Chocolate

Chocolate is a processed, typically sweetened food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Although cacao has been cultivated by many cultures for at least three millennia in Mexico and Central America, its earliest documented use is by the Olmecs of south central Mexico around 1100 BC.

Chocolate is created from the cocoa bean. A cacao tree with fruit pods in various stages of ripening

Chocolate melanger mixing raw ingredients

Cacao pods are harvested by cutting the pods from the tree using a machete, or by knocking them off the tree using a stick. The beans with their surrounding pulp are removed from the pods and placed in piles or bins, allowing access to microorganisms so that fermentation of the pectin-containing material can begin. The fermentation process, which takes up to seven days, also produces several flavor precursors, eventually resulting in the familiar chocolate taste.

It is important to harvest the pods when they are fully ripe because if the pod is unripe, the beans will have low cocoa butter content, or there will be insufficient sugars in the white pulp for fermentation, resulting in a weak flavor. After fermentation, the beans must be quickly dried to prevent mold growth. The dried beans are then transported to a chocolate manufacturing facility. The beans are cleaned (removing twigs, stones, and other debris), roasted, and graded. Next, the shell of each bean is removed to extract the nib. Finally, the nibs are ground and liquefied, resulting in pure chocolate in fluid form: chocolate liquor. The liquor can be further processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar. Dark chocolate consists of sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids. Cocoa solids contain alkaloids such as theobromine, phenethylamine and caffeine. These have physiological effects on the body and are linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Some research has found that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure. The presence of theobromine renders chocolate toxic to some animals, especially dogs and cats.

Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages such as chocolate milk and hot chocolate.