We all know that chocolate is delicious.
But do you know where it comes from? How it is made?
Chocolate is made from cacao beans, which are the seeds of the cacao tree.
The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica and dates back to 350 BC.
The Aztecs believed cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom,
and the seeds were used as money.
The Cocoa tree
Cacao flowers grow on the trunk or main branches of the tree.
The Cocoa Pod
The Beans
Then they are the beans are fermented before being dried. The dried beans are crushed into finer and finer particles.
Chocolate Paste
The cocoa nibs are ground to form cocoa mass, which is also known as cocoa liquor or chocolate liquor.
Temper, Temper
Then it is conched, a special mixing and stirring process that adds air.
This develops the taste and the chocolate becomes velvety smooth.
Remember, World Chocolate Day is 7 July.
A stack of chocolate chunks with coffee beans on a wooden background, closeup.
No Responses Yet