In powder or in tablets, with milk, or bitter, with hazel nut, black or white, or to "cook"..the chocolate offers a various subtile flavours.

The chocolate is a part of our life was introduced in the XVII century by Anne d'Autriche, we believe, for her wedding with Louis XIII. Or, as certain says, it was brought by spanish jewish in Bayonne, where were settled the first factories for cacao treatment et where is now a small but entertaining chocolate museum..

FROM THE "CABOSSES" TO THE CACAO POWDER

The chocolate, is very good (in theory)... But what is it? The cacaoyer tree is from the sterculiacae family, and growed wild before in the Mexican tropical forests, where the Mayas and after the Azteques discoverd it and took it as a money and as a spiced beverage.

Nowadays we know two types :

-Criollo with long seeds ; best cacao, but small production.
-Forastero with longer seeds but have flavourless.
Crossing the two types give hybrids like Trinitario wich takes very importance in the world production.

The cacaos cultivated in Ecuador, Central America, Colombia and in Venezuela are generaly considered as the best of the best. The one from African West and Brasil are not so good. But the customer never know the origin of the cacao (as we can know for the coffee)

Let's get back to the cacaoyer : it produces, twice a year, hudge fruits, the "cabosses"(with 35 to 40 seeds). These seeds, will become cacao nib (Mayas money). Then the machine will do the job. The nibs are washed, shaked, sorted, torrefacted and pounded to obtain a cacao pasta. If you press it you'll obtain a cacao butter, the rest is called "tourteau of cacao" wich after treatment will give cacao powder.

With the cacao pasta, we can make all kinds of products, chocolate powder, cacao powdeR,breakfast, tablets, ...

SOME "CHOCOLATE " TIPS

To make chocolate melt, put it in a saucepan in the oven (just at the edge) or at "bain-marie"and do not shake before it is soft.

To substitute 100 grs tablet chocolate in a recipe, count 60 grs of cacao in powder and 40 grs sugar or 125 grs chocolate powder.

You can add coffee flavour in a chocolate desert to make it taste better.To perfume the chocolate, think at the orange liquors, at the kirsch, at the whisky, at the coffee liquor , at the rhum, at the Cognac or Armagnac.

To obtain chocolate chip (in the european way), take in one hand the tablet and a knife for vegetables in the other, then cut slice by slice along the edge.

To make a great hot chocolate, let boil a milk cup, sort out the fire, put a chocolate spoon,then put back on the soft fire and shake during four or five minutes. Put sugar and drink it very hot.

You can add some cinnamon with the hot chocolate, the first time you'll be surprised butafter you'll love it so much that you won't drink your hot chocolate without it.

Written by Catherine Thevenin
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