Biology:Outline of chocolate

Short description: Overview and topical guide to chocolate

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:

What is chocolate?

• Chocolate – raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to improve the flavour. Chocolate is a popular ingredient in confectionery items and candies.

What type of thing is chocolate?

Chocolate is a type of:

• Food – substance to provide nutritional support for the body, ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, and/or stimulate growth.
  • Confectionery – the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well.
    • Candy – confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavourings and colourants are added. Candies come in numerous colours and varieties and have a long history in popular culture.
  • Ingredient – substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Chocolate is often used as an ingredient in dessert items, such as cakes and cookies.

What is chocolate made of?

A cacao tree with fruit pods in various stages of ripening. Chocolate is created from the cacao bean.

Necessary ingredients

• • Chemistry:Cocoa butter – Pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean

Substances found in cacao

• Antioxidants – Compound that inhibits the oxidation of other molecules
  • Chemistry:Catechin – Type of natural phenol, antioxidant, and a plant secondary metabolite
  • Chemistry:Flavonols – Class of plant and fungus secondary metabolites
• Biology:Caffeine – Central nervous system stimulant
• Phenethylamine – psychoactive drug that is usually inactive when orally ingested because most of it is metabolized into phenylacetic acid by monoamine oxidase (MAO), preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain
• Theobromine – also known as xantheose, it contains no bromine and has a similar, but lesser, effect to caffeine
• Theophylline – methylxanthine drug found in tea leaves

Source of the cocoa bean

• Biology:Theobroma cacao, also known as Cacao tree – Species of tree grown for its cocoa beans
  • Forastero – 80% made with this tree group

Optional ingredients

• Chemistry:Caramel – Confectionery product made by heating sugars
• Biology:Lecithin – Generic term for amphiphilic substances of plant and animal origin
• Peanuts – Legume cultivated as a grain and oil crop
• Chemistry:Sugar – Sweet-tasting, water-soluble carbohydrates
• Biology:Vanilla – Spice extracted from orchids of the genus Vanilla

Types

• Unsweetened chocolate – pure chocolate liquor mixed with fat to produce a solid substance; also known as "bitter", "baking chocolate" and "cooking chocolate"

Producers and trade organizations

• Organization:Kuapa Kokoo – Fairtrade-certified cocoa farmers organisation in Ghana – a Ghanaian farmers' cooperative organisation

Edibles

• Brand names:
• Cereals
• Chocolates –
  • Engineering:Chocolate chip cookie – Drop cookie featuring chocolate chips
• Engineering:Ice cream – A frozen dessert

Drinks

A mug of hot chocolate. Chocolate was first drunk rather than eaten.

External links

• The Food of the Gods A Popular Account of Cocoa – Freely downloadable book from Project Gutenberg