Facts about the significance of the cacao plant in food
Quick Facts:
•In Latin America, there are two ways that cacao is used.
1)Pulp of the fruit is used to create a refreshing and frothy drink.
2)Beans of the plant used to make chocolate.
•Use of the seed pulp spreads as far north as Nicaragua.
The cacao plant was also used for food purposes. In Latin America today, there are two key ways that cacao is used by their people: the pulp of the fruit is used to create a refreshing and frothy drink with a citrus-like flavor, and the beans of the plant (throughout Central America and Mexico) are used to make chocolate. The use of the seed pulp spreads as far north as Nicaragua. There, a national beverage called pinolillo is still made today from the pulp of Theobroma bicolor. In the early times of the course of human civilization in Mesoamerica, a discovery was made: when the cacao seeds are fermented in their own pulp and then gently warmed and roasted, it creates a bitterness, which in large measures explains the soothing chocolate flavor we taste. These cacao seeds were crushed to make a bitter-tasting paste. Then, when mixed with water, chile peppers, vanilla and other various spices, it would be made into a revered beverage. Because of this, the cacao tree was considered a very sacred object in Mesoamerican Indian society.
•In Latin America, there are two ways that cacao is used.
1)Pulp of the fruit is used to create a refreshing and frothy drink.
2)Beans of the plant used to make chocolate.
•Use of the seed pulp spreads as far north as Nicaragua.
The cacao plant was also used for food purposes. In Latin America today, there are two key ways that cacao is used by their people: the pulp of the fruit is used to create a refreshing and frothy drink with a citrus-like flavor, and the beans of the plant (throughout Central America and Mexico) are used to make chocolate. The use of the seed pulp spreads as far north as Nicaragua. There, a national beverage called pinolillo is still made today from the pulp of Theobroma bicolor. In the early times of the course of human civilization in Mesoamerica, a discovery was made: when the cacao seeds are fermented in their own pulp and then gently warmed and roasted, it creates a bitterness, which in large measures explains the soothing chocolate flavor we taste. These cacao seeds were crushed to make a bitter-tasting paste. Then, when mixed with water, chile peppers, vanilla and other various spices, it would be made into a revered beverage. Because of this, the cacao tree was considered a very sacred object in Mesoamerican Indian society.
Cacao makes chocolate - a popular treat in our world today.
