Worked by : Besa Azemi

The Cacao Tree

Chocolate is a key ingredient in many foods. In fact, it ranks as the favorite flavor of most Americans. And yet, few of us know the unique origins of this popular treat.The story of chocolate spans more than 2,000 years and now circles the globe. The tale began in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America where cacao first grew. All the chocolate we eat comes from one rather special plant—the cacao tree.

The cacao tree grows in the shade of tropical rainforests near the equator. Its particular adaptations and interdependence with other rainforest dwellers have been a subject of study for many years.

Turning cacao (kah KOW) seeds into chocolate requires time, effort, and artistry. It’s a fascinating process that takes you from tropical rainforests to gleaming factories. Like most agricultural crops, cacao must be closely monitored by farmers. They regularly walk their fields and check for pests, molds, and diseases that can potentially wipe out a whole harvest.In addition, a farmer must spend three to five years caring for young cacao trees before they’ll produce their first yield.

Cacao harvesting is done by hand.Unlike many contemporary crops, cacao can’t be harvested by machines. Each thick pod growing off the trunk and branches of the cacao tree must be plucked by hand.

Cacao farming has faced many labor issues.Because it takes lots of backbreaking work from many people to care for cacao, workers rights were often a major concern for cacao farmers. At one time, European countries even resorted to slavery as a way of supplying cheap labor for crops like cacao.

Fermented cacao beansRaw cacao beans

Eating Chocolate

Most of us know chocolate as a deliciously decadent sweet that we eat in cookies, cakes, candy bars, and other desserts. But around the world, many people have prepared chocolate as a bitter, frothy drink—or even as part of a main meal served at dinnertime.

And, chocolate isn’t simply a snack or key ingredient in cooking. Over the centuries, many cultures have used the seeds from which chocolate is made—cacao (kah KOW)—as a sacred symbol in religious ceremonies. Plus, medicinal remedies featuring chocolate have been used as household curatives across the globe.

- Chocolate is available in many types. Different forms and flavors of chocolate are produced by varying the quantities of the different ingredients. Other flavors can be obtained by varying the time and temperature when roasting the beans.

Unsweetened chocolate", also known as "bitter", "baking chocolate" or "cooking chocolate" is pure chocolate liquor mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance. The pure, ground, roasted cocoa beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor. With the addition of sugar, however, it is used as the base for cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.

"Dark chocolate", also called " "black chocolate", is produced by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It is chocolate with no or much less milk than milk chocolate. The U.S. has no official definition for dark chocolate but European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. Dark chocolate can be eaten as is, or used in cooking, for which thicker, more expensive baking bars with higher cocoa percentages ranging from 70% to 99% are sold. Dark is synonymous with semisweet, and extra dark with bittersweet, although the ratio of cocoa butter to solids may vary.

"Semisweet chocolate" is frequently used for cooking purposes. It is a dark chocolate with (by definition in Swiss usage) half as much sugar as cocoa, beyond which it is "sweet chocolate.“

"Bittersweet chocolate" is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which some sugar (less than a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable when baking.Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are

sometimes referred to as 'couverture'. Many brands now print on the package the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter). The higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate is."Couverture" is a term used for chocolates rich in cocoa butter. Popular brands of couvertureused by professional pastry chefs and often sold in gourmet and specialty food stores include:Valrhona, Felchlin, Lindt & Sprüngli, Scharffen Berger, Cacao Barry, Callebaut, and Guittard. These chocolates contain a high percentage of cocoa.

"Milk chocolate" is solid chocolate made with milk in the form of milk powder , liquid milk, or condensed milk added. In the 1870s, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter had developed solid milk chocolate using condensed milk; hitherto it had only been available as a drink. The U.S. Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids. However, an agreement was reached in 2000 that allowed what by exception from these regulations is called "milk chocolate" in the UK, Ireland, and Malta, containing only 20% cocoa solids, to be traded as "family milk chocolate" elsewhere in the European Union.

Why do kids have a big appetite for chocolates ?

Chocolate Decreases Stroke Risk

A 2011 Swedish study found that women who ate more than 45 grams of chocolate a week had a20 percent lower risk of stroke than women who treated themselves to fewer than 9 grams of the sweet stuff.

Chocolate Boosts Heart Health

Regular chocolate eaters welcome a host of benefits for their hearts, including lower blood pressure, lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease.One of the reasons dark chocolate is especially heart-healthy is its inflammation-fighting properties, which reduce cardiovascular risk.

Chocolate Protects Your Skin

Forget what you've heard about

chocolate causing breakouts: Dark

chocolate is actually good for your

skin. The type of antioxidants

called flavonoids found in dark

chocolate offer someprotection

from UV damage from the sun.

And no, that does not mean you

can skip the sunscreen!

Weight Migraines

Caffeine

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"Make a list of important things to do today.

At the top of your list, put "eat chocolate“ ,

Now, you'll get at least one thing done today ;)

- Gina Hayes