Cocoa and Chocolate

Chocolate:

the ground cocoa bean, generally in cake form, sweetened and un sweetened, flavored and unflavored, for cooking and eating.

The "white" appearance sometimes noted when cake chocolate has been kept in stock for a long time is not attributable to age—it probably indicates that it has at some time been exposed to excessive heat. When pure chocolate is subjected to a tem perature of 96 degrees or thereabouts, it begins to melt and allows part of the oil or butter to rise to the surface. When the temperature is lowered, so that the choco late again becomes solid, the outside of the cocoa will show a thin covering of congealed cocoa-butter, which being of a yellowish color looks "white" in contrast to the brown of the chocolate itself. It is also erroneous to suppose that this is an indication that the chocolate is of inferior quality or is injured for practical use, for if it should be melted again and poured into molds and cooled at the right tem perature it would resume its original color.

Powdered Chocolate:

sweetened chocolate of varying styles and compositions, sold in a pulverized condition.

Milk Chocolate:

a compound of milk powder and the ground cocoa bean, sweetened, flavored, etc.

Cocoa Nibs:

the cracked cocoa bean, without further treatment than the clearing of chaff, shells, etc. This is often recommended by physicians who wish their patients to receive the full nutriment of the cocoa bean, without the extraction of any of its oil and without the addition of any flavoring or sweetening ingredients. The beverage,

is prepared by steeping the nibs in boiling water, very much as for tea or coffee.

Cocoa Shells:

the shells separated from the cracked beans. They contain 'a very small percentage of the food properties, but quite a little 'of the flavor of the cocoa bean, and make a cheap and pleasant drink. They are usually bought as a matter of economy, but they are also popular among some well-to-do people of weak digestion:' Cocoa Butter: the fat or oil extracted from the cocoa bean. It has high com mercial value. The greater part of it is employed in confectionery, especially in covered candies, such as Chocolate Creams, but a considerable quantity is used in the druggist's trade—in the manufacture of toilet preparations, cosmetics, etc., and also in the natural form without change or addition whenever the requirements call for a pure fat that will melt at the temperature of the body and will retain its sweetness indefinitely.

Cocoa and chocolate and all allied products should be kept cool and dry to prevent deterioration.

In preparing cocoa or chocolate for the table, it should be remembered that the full flavor and most complete digestibility are only attainable by subjecting it to the boiling point for a few minutes. _Neither is properly cooked by having boiling milk or water poured over it—in that way you get all the "food value" into the stomach, it is true, but the same remark applies if you eat it raw—keep it boiling for a few minutes to enjoy it at its best.