CHEM181
Topic 8 : chocolate and weight control
Chocolate
-
known as the food of the Gods
-
study
: from the Confectionary association of Canada -> they asked people if they preferred sex
or chocolate ?
-
in 1995, 30% of men and 35% of women preferred chocolate to sex
-
Quebec : 74% preferred chocolate to sex
-
Nova Scotia : 20% preferred chocolate to sex
-
what is it that we like in chocolate :
more than 500 chemicals
; maybe more the
texture
that the
taste ->
melting point is 36 degree C
=> starts melting as soon as we put in our mouth and it is
believed that it is that sensation that people like
-
when a Swedish botanist encountered the fruit of the cocoa tress, he called it
theobroma cacao
(Theo comes from the Greeks, means God)
Chocolate history
-
the
Aztec
used cocoa to satisfy the
gods
, and they would offer it in gold goblets which could
supposedly only be used once
-
cocoa is very difficult to dissolve
-
very
bitter
(the Aztec term for chocolate is Xocoatl which means bitter)
-
was very
valuable
-> the natives used cocoa as a
currency
-
the
Spaniards
believed that cocoa has
aphrodisiac properties
-
became very popular in Europe as a
beverage
-> was mixed with a lot of sugar, vanilla and
cinnamon
-
for most of its history, cocoa was not eaten but rather
drunk
, but today most of the chocolate is
eaten
-
in 2004, the statistics found that in
Canada
people eat
~4kg per person per year
Production of chocolate
-
cocoa flower
: same family as the orchid, grows on cocoa trees, gets converted into
cocoa pods
which grow throughout the tree and the branches
-
the cocoa pods grow throughout the year, there is
no season
-
different types : Forastero, Criollo (best one), Trinitero
-
when the cocoa pod has reached
maturity
, it is
picked up
and is
split open
->
cocoa nibs
surrounded by white coating => left open, and the seeds start
fermenting
=> the sugar gets
converted into alcohol then acetic acid and finally to esters => this fermentation process adds
flavour
to the chocolate
-
cocoa seeds are then
left to dry
in the sun, and are then
roasted
which yields
enhanced flavour
to the cocoa (reaction is known as the
Maillard reaction
-> involves the combination between
amino acids and proteins and various sugar => gives taste ; the Maillard reaction can also occur
in beer, steaks, bread…)
-
the beans have to be
shelled
=> we get cocoa nibs which can be
crushed
in special machines =>
we get the
chocolate liquor
(no alcohol present, but it is the basis for the making of chocolate)
-
the closest in taste of chocolate liquor is
baking chocolate
Chocolate producers
-
top cocoa producer :
Ivory coast
with 1.51 million metric tons
1

-
Gahna
: 1.03 million metric tons ;
Indonesia
: 0.44 million metric tons
Social aspects
-
in the Ivory coast, they use a lot of
child labour
=> the whole history of chocolate production is
a pretty sad story
-
book written by Carol Off called
Bitter Chocolate
-> tells about all the under-sides of chocolate
production
-
we can buy
fair trade
cocoa
Chocolate contemporary history
-
very bitter, high fat content
-
in the
early 19th century
, the
Van Houten family
looked into this and tried to improve the


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- Spring '11
- Multiple
- Nutrition, BMR, Low-carbohydrate diet