We explain what cocoa is, its origin and the history of this famous tree. Also, its properties and its relationship with chocolate.
What is cocoa?
cocoa is an american tree of Amazonian origin also known as cocoa growersince cocoa normally refers to the fruit that said tree produces, or even to the product of the drying and fermentation of the seeds of said fruit.
It is an evergreen tree, always in flower, which requires hot and humid climates. It usually measures around 7 meters if it is cultivated and above 20 in nature.
The fruit of the cocoa tree, called “cob”, is a large, oval, fleshy berry, whose color tends from yellow to purple, and about 30 cm long. Inside each cocoa pod there are between 30 and 40 seeds, embedded in a pulp. The fruit It can weigh about 450 grams when mature something that begins to happen after four or five years of the tree's life.
Generally, there are two cocoa harvests per year: one towards the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season, and another at the beginning of the next rainy season. Note that we are referring to tropical climates without seasons. Each harvest takes between five to six months.
Cocoa is native to America and is commonly found in the territories of Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Trinidad and Tobago, but also in the hot areas of Mexico and on the African continent, in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon , Nigeria, Togo, Republic of Congo and Ghana, as well as in the Asian jungle of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Currently there are three main varieties of cocoa: Criollo (mainly Caribbean and Central American), Forastero (Amazonian, but mostly grown in Africa) and Trinitario (hybrid). At least ten modern cocoa families are grouped around these three names.
See also: Mixtec culture
History and origin of cocoa
The cocoa is of jungle origin probably Amazonian. It is thought that the ancient Mesoamerican settlers, 5,000 years ago, would have found it and transported it to the current Mexican territory, since evidence of its ritual use by the Olmec culture was found 3,500 years ago.
In fact, many theories about its origin are derived from its name, which could come from the Mayan cocoatlderived from classical Mayan kakaw(a).
In fact, there is abundant documentation about the taste for cocoa-based drinks in Mayan cultures, especially the elite. In fact Cocoa infusions were left in the tombs of the Mayan kings.
It is also known that the Aztec Empire valued cocoa and In some pre-Columbian cultures it was used as currency.
Europeans learned about cocoa after the conquest and colonization of America, and for the first time they included sugar in cocoa drinks to adapt them to their palate, unaccustomed to the bitterness of the fruit.
Cocoa properties
A cocoa bean contains a huge amount of nutrients such as proteins (11.5%), starches (7.5%), tannins (6%), water (5%), salts and trace elements (2.6%), organic acids (2%), theobromine (1 .2%), caffeine (0.2%), among others.
It has a moderate stimulating effect (due to theobromine) and provides the amino acids for the composition of serotonin (troptophan). cocoa can be toxic to dogs and cats.
Cocoa seeds and leaves are used in traditional medicine to cure various ailments, such as asthma, diarrhea, weakness, parasitism, pneumonia, colic, cough, etc.
The oil extracted from its seed, on the other hand, known as cocoa butter, it's a usual topical remedy to treat wounds rashes, dry or brittle lips, skin conditions and even malaria and rheumatism.
At the same time, cocoa consumption can trigger gastrointestinal effects and is associated with the incidence of migraines.
Cocoa and chocolate
The most common product made with cocoa is chocolate (from the Nahuatl xocoltotl), made in a mixture of sugar, cocoa mass and cocoa butter, to which other ingredients are added to the taste of the baker (milk, nuts, etc.), since this preparation is traditionally sweet.
Chocolate is currently consumed in a huge variety of presentations: in bars, powder, as drinks, etc.
Its preparation is culturally considered its own in various places in Europe, where it arrived after the colonization of America and where it took advantage of the culinary tradition.
