particulars, from that
here figured, and therefore
need not be described in
detail.
The method of manufac-
ture is substantially as fol-
lows : the ground frag-
ments of roasted seeds are
subjected to pressure, and
with the result of withdraw-
ing just as much oil as the manufacturers desire to abstract. The
pressed mass is, in the most successful process, treated mechanically
in such a manner as to divide and subdivide the minute particles
until they are capable of passing through a sieve having several
thousand meshes to the square inch. But such pulverization as this
would, under ordinary circumstances, reduce the mass to a dull and
unattractive powder. In the process devised by the firm of Walter
CHOCOLATE AND BREAKFAST COCOA. 31
Baker and Co., this high degree of fineness is secured without
any loss of brilliancy in the powder, the color being of the
bright-red which is not only attractive in appearance, but when
conjoined with the natural chocolate odor and flavor is character-
istic of absolutely pure cocoa of the highest grade.
It is instructive to compare such cocoa with the cocoas pre-
pared by what is known in chemical technology as the chemical
process. The latter are prepared by treatment with alkaline
matters which act on the coloring substances in the seeds, increas-
ing the apparent effect of hot water when the latter is added. In
chemically prepared cocoas, the exquisite natural odor and flavor
of pure cocoa-seeds have been diminished or wholly lost by the
severe treatment to which the materials have been subjected. In
some cases the loss of the natural flavor is sought to be partially
supplied by the use of fragrant gums, wholly foreign to the natural
product.
The detection of these admixtures is generally easy. Compari-
son with the well-known pure breakfast cocoa of Walter Baker and
Co. will reveal at once the vast superiority of a product which has
not been treated by chemicals, but which contains only the finest
possible powder of the best chocolate-seeds freed from the excess
of oil. The exquisite flavor and odor of the pure product are due
wholly to the seeds themselves, since absolutely no foreign matter
is added from first to last. Walter Baker and Co.'s breakfast cocoa
can be used by students of the microscope and of chemistry as a
perfect type of the highest order of excellence in manufacture.
The enormous increase in consumption of Baker's cocoa and
chocolate indicates that our discriminating public appreciate a
thoroughly good article when they see it.
V.
SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHOCOLATE-
SEEDS. VALUE OF CHOCOLATE AS AN ARTI-
CLE OF FOOD.
THE seeds of plants contain a germ, or embryo, together with
a certain amount of food. As soon as the germ sprouts, the
food, or a good part of it, is consumed by the seedling, being used
by it in the formation of new parts, such as roots and leaves by
which the materials for more food can be obtained from the soil and
air. Now it happens that the food of plants is pretty much the
same as the food of animals, although there is this marked differ-
ence in the manner of procuring it : plants can construct their
own food from inorganic or mineral matters taken from the earth
and atmosphere, while animals, even those which are most like
plants, must have their supply of food from organic nature.
Since, then, plants prepare the food which animals are to use
(of course flesh-eating animals use their plants, so to speak, at
second-hand), it comes to pass very naturally that the food in a
good many seeds has been recognized from early times as very
useful food for man. Thus the cereals wheat, maize, oats, bar-
ley, and rice are the seeds of grasses ; and there are many other
seeds, such as beans, peas, buckwheat, and so on, which have been
appropriated as food by man from remote antiquity. But the
seeds of some plants are unfit for human food, owing to disagree-
able properties which they possess; while there are a few which
stand on the very edge of the limit of foods, and have been used in
time of scarcity.
CHOCOLATE AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD. 33
The seeds of at least two plants are used as important
adjuncts to our list of foods, and can be enumerated among
foods without any impropriety. These are coffee and cocoa.
They contain nutritive properties, the latter in very much
higher degree than the former, and they possess also peculiar
constituents which entitle them to rank as luxuries. These pecul-
iar constituents are (i) flavoring matters, and (2) an active prin-
ciple. But, either from its constitution or from its association in
the seed, the active principle of coffee, although it has nearly or
quite the same ultimate composition as the active principle of
cocoa, is unlike it in its effects. The active principle of cocoa is
substantially free, as used in its preparations, from any undesirable
effects on the nervous system. This active principle of cocoa is
Theobromine.
The essentials of a perfect food are (i) a certain amount of
carbohydrates, (2) of albuminoids, and (3) certain mineral matters,
these latter being substantially the same in all seeds used as food.
In cocoa these three groups are combined in proper proportion to
constitute a complete food, but there is superadded the active prin-
ciple, Theobromin^ which places it at once in the class of luxuries
as well as of necessary foods.
When cocoa-seeds are prepared properly for food, without
doing violence to the chemical relations of the different compo-
nents, a comforting nutritive article of the highest value is ob-
tained. This ideal method of preparation is not a chemical
torturing by the addition of foreign ingredients, as in the alkali
process, but it consists in the complete unlocking, by perfectly
natural, mechanical means, of all the virtues of the seeds. We do
no! try to render the albuminoids of wheat and other grains soluble
by means of ammonia, soda, or potash, nor do we think it desirable
to increase the solubility of the albuminoids of egg and meat by
34 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
adding caustic or carbonated alkalies to them before they are used.
And yet chemical processes analogous to these have been de-
vised and are sometimes used with regard to cocoa. In most cases
these added substances are detected in the increased amount of
mineral matters found in the ash after burning the preparation.
The amount of ash in pure cocoa is about four per cent. Any
appreciable amount above this may be attributed to the admixture
of mineral matters used in the preparation.
The oil in pure chocolate-seeds is about fifty per cent of the
whole weight. Although the oil is exceedingly bland and free
from rancidity, it has been found expedient in some cases to
withdraw a part of this oil, leaving a smaller amount in the prod-
uct. This is the method pursued in the manufacture of the
powdered cocoas. With this reduction in the quantity of oil,
the resultant beverage is less likely to disagree with delicate
digestion.
It is in all cases of the first importance to obtain only pure
cocoa of the highest quality, free from any admixture of foreign
matter, such as the alkalies or their carbonates ; and further, the
product ought to be of the greatest degree of fineness. With
regard to the flavors added to chocolate, it is perhaps needless to
say that they should be of the utmost degree of purity. This is
especially true of vanilla, which owing to its high cost is frequently
replaced by artificial flavors. There is, in one respect, a notable
difference between sweet chocolate and cocoa : the former may be
flavored, the latter should never be. A pure cocoa must be abso-
lutely dependent on its own delicious, natural odor and flavor. No
addition of any substance of any kind is admissible.
SUGGESTIONS
RELATIVE TO
THE COOKING OF CHOCOLATE AND COCOA.
BY MRS. ELLEN H. RICHARDS,
Of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
r I ^HE flavor of the cocoa-bean seems to be almost universally
* liked, and the use of the various preparations made from it
is constantly increasing. From the sweet chocolate with which
the traveller now provides himself in all journeys in which the
supply of food is doubtful either in quantity or quality, to delicate
coloring and flavoring of cakes and ices, nearly all kinds of culinary
preparations |pave benefited by the abundance of this favorite
substance.
In these forms, chocolate is used in a semi-raw state, the
bean having been simply roasted at a gentle heat, ground, and
mixed with sugar, which holds the fat. By varying the quan-
tity of the chocolate to be mixed with the ingredients of the cake
or ice, an unlimited variety of flavors can be obtained.
In preparing it as a beverage for the table a mistake has been
frequently made in considering chocolate merely as a flavor, an
adjunct to the rest of the meal, instead of giving it its due promi-
nence as a real food, containing all of the necessary nutritive prin-
ciples. A cup of chocolate made with sugar and milk is in itself
a fair breakfast.
There is much to be said in favor of preparations of the
whole bean which secure all of the valuable nutrition contained in
36 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
this " food for the gods," and rightly understood, it is possible to
make them more important articles of diet than they now are.
But since the large percentage of fat seems to require correspond-
ingly large quantities of sugar to render the beverage palatable,
and this very rich, sweet drink soon cloys if made strong enough
to be nutritious, it is, fortunately, possible to extract the larger
part of the fat without injury to the flavor so characteristic of
chocolate. In this form, called cocoa, less sugar and more milk are
needed, and the resulting beverage suits even delicate stomachs,
and is yet of high food value.
It is the object of all cooking to render raw material more
palatable and more nutritious, and therefore more digestible. The
cooking of cocoa and chocolate is no exception to this rule. Cer-
tain extractive principles are soluble only in water which has
reached the boiling-point ; and the starch, which the seed contains,
is swollen only at this temperature.
Chocolate or cocoa is not properly cooked by having boiling
water poured over it. It is true that as the whole powder is in
suspension and is swallowed, its food material can be assimilated
as it is when the prepared chocolate is eaten raw ; but in order to
bring out the full, fine flavor and to secure the most complete
digestibility, the preparation, whatever it be, should be subjected to
the boiling-point for a few minutes. In this all connoisseurs are
agreed.
RECEIPTS.
BY MISS PARLOA.
PLAIN CHOCOLATE.
For six people, use one quart of milk, two ounces of W. Baker & Co.'s
No. i chocolate, one tablespoonful of corn-starch, three tablespoonfuls of
sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of hot water.
Mix the corn-starch with one gill of the milk. Put the remainder of the
milk on to heat in the double-boiler. When the milk comes to the boiling-
point stir in the corn-starch, and cook for ten minutes. Have the choco-
late cut in fine bits and put it in a small iron or granite-ware pan ; add the
sugar and water, and place the pan over a hot fire. Stir constantly until
the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add this to the hot milk and beat the
mixture with a whisk until it is frothy. Or the chocolate may be poured
back and forth from the boiler to a pitcher, holding high the vessel from
which you pour. This will give a thick froth. Serve at once.
If you prefer not to have the chocolate thick, omit the corn-starch.
CHOCOLATE MADE WITH CONDENSED MILK.
Follow the rule for plain chocolate, substituting water for the milk, and
adding three tablespoonfuls of condensed milk when the chocolate is
added.
CHOCOLATE; VIENNA STYLE.
Use four ounces of vanilla chocolate, one quart of milk, three table-
spoonfuls of hot water, and one tablespoonful of sugar.
Cut the chocolate in fine bits. Put the milk on the stove in the double-
boiler, and when it has been heated to the boiling-point, put the chocolate,
38 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
sugar, and water in a small iron or granite-ware pan and stir over a hot fire
until smooth and glossy. Stir this mixture into the hot milk, and beat well
with a whisk. Serve at once, putting a tablespoonful of whipped cream in
each cup and then filling up with the chocolate.
The plain chocolate may be used instead of the vanilla, but in that case
use a teaspoonful of vanilla extract and three generous tablespooniuls of
sugar instead of one.
BREAKFAST COCOA.
Breakfast cocoa is powdered so fine that it can be dissolved by pouring
boiling water on it. For this reason it is often prepared at the table. A
small teaspoonful of the powder is put in the cup with a teaspoonful of
sugar ; on this is poured two-thirds of a cupful of boiling water, and milk
or cream is added to suit the individual taste. This is very convenient ;
but cocoa is not nearly so good when prepared in this manner as when it
is boiled.
For six cupfuls of cocoa use two tablespoonfuls of the powder, two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, half a pint of boiling water, and a pint and a half
of milk. Put the milk on the stove in the double-boiler. Put the cocoa
and sugar in a saucepan and gradually pour the hot water upon them, stirring
all the time. Place the saucepan on the fire and stir until the contents boil.
Let this mixture boil for five minutes ; then add the boiling milk, and serve.
A gill of cream is a great addition to this cocoa.
CHOCOLATE CAKE.
For two sheets of cake use three ounces of W. Baker & Co.'s No. i
chocolate, three eggs, one cupful and three-fourths of sifted pastry flour, one
cupful and three-fourths of sugar, half a cupful of butter, half a cupful of
milk, half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, one teaspoonful and a half of
baking powder.
Grate the chocolate. Beat the butter to a cream and gradually beat in
the sugar. Beat in the milk and vanilla, then the eggs (already well
beaten) , next the chocolate, and finally the flour, in which the baking pow-
der should be mixed. Pour into two well-buttered shallow cake-pans. Bake
for twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Frost or not, as you like.
RECEIPTS. 39
VANILLA FROSTING.
Break the white of one large egg into a bowl, and gradually beat into it
one cupful of confectioner's sugar. Beat for three minutes, add half a
teaspoonful of vanilla extract, and spread thinly on the cakes.
CHOCOLATE ICING.
Make a vanilla icing and add one tablespoonful of cold water to it.
Scrape fine one ounce of No. i chocolate and put it in a small iron or
granite-ware saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of confectioner's sugar and
one tablespoonful of hot water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and
glossy, then add another tablespoonful of hot water. Stir the dissolved
chocolate into the vanilla icing.
CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM.
For about two quarts and a half of cream use a pint and a half of milk,
a quart of thin cream, two cupfuls of sugar, two ounces of No. i chocolate,
two eggs, and two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour.
Put the milk on to boil in the double-boiler. Put the flour and one
cupful of the sugar in a bowl ; add the eggs, and beat the mixture until
light. Stir this into the boiling milk and cook for twenty minutes, stirring
often.
Scrape the chocolate and put it in a small saucepan. Add four table-
spoonfuls of sugar (which should be taken from the second cupful) and two
tablespoonfuls of hot water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy.
Add this to the cooking mixture.
When the preparation has cooked for twenty minutes take it from the
fire and add the remainder of the sugar and the cream, which should be
gradually beaten into the hot mixture. Set away to cool, and when cold,
freeze.
CHOCOLATE PUDDING.
For a small pudding use one pint of milk, two tablespoonfuls and a
half of corn-starch, one ounce of chocolate, two eggs, five tablespoonfuls
40 THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.
of powdered sugar, one-fourth ot a teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoon-
ful of vanilla extract.
Mix the corn- starch with one gill of the milk. Put the remainder of
the milk on to boil in the double-boiler. Scrape the chocolate. When the
milk boils, add the corn-starch, salt, and chocolate, and cook for ten minutes.
Beat the yolks of the eggs with three tablespoonfuls of the sugar. Pour
the hot mixture on this and beat well. Turn into a pudding-dish that will
hold about a quart, and bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth, and gradually beat in the
remaining two tablespoonfuls of sugar and the vanilla. Spread this on the
pudding and return to the oven. Cook for fifteen minutes longer, but with
the oven-door open. Serve either cold or hot.
BAVARIAN CHOCOLATE CREAM.
For one large mould of cream, use half a package of gelatine, one gill
of milk, two quarts of whipped cream, one gill of sugar, and one ounce of
chocolate.
Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Whip and drain
the cream, scrape the chocolate, and put the milk on to boil. Put the
chocolate, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one of hot water, in a small
saucepan, and stir on a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Stir this into the
hot milk. Now add the soaked gelatine and the remainder of the sugar.
Strain this mixture into a basin that will hold two quarts or more. Place
the basin in a pan of ice-water and stir until the mixture is cold, when it
will begin to thicken. Instantly begin to stir in the whipped cream, adding
half the amount at first. When all the cream has been added, dip the
mould in cold water and then turn the cream into it. Place in the ice-
chest for an hour or more.
At serving-time dip the mould in tepid water. See that the cream will
come from the sides of the mould, and turn out on a flat dish. Serve with
whipped cream.
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