 The creation of this confection is
tedious and time-consuming, and has both a sweet
and a bittersweet ending. Initially, skilled workers
cut ripe cacao bean pods from the cacao tree, split them open,
and scrape out the pulp contained inside. After
the mass of pulp ferments for a few days, workmen
spread it in the hot sun to dry, separate the dried seeds from
the remainder of the pulp, and bag them for shipment to the
market.
Once the bagged seeds arrive at their destination, the
manufacturer's processing mill, they are cleaned to remove
foreign material. Next, they are roasted, to loosen
their husks, which are then literally blown away in yet
another process. Finally, the inner  kernel of the seed is broken into
bits called "nibs." At this juncture, the road in the
chocolate making process forks, as what is done next
with the nibs determines the final product.
When the nibs are ground under heavy stone mills, the oil
within the nibs is released, and transforms the mass into
"chocolate liquor," a thick substance which, upon
hardening, produces the bitter chocolate used in recipes
for baking and for candy-making. The method of producing sweet
chocolate follows that of producing bitter chocolate, with
the addition of other substances, such as cocoa butter,
a fat.
Workmen obtain cocoa butter, a byproduct of the
cocoa making process, by grinding the nibs, and by separating
part of the fat from the resulting mass. Not only is cocoa
butter an essential ingredient in producing sweet chocolate,
but also in producing cosmetics and medicines. Once the
cocoa butter is extracted for its various uses, the remaining
mass is finely, and finally, ground to produce cocoa.
Cocoa, the drink, is the mother of all chocolate making.
The ancient Aztecs prepared the original version of
this beverage by crushing cacao beans, which they boiled with
water and various spices, seasoned with pepper, and served
cold.
Spanish explorers, who stumbled upon this potent
Aztec drink, stole the recipe, deleted the pepper from it, and
substituted an equal measure of sugar to the crushed cacao
beans and water before boiling it. The Spaniards successfully
squirreled away their new and improved drink recipe for
almost 100 years until, in the mid 17th century, a Frenchman
found sweet success by discovering the art of making solid
chocolate from finely ground cacao beans. |
tedious: 單調乏味的
time-consuming: 花費大量時間
bittersweet: 苦樂參半的
scrape: 挖
pulp:
果肉
ferments: 發酵
roasted: 烘干
husk:
外殼
kernel: 核
forks: 分岔
hardening: 硬化
addition: 添加物
byproduct: 副產品
cosmetics: 化妝品
Aztecs: 阿芝臺克人
potent: 功效強大的
squirrel: 貯藏
|
