Chocolate

 

Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods produced from the

seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. cacao  tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The maorit! of the Mesoamerican peoples Mesoamerican  peoples made chocolate bevera"es, includin" the A#tecs and A#tecs and the Ma!a, Ma!a, who made it into a bevera"e $nown as  xocolātl , a %ahuatl word %ahuatl  word meanin" &bitter water&. The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavor. Chocolate has become one of the most popular food t!pes and flavors in the world. 'ifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holida!s( chocolate bunnies and e""s are e""s are popular on )aster, )aster, chocolate coins on *anu$$ah, *anu$$ah , Santa Claus and other holida! s!mbols on Christmas, Christmas , and hearts on +alentines -a!. -a! . Chocolate is also used in cold and hot bevera"es, to produce chocolate mil$ and mil$  and hot chocolate. chocolate . The  worlds top producer producer of cacao cacao beans beans is Africa, Africa , where recent controvers! has focused on the use of child labor in cocoa production. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted, and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs. The nibs are then "round to cocoa mass, mass, pure chocolate in rou"h form. Because this cocoa mass usuall! is liuefied then molded with or without other in"redients, it is called chocolate liuor. liuor . The liuor also ma! be processed into two components( cocoa solids and solids  and cocoa butter. butter . /nsweetened ba$in" chocolate bitter chocolate  bitter chocolate contains primaril! cocoa solids and cocoa butter in var!in" proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed toda! is in the form of sweet chocolate, chocolate , combinin" cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and su"ar. Mil$ chocolate is chocolate  is sweet chocolate that additionall! contains mil$ powder or condensed mil$. 2hite chocolate contains cocoa butter, su"ar, and mil$ but no cocoa solids and thus does not ualif! to be considered true chocolate. Cocoa solids contain al$aloids such as theobromine and theobromine  and pheneth!lamine, pheneth!lamine , which have ph!siolo"ical effects on the bod!. 3t has been lin$ed to serotonin levels serotonin  levels in the brain. brain. Scientists claim that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure. -ar$ chocolate has chocolate  has recentl! been promoted for its health benefits, includin" a substantial amount of antioxidants that antioxidants  that reduce the formation of free radicals, althou"h current scientific evidence is a"ainst health improvements b! dietar! antioxidants. The presence of theobromine renders theobromine  renders it toxic to some animals, especiall! do"s and cats. Chocolate has become one of the most popular food t!pes and flavors in the  world. 'ifts 'ifts of chocolate chocolate molded molded into into different different shapes shapes have become become traditional traditional on certain holida!s( chocolate bunnies and e""s are e""s are popular on )aster, )aster, chocolate coins on *anu$$ah, *anu$$ah , Santa Claus and Claus  and other holida! s!mbols on Christmas, Christmas , and hearts on +alentines -a!. -a! . Chocolate is also used in cold and hot bevera"es, to produce chocolate mil$ and mil$  and hot chocolate. The chocolate.  The worlds top producer of cacao beans is Africa, Africa ,  where recent recent controvers! controvers! has focused focused on the use of of child labor in cocoa production . 1

Chocolate is a $e! in"redient in man! foods such as mil$ sha$es, cand! bars, coo$ies and cereals. 3t is ran$ed as one of the most favourite flavours in %orth America and )urope Swift, 1445. -espite its popularit!, most people do not $now the uniue ori"ins of this popular treat. Chocolate is a product that reuires complex procedures to produce. The process involves harvestin" coca, refinin" coca to cocoa beans, and shippin" the cocoa beans to the manufacturin" factor! for cleanin", coachin" and "rindin". These cocoa beans will then be imported or exported to other countries and be transformed into different t!pe of chocolate products Allen, 1446. A diagram showing the manufacturing process:

Important inventions

-utchman Conraad +an *outen invented how to separate cocoa butter from cocoa mass in 1575. 8irst chocolate bars were probabl! produced b! en"lish compan! 8r!9s from Bristol in 156:. Swiss -aniel ;eter invented mil$ chocolate in 15:indt invented conchin" process in 15:4. S?chaud 8ils from Montreaux in Swit#erland produced first filled chocolate in 141@. 8irst white chocolate was manufactured b! swiss compan! %estl? in 14@09s. 3t was called 'ala$.

7

Chocolate is a $e! in"redient in man! foods such as mil$ sha$es, cand! bars, coo$ies and cereals. 3t is ran$ed as one of the most favourite flavours in %orth America and )urope Swift, 1445. -espite its popularit!, most people do not $now the uniue ori"ins of this popular treat. Chocolate is a product that reuires complex procedures to produce. The process involves harvestin" coca, refinin" coca to cocoa beans, and shippin" the cocoa beans to the manufacturin" factor! for cleanin", coachin" and "rindin". These cocoa beans will then be imported or exported to other countries and be transformed into different t!pe of chocolate products Allen, 1446. A diagram showing the manufacturing process:

Important inventions

-utchman Conraad +an *outen invented how to separate cocoa butter from cocoa mass in 1575. 8irst chocolate bars were probabl! produced b! en"lish compan! 8r!9s from Bristol in 156:. Swiss -aniel ;eter invented mil$ chocolate in 15:indt invented conchin" process in 15:4. S?chaud 8ils from Montreaux in Swit#erland produced first filled chocolate in 141@. 8irst white chocolate was manufactured b! swiss compan! %estl? in 14@09s. 3t was called 'ala$.

7

Etymology The word &chocolate& entered the )n"lish lan"ua"e from Spanish. Spanish. *ow the word came into Spanish is less certain, and there are multiple competin" explanations. ;erhaps the most cited explanation is that &chocolate& comes from %ahuatl, %ahuatl , the lan"ua"e of the A#tecs, A#tecs , from the word &chocolatl&, which man! sources derived from the %ahuatl word &xocolatl& made up from the words &xococ& meanin" sour or sour or bitter  bitter,, and &atl& meanin" water or drin$.*owever, as 2illiam Bri"ht noted Bri"ht  noted the word &chocolatl& doesnt occur in central Mexican colonial sources colonial  sources ma$in" this an unli$el! derivation. Santamaria "ives Santamaria  "ives a derivation from the ucatec Ma!a word Ma!a  word &cho$ol& meanin" hot, and the %ahuatl &atl& meanin" water. More recentl! -a$in and 2ichmann derive 2ichmann  derive it from another %ahuatl term, &chicolatl& from )astern %ahuatl meanin" &beaten drin$&. The! derive this term from the word for the frothin" stic$, &chicoli&.

 

History

The word &chocolate& ori"inates in Mexicos A#tec A#tec cuisine,  cuisine, derived from the %ahuatl word %ahuatl  word xocolatl xocolatl.. Theobroma cacao, native to Mexico, Central and South America, has been cultivated for at least three millennia in that re"ion. Cocoa mass was used ori"inall! in Mesoamerica both as a bevera"e, and as an in"redient in foods. Chocolate has been used as a drin$ for nearl! all of its histor!. The earliest record of usin" chocolate dates bac$ before the lmec lmec.. 3n %ovember 700:, archaeolo"ists reported findin" evidence of the oldest $nown cultivation and use of cacao at a site in ;uerto )scondido, *onduras *onduras,, datin" from about 1100 to 1600 BC. The residues found and the $ind of vessel the! were found in indicate that the initial use of cacao was not simpl! as a bevera"e, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was li$el! used as a source of fermentable su"ars for an alcoholic drin$. The Ma!a civili#ation "rew cacao trees in their bac$!ard, and used the cacao seeds it produced to ma$e a froth!, bitter drin$. -ocuments in Ma!a hiero"l!phs stated hiero"l!phs  stated that chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes, in addition to ever!da! life. The chocolate residue found in an earl! ancient Ma!a pot Ma!a  pot in =o A#ul, 'uatemala 'uatemala,, su""ests that Ma!a were drin$in" chocolate around 600 A-. 3n the %ew 2orld, 2orld, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spic! drin$ called  xocoatl , and was often flavored with vanilla vanilla,, chili pepper, pepper , and achiote achiote $nown  $nown toda! as annatto.Docoatl annatto .Docoatl was believed to fi"ht fati"ue, a belief that is probabl! attributable to the @

theobromine content. Chocolate was also an important luxur! "ood throu"hout preE Columbian Mesoamerica, and cacao beans were often used as currenc!. 8or example, the A#tecs used a s!stem in which one tur$e! cost one hundred cacao beans and one fresh avocado was worth three beans. South American and )uropean cultures have used cocoa to treat diarrhea for hundreds of !ears. All of the areas that were conuered b! the A#tecs that "rew cacao beans were ordered to pa! them as a tax, or as the A#tecs called it, a & tribute&. /ntil the 1Fth centur!, no )uropean had ever heard of the popular drin$ from the Central and South American peoples. 3t was not until the Spanish conuest of the A#tecs that chocolate could be imported to )urope. 3n Spain it uic$l! became a court favorite. 3n a centur! it had spread and become popular throu"hout the )uropean continent To $eep up with the hi"h demand for this new drin$, Spanish armies be"an enslavin" Mesoamericans to produce cacao. )ven with cacao harvestin" becomin" a re"ular business, onl! ro!alt! and the wellEconnected could afford to drin$ this expensive import. Before lon", the Spanish be"an "rowin" cacao beans on plantations, and usin" an African wor$force to help mana"e them. The situation was different in )n"land. ;ut simpl!, an!one with mone! could bu! it. The first chocolate house opened in >ondon in 1F cholesterol levelsN some studies even find that it could lower them. 3ndeed, small but re"ular amounts of dar$ chocolate lower the possibilit! of a heart attac$. A stud! performed at the Qarolins$a 3nstitute in Stoc$holm and appearin" the  Journal of Internal Medicine September 7004, found that survivors of heart attac$s  who ate chocolate at least two or three times a wee$ reduced their ris$ of death b! a factor of up to three times compared to survivors who did not eat chocolate. The benefits were specific to chocolate and not to other sweets.

Aphrodisiac =omantic lore commonl! identifies chocolate as an aphrodisiac. The reputed aphrodisiac ualities of chocolate are most often associated with the simple sensual pleasure of its consumption. Althou"h there is no proof that chocolate is indeed an aphrodisiac, a "ift of chocolate is a familiar courtship ritual.

%uscle recovery A stud! from Games Madison /niversit!, presented at the American Colle"e of Sports Medicine annual meetin", showed that postEexercise consumption of lowfat chocolate mil$ provides eual or possibl! superior muscle recover! compared to a hi"hE carboh!drate recover! bevera"e with the same amount of calories. Athletes consumin" chocolate mil$ had si"nificantl! lower levels of creatine $inase, an indicator of muscle dama"e, compared to drin$ers of carboh!drate bevera"e. Sweatin" causes loss of fluid and also important minerals, includin" calcium, potassium and ma"nesium. The 7Ehour  window after exercise is an important, but often ne"lected opportunit! to recover #

Other $enefits Studies su""est a speciall! formulated t!pe of cocoa ma! be nootropic and dela! brain function decline as people a"e. Mars, 3ncorporated, a +ir"iniaEbased cand! compan!, spends mone! each !ear on flavonol research. The compan! is tal$in" with pharmaceutical companies to license dru"s based on s!nthesi#ed cocoa flavonol molecules. Accordin" to MarsEfunded researchers at *arvard, the /niversit! of California, and )uropean universities, cocoaE 1:

based prescription dru"s could potentiall! help treat diabetes, dementia and other diseases. Theobromine was found to be almost one third more effective than codeine, the leadin" cou"h medicine. 8lavonoids can inhibit the development of diarrhea, su""estin" antidiarrhoeal effects of cocoa.

As a stimulant Chocolate contains a variet! of substances, some of which have an effect on bod! chemistr!. These include( • •

•

•

•

Su"ar Theobromine, the primar! al$aloid in cocoa solids and chocolate and partl! responsible for chocolates moodEelevatin" effect Tr!ptophan, an essential amino acid and precursor to serotonin ;heneth!lamine, an endo"enous al$aloid sometimes described as a love chemicalN it is uic$l! metaboli#ed b! monoamine oxidaseEB and does not reach the brain in si"nificant amounts Caffeine, present in smaller amounts

Chocolate is a mild stimulant to humans mainl! due to the presence of theobromine. 3t is much more potent for horses, and its use in horse racin" is prohibited. 2hite chocolate contains onl! trace amounts of the caffeine and theobromine of normal chocolates, because these chemicals are contained in the cocoa solids, not the cocoa butter, from which white chocolate is made.

ts a well-nown fact that chocolate is not only a tasty product "ut also !ery healthy# And the more tasty, the more useful# Chocolate co ntains different natural additi!es and fla!ors with

15

their own medicial properties#

COCOA & !'""E( ne of the basic components in chocolate manufacture is cocoa butter. 2hen the temperature is normal 77.7:R, it is solid and brittle, but when the temperature is @7.@FR it becomes liuid, i.e. the temperature of its meltin" is lower than the temperature of a human bod!. Thats wh! cocoa butter melts easil!, and the chocolate melts in the mouth without "reasiness feelin". 3t is a ver! important indicator when estimatin" chocolate ualit!. A wide ran"e of cocoa butter substitutes is used for chocolate manufacture nowada!s. +Q Chocolatier uses onl! natural hi"hEualit! cocoa I butter. Cocoa butter consists of palmitic, oleic, linolenic and stearic acids. The third part of all fats contained in chocolate is stearic acid, which doesnt lead to increasin" of cholesterol level in blood. The other part is presented b! mono unsaturated oleic acid that reduces the cholesterol level. ;resentl! cocoa butter is used li$e basis for preparation of laxative and anaesthetic suppositories, various medical ointments. Cocoa butter is also widel! used in cosmetics, as it has healin" and tonic effect due to substance of meth!lExanthine, caffeine and tannins. The conclusion( choose delicacies  with cocoa butter and den! products, which contain h!dro"enised ve"etable oils.

)EC*"H*+

3n confectioner! lecithin is used to reduce chocolate mass viscosit! while mouldin" and coatin" of products. 8or +Q products we purchase onl! natural "eneticall! unmodified lecithin. >ecithin is not an irreplaceable food a"ent, but it is ver! important for nutrition. 3t facilitates the process of di"estion, absorption and health! metathesis of fats, increases bile secretion, connected with protein it forms cell membranes, and normali#e cholesterol metabolism. 3n 1541 lecithin was named the stove, where the fat of a bod! is burnt down. 3t ma$es fat particles microscopic particles in blood of the health! people, but hu"e ones of people with heart diseases or predisposed to it split into the smallest pieces,  which easil! pass throu"h the walls of arteries. >ecithin promotes secretion of various hormones, includin" sexual ones. Besides, lecithin performs a lot of other activities I it helps various a"ents to penetrate throu"h cell membrane, braces nerves, contributes to intellectual activit!, transports fat acids, prevents from a""lomeration of "reat number of acids and al$alis in blood. -octors freuentl! use lecithin for treatment of impotence. >ecithin is a powerful emulsifier and thats wh! it is especiall! important for prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis. 14

The dail! need of adult or"anism in lecithin is approximatel! /MB/S lands on the island of 'uanaa. The AXT)C who offered him a luxur! chocolate drin$ xocotlatl "reets him but he detested the bitter bevera"e based on roasted seeds of cocoa blended with spices. The first cocoa beans he brou"ht bac$ to )urope were ne"lected, as the man! other treasures on board were far more interestin". Only in the 20th century chocolate becomes available for everyone!

The Spanish conuistador *)=%A% C=T]X was aware of the economic importance of the cocoa beans and realised that the A#tec literall! had mone! "rowin" on trees. *e brou"ht cocoa beans bac$ to Spain in 1