Chocolates(Sweets) :)

our new topic is Chocolates

Chocolate, preparation made from the fruit of the cacao tree and used as a flavoring and as an ingredient of beverages and various kinds of confectionery. Chocolate was brought to Europe by the Spaniards, who learned its use from the Aztecs at the time of the invasion by the Spanish adventurer Hernán Cortés in 1519 (see Aztec Empire). It was introduced into England about 1657.

Cocoa, common name for a powder derived from the fruit seeds of the cacao tree and for the beverage prepared by mixing the powder with milk. When cocoa is prepared, most of the cocoa butter is removed in the manufacturing process. After the fat is separated and the residue is ground, small percentages of various substances may be added, such as starch to prevent caking, or potassium bicarbonate to neutralize the natural acids and astringents and make the cocoa easy to dissolve in liquids. Cocoa has a high food value, containing as much as 20 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrate, and 40 percent fat. It is also mildly stimulating because of the presence of theobromine, an alkaloid that is closely related to caffeine.

The processing of the cacao seeds, better known as cocoa beans, is complex. The fruit harvest is cured or fermented in a pulpy state for three to nine days, during which the heat kills the seeds and turns them brown. The enzymes activated by fermentation impart the substances that will give the beans their characteristic chocolate flavor later during roasting. The beans are then dried in the sun and cleaned in special machines before they are roasted to bring out the chocolate flavor. They are then shelled in a crushing machine and ground into chocolate. During the grinding, the fat melts, producing a sticky liquid called chocolate liquor, which is used to make chocolate candy or is filtered to remove the fat and then cooled and ground to produce cocoa powder.

The beans are sold in international markets. African countries harvest about two-thirds of the total world output; Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon are the leading African cocoa producers. Most of the remainder comes from South American countries, chiefly Brazil and Ecuador. The crop is traded on international commodity futures markets. Attempts by producing countries to stabilize prices through international agreements have had little success.

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