CACAO, kit-kn'6 or kfi'kA, or COCOA, kVia( (Sp.. from files. coca nail, coca-tree). The differ ent kinds of cacao either consist of, or are pre pared from, the seeds of trees of the genus Theo broma ((1k.. 'food of the which contains a number of species. trees of moderate size with large. leaves and clustered flowers, all natives of the tropical parts of .\me•ica. By tar the most important species of this genus is Theo broma earao. It should not be confounded with the cocoa-tree. from which we get the or with the shrub Erythroxylon coca, from which the alkaloid cocaine is obtained. It is exten sively cultivated in tropical America and the West Indic.. and its cultivation has been intro duced into some parts Of Asia and Africa. It requires a deep, rich soil, heat, and moisture, for the most favorable growth. Sheltered valleys, free from hard Winds. are desirable, and shade from other tall-growing. spreading trees is neces sary. It generally rises with a bare stem 6 or 7 feet, dividing into many brandies. and attaining a height of only 16 or 20 feet altogether, al though it is sometimes twice that height. The fruit is somewhat like a cucumber in shape. and is 6 or S inches long, yellow, and red on the side next the sun: the rind is thick and warty, the pulp sweetish and not unpleasant; the seeds are numerous. compressed. and not unlike almonds, with a thin, pale, reddish-brown, fragile skin or shell, covering a dark-brown, oily, aromatic, bit ter kernel, which consists mostly of the wrinkled cotyledons. These seeds are the cacao-beaus of commerce. The cacao-tree produces larger seeds in cultivation than in a wild state. The tree bears in four or five years, attains its full vigor and productiveness in twelve years, and generally yields two principal crops in the year. When gathered. the fruit is subjected to four to seven days' fermentation in earthen vessels, or in heaps on the ground, or it is buried for a while in the earth, till the pulp becomes rotten. The latter method is said to produce the best cacao ('earthed cacao,' or cacao tcrrc). The fermen tation is induced by an unorganized ferment in herent in the pod, and upon the proper handling of the beau during this period largely depends the quality of the product. After fermentation,
the beans are bulled and are carefully dried under uniform conditions of heat and moisture. The average yield per tree under favorable con ditions will reach 7 pounds annually of cured cacao. Usually, however, the yield is from • to 3 pounds per tree, or 400 to 600 pounds per acre.
In manufacturing cacao, the seeds are screened, roasted, and decorticated, the kernel being known as cocoa-nibs. The hulls make a cheap substi tute known as miscrabilc. About two-thirds of the fat is removed and placed on time market in cakes known as cocoa butter, and is thus used for emollients, pessaries. etc. The residue of the cacao-nibs is ground. _boxed, and sold as 'cocoa,' or is pressed into cakes after being sweetened and is known as 'chocolate.' Cacao is very nutritious. The principal con stituent of cacao-beans is the soft, solid oil which forms more than 50 per cent. of the whole shelled bean, about 22 per cent. being starch, gum. muci lage, etc.. and 17 per cent. being gluten and albumen. They contain also a crystallizable principle called theobromine (see TIIEOBROMINE: CAFFEINE). The following figures show the aver age of analyses of cocoa and chocolate bought in open market : Xine-tenths of cocoa is assimilated in the sys tem. For dietetic use, cocoa is prepared in sev eral ways. It is made into chocolate (q.v.) : it is eaten in the solid state in the form of cakes and bonbons, or is scraped down and treated with boiling Water or milk. When cacao-nibs are infused with water like coffee, they yield a highly palatable beverage, which is much lighter than any other infusion of cacao. The large quantity of oily matter present in the bean tends to make the various infusions thick and heavy, so that they (hi not agree with some delicate stomachs. The animal consumption of cacao is upward of 100,000.000 pounds. Au infusion of the broken and roasted shells of cacao-beans is sometimes used in the same way as tea or coffee. The pulp of the fruit is eaten in the countries in which time tree grows, and a kind of spirit is obtained from it by fermentation and distilla tion. For illustration, see BEVERAGE PLANTS.