Chocolate is a worldwide gift classic and a popular delicacy. Whether as a gently melting praline or a steaming cocoa drink, chocolate belongs on every gift. The sweet temptation is still a special gift for a birthday, for Christmas, or for Easter even after many years. The preparation of cocoa beans for drinking chocolate and eating is based on the South American natives’ old recipes.
History of cocoa
The fruits of the cocoa plant (Theobroma cacao) were first used in cooking by the Olmec (1500 BC to 400 AD), a highly civilized people from Mexico. Centuries later, rulers of the Aztecs and Mayas from South America also spoiled their passion for cocoa by refining the ground cocoa beans with cayenne pepper and vanilla into a sweet drink. They consume the cocoa beans as a cornmeal-cocoa mash. This tasted a little bitter. In those days, cocoa beans were so expensive that people use them as a means of payment.
Cultivation
The cocoa tree is now cultivated in Central and South America, on the Ivory Coast and other countries in West Africa and Southeast Asia, e.g. in Indonesia where it is never exposed to temperatures below 18 degrees, mostly even around 30 degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall, which is a good 2000 milliliters in these countries, and the high humidity of at least 70% are just right for the growth of the plant. The cocoa bush also needs similar conditions if it is cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Protect cocoa as a garden plant with screen panels
The cocoa plant for the conservatory is available in well-stocked plant shops. If the seeds are untreated, you can grow them in the soil yourself. The plant can grow between one and a half and three meters high but usually stays smaller because the tree or shrub grows very slowly.
It needs a partially shaded location and garden screen panels for the outdoors are perfect for this. You can choose beautiful yet sturdy screen panels as they can protect your cocoa plant from wild animals while providing shade.
Manufacture of chocolate
The production of cocoa powder and chocolate is a little different. For chocolate production, the liquid cocoa mass is mixed with various ingredients such as sugar, milk powder, aromas, and cocoa butter, which was exposed during grinding. The whole thing is then finely rolled, conched, provided with fat crystals, and finally cooled in order to pour the chocolate liquid into a bar shape. Only the cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, and flavorings are used to produce white chocolate, the cocoa mass is left out.