Chocolate Facts II
Chocolate Facts II
2. Cacao leaves can move 90 degrees, from horizontal to vertical, to get sun and to protect younger leaves.
3. Some cacao trees are more than 200 years old, but most give marketable cocoa beans for only the first 25 years.
4. The average size of a cocoa farm in West Africa is 7 to 10 acres.
5. Rudolph Lindt designed the first conching machine, its bed curved like a conch shell.
6. Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his print shop in Philadelphia.
7. The price of cocoa can fluctuate daily‐‐affecting farmers’ incomes.
8. Cacao beans were so valuable to early Mesoamericans that they were used as currency.
9. The average West African cocoa family has eight members.
10. An Indonesian cocoa farming community built a giant statue of hands holding a cocoa pod.
11. In addition to tending cacao trees, family members may harvest bananas or other fruit crops.
12. The ancients also fermented the pulp of the cacao pod to make other beverages.
13. In November, Germans celebrate St. Martin‐‐a knight who shared his cloak with a beggar‐‐with a lantern‐lit parade, sweets and steaming hot chocolate.
14. Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans.
15. Cacao percentage determines the amount of cocoa bean products by weight in a chocolate.
16. "Cacao" is how you say "cocoa" in Spanish.
17. Champagne and sparkling wines are too acidic to pair well with milk or dark chocolate. Try pairing bubbly with white chocolate and red wine with dark.
18. Some cocoa certification programs are modeled on success with a similar product‐‐coffee.
19. Chocolate can make dogs and cats ill‐‐meaning no tastings for your furry friend, and more for you.
20. A farmer must wait four to five years for a cacao tree to produce its first beans.
21. German chocolate cake was named for Sam German, who developed a sweet bar for Baker's Chocolate‐‐and was not from Germany.
22. Chocolate is America's favorite flavor. About half of all U.S. adults consistently rank chocolate as their favorite flavor for treats and sweets snacks. Berry flavors and vanilla are distant rivals, each garnering about 10 percent of votes.
23. U.S. chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the almonds produced in the United States and 25 percent of domestic peanuts.
24. The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature (98.6 degrees)--which is why it literally melts in your mouth.
25. Older children are significantly more likely to prefer chocolate than younger children.
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