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Chocolate: A Global Delight

Chocolate is made from roasted and ground cacao seeds from the cacao tree. Mesoamerican cultures like the Olmecs, Maya, and Aztecs cultivated cacao and made chocolate beverages as early as 1900 BCE. After fermentation and roasting, cacao nibs are ground into cocoa mass which is liquefied and processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Chocolate is consumed as baking chocolate, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. It has become very popular worldwide and is used in many desserts, candies, snacks, drinks, and as gifts. While cacao originated in the Americas, Western African nations now produce almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa, led

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108 views1 page

Chocolate: A Global Delight

Chocolate is made from roasted and ground cacao seeds from the cacao tree. Mesoamerican cultures like the Olmecs, Maya, and Aztecs cultivated cacao and made chocolate beverages as early as 1900 BCE. After fermentation and roasting, cacao nibs are ground into cocoa mass which is liquefied and processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Chocolate is consumed as baking chocolate, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. It has become very popular worldwide and is used in many desserts, candies, snacks, drinks, and as gifts. While cacao originated in the Americas, Western African nations now produce almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa, led

Uploaded by

rohansathaye
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chocolate /ˈtʃɒklɪt, -kəlɪt, -lət, ˈtʃɔːk-/ ( listen) is a typically sweet, usually brown food preparation

of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground. It is made in the form of a liquid, paste, or in a
block, or used as a flavoring ingredient in other foods. Cacao has been cultivated by many
cultures for at least three millennia in Mesoamerica. The earliest evidence of use traces to
the Olmecs (Mexico), with evidence of chocolate beverages dating back to 1900 BCE.[1] In fact,
the majority of Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including
the Maya and Aztecs,[2] who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl Nahuatl
pronunciation: [ʃoˈkolaːt͡ɬ], a Nahuatlword meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have
an intense bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavor.
After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted. The shell is removed to produce
cacao nibs, which are then ground to cocoa mass, unadulterated chocolate in rough form. Once
the cocoa mass is liquefied by heating, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be
cooled and processed into its two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Baking chocolate,
also called bitter chocolate, contains cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions,
without any added sugars. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet
chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or added vegetable oils, and sugar. Milk
chocolateis sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White
chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, but no cocoa solids.
Cocoa solids are a source of flavonoids[3] and alkaloids, such
as theobromine, phenethylamine and caffeine.[4] Chocolate also contains anandamide.[5]
Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world, and a vast
number of foodstuffs involving chocolate have been created,
particularly desserts including cakes, pudding, mousse, chocolate brownies, and chocolate chip
cookies. Many candies are filled with or coated with sweetened chocolate, and bars of solid
chocolate and candy bars coated in chocolate are eaten as snacks. Gifts of chocolate molded
into different shapes (e.g., eggs, hearts, coins) have become traditional on certain Western
holidays, such as Easter, Valentine's Day, and Hanukkah. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot
beverages such as chocolate milk and hot chocolate and in some alcoholic drinks, such
as creme de cacao.
Although cocoa originated in the Americas, recent years have seen African nations assuming a
leading role in producing cocoa. Since the 2000s, Western Africa produces almost two-thirds of
the world's cocoa, with Ivory Coast growing almost half of that amount.

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