Cocoa

“ Here we find the sugar-apple, alligator-pear, sapodilla-guava, limes, lemons, tamarinds, bananas, and plantain—the cocoa-nut tree, with her tessellated leaves, fanned by the breath of eternal spring-time, and ripening its refreshing fruits to nourish the thirsty residents, who would languish were they not supplied with the juices from fruits. The cocoa sheds its fruit when ripe, endangering the heads of those passing. Parents having children who play under the trees are constantly uneasy, as a full-grown cocoa-nut, falling forty feet, would nearly annihilate a child. ”

“ But upon the cocoa estate there is lasting peace. From the railway on the plain we climb the long valley, our strong-boned mule or lithe Spanish horse taking the long slopes at a pleasant amble, standing to cool in the ford of the river we cross and re-cross, or plucking the young shoots of the graceful bamboos so often fringing our path. Villages and stragglin cottages, with palm thatch and adobe walls, are
The Home of the Cacao. ”

“ The pure cocoa extracts and essences consist only of ground cocoa nibs with some of the fat removed; they have a distinctly bitter flavour, and they do not thicken with boiling. Some few harmful substances are occasionally added as adulterants. The best prepared cocoas are wholesome and nourishing, and contain only cocoa, starch, and sugar. Chocolate is prepared by grinding the finer sorts of cocoa beans over warm rollers, with a suitable addition of sugar and vanilla or other flavouring. Much skill is employed in its preparation, and the best qualities are sold at a high price. ”

“ Cocoa is of domestic drinks the most alimentary; it is without any exception the cheapest food that we can conceive, as it may be literally termed meat and drink, and were our half-starved artisans and over-worked factory children induced to drink it, instead of the in-nutritious beverage called tea, its nutritive qualities would soon develop themselves in their improved looks and more robust condition. ”

“ Cocoa itself is the nut ground to powder, and sometimes mixed with sugar, the husk being sometimes ground with it.
In Chocolate—a preparation of cocoa—the cocoa is carefully dried and roasted, and then ground to a smooth paste, the nuts being placed on a hot iron plate, and so keeping the oily matter to aid in forming a paste. Sugar and flavorings, as vanilla, are often added, and the whole pressed into cakes. The whole substance of the nut being used, it is exceedingly nutritious, and made more so by the milk and sugar added. Eaten with bread it forms not only a nourishing but a hearty meal ”

“ Cocoa. — The commercial name given (1) to the seeds of the small tropical tree known to botanists as Theobroma Cacao; (2) to the cracked or coarsely ground product of the roasted seeds, sometimes designated more particularly as "cocoa nibs," or "cracked cocoa"; (3) to the finely pulverized product of the roasted seeds from which a portion of the fat has been removed, sometimes designated as "breakfast cocoa" or "powdered cocoa." ”

“ Fil’s father, who was a planter of wide acres, replied:
“The cocoa bean and the coconut are two very different plants. Do not confuse them. The cocoa bean, out of which you grind cocoa powder and chocolate for a drink, for bonbons, and for puddings, comes out of a fruit shaped like a large red cucumber. This fruit grows on a tender bush, which must be shaded by a thick banana palm. In each fruit are twenty of these seeds, or cocoa beans.
“They have hard skins, and are very bitter and stimulating. When eaten, they excite the heart, and thus make a person feel active and alive. ”

“ Cocoa and chocolate are made from the bean-like seeds of a small tree growing in the tropics and, in cake, or solid, form, contain considerable amounts of fat, and usually sugar and vanilla, which have been added to them to improve their flavor. As, however, only a teaspoonful or so of the powdered cocoa, or chocolate, goes to make a cupful, the actual food value of cocoa or chocolate, unless made with milk, is not much greater than that of tea or coffee with cream and sugar. ”

“ The cocoa shells and nibs, when prepared as a beverage, are not very valuable as a food, because only a small part of the cocoa is extracted in the boiling. The process of preparing the cocoa bean for the market is almost wholly mechanical, so that when you get your cocoa and chocolate from a trustworthy manufacturer you may be sure that you are using a perfectly pure article and one absolutely clean. ”

“ This country produces an abundance of coffee, and cacao, from which chocolate is made, and my eyes had never beheld such a variety of tropical fruits and in such profusion, as in winding along the banks of this little stream on horseback. The coffee plant; the cacao, which produces a sort of seed resembling a large bean; orange and lime trees filled with fruit; cocoa-nut trees loaded with fruit, falling in many instances without being gathered; bananas, which produce the staff of life in the absence of bread, and which, after yielding fruit, are cut down to spring up anew without culture ”

“ The cocoa-palms upon the islet, though far from having attained their full growth, (few of them exceeding twelve feet in height) , bore abundantly, and we easily procured as much of the fruit as we needed. Tearing off the outer husk, and punching a hole through the shell, which in the young nut is so soft that this can be done with the finger, we drank off the refreshing liquor with which it is filled; then breaking it open, the half-formed, jelly-like kernel, furnished a species of food most nutritious and agreeable, and probably the best adapted to our half-famished condition. ”

“ Another essential difference between cocoa and tea or coffee is that cocoa is, strictly speaking, a food. We do not merely make an infusion of the cacao bean, but eat it bodily in the form of a soup. It is highly nutritious, one of the most nutritious foods in common use. ”

“ Mode.—Put the cocoa into a breakfast-cup, pour over it sufficient cold milk to make it into a smooth paste; then add equal quantities of boiling milk and boiling water, and stir all well together. Care must be taken not to allow the milk to get burnt, as it will entirely spoil the flavour of the preparation. The above directions are usually given for making the prepared cocoa. The rock cocoa, or that bought in a solid piece, should be scraped, and made in the same manner, taking care to rub down all the lumps before the boiling liquid is added. ”

“ Indeed, the value of cocoa as food for ordinary mortals as well as for mythical beings cannot be better summed up than in the words of Professor Lankester, Superintendent of the Food Collections at South Kensington, who declares:
"It can hardly be regarded as a substitute for tea and coffee ”

“ Cocoa.—The consumption of cocoa is yearly increasing in this country. It is prepared from the seeds of the Theobroma Cacao, a tree grown in South America, Asia, and Africa. Chocolate was introduced into Europe by the Spaniards, whose national beverage it still is, and it reached England during the latter half of the seventeenth century. ”

“ Much of the cheap stuff sold as genuine cocoa is shamefully adulterated. Out of 68 samples of cocoa and chocolate examined by the ‘Lancet’ commission, 39 contained coloured earthy substances, as reddle, Venetian red, umber, &c. To some, chalk or plaster of Paris had been added, for the purpose of increasing the weight. Many of the samples consisted of sugar and starch, with only sufficient cocoa to impart a flavour. ”

“ Ingredients.—To 11⁄2 teaspoonfuls of prepared cocoa, allow 1⁄4 of a pint of milk, 1⁄4 of a pint of water.
Method.—Mix the cocoa smoothly with a little cold water, boil the remainder of the water and the milk, and pour these on to the blended cocoa, stirring well meanwhile. Rock cocoa should be broken into small pieces, and simmered gently for a few minutes in the milk and water. ”

“ Even in dangerous fevers the burning thirst of the sufferer can safely be assuaged by the frequent administration of small bits of ice. In cases of incomplete nutrition, cocoa, chocolate, and other preparations of the fruit of the cocoa-palm, are invaluable adjuncts; the active principle of all these is identical, and the chief nutritive element is oil. A very small quantity of cocoa will sustain life a long time. ”

“ Whilst Forster states that treated cocoa is the most digestible, experts are not in agreement as to which is the more valuable foodstuff, the pure untouched cocoa, or that which is treated during its manufacture with alkaline salts. ”

“ I have suggested cocoa as an alternative for tea, for I find that the latter, as it is generally brewed in camp, is intensely indigestible, and is apt to keep even a tired man awake at night. Cocoa, on the other hand, is refreshing, it is almost as effectual a ‘pick-me-up’ as a whisky and soda, and does very well in its place. For men who do not stop to lunch, cakes of chocolate or raisins are recommended, as being very portable and nutritious. ”

“ One per cent. of clay is sufficient to give a uniform colour, but occasionally considerably more than this is used. If we are to believe reports, deliberate adulteration is sometimes practised. Thus in How José formed his Cocoa Estate we read: "A cocoa dealer of our day to give a uniform colour to the miscellaneous brands he has purchased from Pedro, Dick, or Sammy will wash the beans in a heap, with a mixture of starch, sour oranges, gum arabic and red ochre. ”

“ Consolidated Nibs—i.e., cocoa-nibs ground between heated stones, whence it flows in a paste of the consistency of cream, which, when cool, hardens into a cake containing all the cocoa-butter. Cocoa in this form (mixed with sugar before cooling) is served in the British Navy—a somewhat wasteful and inconvenient practice, as when stirred, the excess of fat at once floats to the top of the cup, and is generally removed with a spoon, to make the drink more appetising.
3. Cocoa Essence.—This is the same article as No. ”

“ The quantity of matter removed by the hot water is so small, that close upon 90 per cent, of the nourishing and feeding constituents are left behind in the undissolved sediment, the substances extracted being principally salts and colouring matters. One can but suppose that the long habit of drinking an infusion from coffee-beans and tea-leaves has fixed in the mind the erroneous idea that the substance of the cocoa-bean is also valueless. ”

“ Nothing is more eloquent of the growing favour in which cocoa is held in this country, as its real value becomes more generally appreciated, than the remarkable progressive increase of the quantities imported during recent years, as will be seen from the table appended. ”

“ Assuming a pint of milk to be thus used the brew would produce eighteen pints at a cost of about 1s. per gallon. Good tea cannot be profitably sold for less than 1d, per cup.
Cocoa.—Many of the prepared cocoas contain farinaceous matter which renders them ill adapted for general use as a beverage, especially in warm weather, and often causes indigestion. Pure cocoa, however, is a valuable article of food, and it may be obtained in a convenient and soluble form under the name of 'extract,' 'essence,' or otherwise. ”

“ In health or sickness, infancy or age, at home or on our travels, nothing is so generally useful, so sustaining and invigorating. Far better than the majority of vaunted substitutes for human milk as an infant's food, to supplement what other milk may be available; incomparable as a family drink for breakfast or supper, when both tea and coffee are really out of place unless the latter is nearly all milk; prepared as chocolate to eat on journeys, and in many other ways, cocoa is a constant stand-by. ”

“ That it is as nutritious for old as well as young we have an interesting proof in the fact that the first Englishman born in Jamaica, Colonel Montague James, who lived to the age of 104, took scarcely any food but cocoa and chocolate for the last thirty years of his life. For athletes and all who desire the development of the muscular tissues, its use is most beneficial. ”

“ Our Cocoa and Chocolate Preparations are ABSOLUTELY PURE—free from coloring matter, chemical solvents, or adulterants of any kind, and are therefore in full conformity to the requirements of all National and State Pure Food Laws. ”

“ It is superseding the old method of boiling for hours the cracked cocoa nibs at a great cost of fuel and with far less satisfactory results both as to flavor and as to the nutritive qualities of the cocoa.
Cocoa and chocolate differ from tea and coffee because they hold in solution one of the most nutritious foods known to man; whereas tea and coffee are simply infusions, that is to say, hot water plus the flavor, and have no nutritive value whatever except so far as they are mixed with sugar and cream. ”

“ NF Cocoa forms a most healthful and nutritious food-beverage combining with pure Cocoa a portion of Cocoa Butter and Allinson Natural Food with all its additional nourishment. Nothing is more delicious or so capable of building up the body when run down or recovering from an illness, for it is perfectly digestible. ”

“ These kernels consist of gum, starch, and vegetable oil; and are marketed as cocoa shells, which are the husks of the kernel; cocoa nibs, which consist of the crushed nuts; and ground cocoa, which is the kernels ground fine.
Chocolate is the finely ground powder from the kernels, mixed to a stiff paste with sugar, and, sometimes, a little starch. It is very nutritious; when it is difficult to digest remove from its solution the oily cake which will collect upon the surface as it cools. It is so nutritious that a small cake of it, weighing about two ounces, will satisfy hunger ”