Cocoa and Chocolate Part 15

[Ill.u.s.tration: COCOA AND CHOCOLATE DESPATCH DECK AT BOURNVILLE.]

It will be seen from the above a.n.a.lysis that the cacao bean is rich in fats, carbohydrates and protein, and that it contains small quant.i.ties of the two stimulants, theobromine and caffein. In the whole range of animal and vegetable foodstuffs there are only one or two which exceed it in energy-giving power. If expressed in quite another way, namely, as "food units," the value of the cacao bean stands equally high, as is shown by the following figures taken from Smetham's result published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 1914:

"FOOD UNITS."

Turnips 8 Carrots 12 Potatoes 26 Rice 102 Corn Flour 104 Wheat 106 Peas 113 Oatmeal 117 Coconut 159 Cacao Bean 183

These figures indicate the high food value of the raw material; we will now proceed to consider the various products which are obtained from it.

_Food Value of Cocoa._

AVERAGE COMPOSITION AND FUEL VALUE OF UNTREATED COCOA.

_Composition._ _Energy-giving power_ _Calories per lb._

Cacao b.u.t.ter 28.0 = 1,183 Protein 18.3 = 340 Cacao Starch 10.2 } = 718 Other Digestible Carbohydrates, etc. 28.4 } Stimulants {Theobromine 1.5 {Caffein 0.6 Mineral Matter 5.0 Crude Fibre 4.0 Moisture 4.0 ----- ----- 100.0 2,241 ----- -----

("Soluble" Cocoa, _i.e._, cocoa which has been treated with alkaline salts, is almost identical in composition, save that the mineral matter is about 7.5 per cent.).

As cocoa consists of the cacao bean with some of the b.u.t.ter extracted--a process which increases the percentage of the nitrogenous and carbohydrate const.i.tuents--it will be evident that the food value of cocoa powder is high, and that it is a concentrated foodstuff. In this respect it differs from tea and coffee, which have practically no food value; each of them, however, have special qualities of their own. Some of the claims made for these beverages are a little remarkable. The Emba.s.sy of the United Provinces in their address to the Emperor of China (Leyden, 1655), in mentioning the good properties of tea, wrote: "More especially it disintoxicates those that are fuddl'd, giving them new forces, and enabling them to go to it again." The Emba.s.sy do not state whether they speak from personal experience, but their admiration for tea is undoubted. Tea, coffee, and cocoa are amongst our blessings, each has its devotees, each has its peculiar delight: tea makes for cheerfulness, coffee makes for wit and wakefulness, and cocoa relieves the fatigued, and gives a comfortable feeling of satisfaction and stability. Of these three drinks cocoa alone can be considered as a food, and just as there are people whose digestion is deranged by tea, and some who sleep not a wink after drinking coffee, so there are some who find cocoa too feeding, especially in the summer-time. These sufferers from biliousness will think it curious that cocoa is habitually drunk in many hot climates, thus, in Spanish-speaking countries, it is the custom for the priest, after saying ma.s.s, to take a cup of chocolate. The pure cocoa powder is, as we saw above, a very rich foodstuff, but it must always be remembered that in a pint of cocoa only a small quant.i.ty, about half an ounce, is usually taken. In this connection the following comparison between tea, coffee and cocoa is not without interest. It is taken from the _Farmer's Bulletin_ 249, an official publication of the United States Department of Agriculture:

COMPARISON OF ENERGY-GIVING POWER OF A PINT OF TEA, COFFEE AND COCOA.

Fuel value Kind of Beverage Water Protein Fat Carbohydrates per lb.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- % % % % Calories _Tea_ (0.5 oz. to 1 pt. water) 99.5 0.2 0 0.6 15 _Coffee_ (1 oz. to 1 pt. water) 98.9 0.2 0 0.7 16 _Cocoa_ (0.5 oz. to 1 pt. water) 97.1 0.6 0.9 1.1 65

These figures place cocoa, as a food, head and shoulders above tea and coffee. The figures are for the beverages made without the addition of milk and sugar, both of which are almost invariably present. A pint of cocoa made with one-third milk, half an ounce of cocoa, and one ounce of sugar would have a fuel value of 320 calories, and is therefore equivalent in energy-giving power to a quarter of a pound of beef or four eggs.

Cocoa is stimulating, but its action is not so marked as that of tea or coffee, and hence it is more suitable for young children. Dr. Hutchison, an authority on dietetics, writes: "Tea and coffee are also harmful to the susceptible nervous system of the child, but cocoa, made with plenty of milk, may be allowed, though it should be regarded, like milk, as a food rather than a beverage properly so called."

_How to Make a Cup of Cocoa._

Tea, coffee and cocoa are all so easy to make that it is remarkable anyone should fail to prepare them perfectly. Whilst in France everyone can prepare coffee to perfection, and many fail in making a cup of tea, in England all are adepts in the art of tea-making, and many do not distinguish themselves in the preparation of coffee. Cocoa in either country is not always the delightful beverage it should be. The directions below, if carefully followed, will be found to give the character of cocoa its full expression. The princ.i.p.al conditions to observe are to avoid iron saucepans, to use boiling water or milk, to froth the cocoa before serving, and to serve steaming hot in thick cups.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The amount of cocoa required for two large breakfast cups, that is one pint, is as much as will go, when piled up, in a dessert spoon. Take then a heaped dessert-spoonful of pure cocoa and mix dry with one and a half times its bulk of fine sugar. Set this on one side whilst the boiling liquid is prepared. Mix one breakfast cup of water with one breakfast cup of milk, and raise to the boil in an enamelled saucepan.

Whilst this is proceeding, warm the jug which is to hold the cocoa, and transfer the dry sugar-cocoa mixture to it. Now pour in the boiling milk and water. Transfer back to saucepan and _boil_ for one minute.

Whisk vigorously for a quarter of a minute. Serve without delay.

_Digestibility of Cocoa._

We have noted above the high percentage of nutrients which cocoa contains, and the research conducted by J. Forster[1] shows that these nutrients are easily a.s.similated. Forster found that the fatty and mineral const.i.tuents of cocoa are both _completely_ digested, and the nitrogenous const.i.tuents are digested in the same proportion as in finest bread, and more completely than in bread of average quality. One very striking fact was revealed by his researches, namely, that the consumption of cocoa increases the digestive power for other foods which are taken at the same time, and that this increase is particularly evident with milk. Dr. R.O. Neumann[2] (who fed himself with cocoa preparations for over twelve weeks), whilst not agreeing with this conclusion, states that: "The consumption of cocoa from the point of view of health leaves nothing to be desired. The taking of large or small quant.i.ties of cocoa, either rich or poor in fat, with or without other food, gave rise to no digestive troubles during the 86 days which formed the duration of the experiments." He considers that cocoas containing a high percentage of cacao b.u.t.ter are preferable to those which contain low percentages, and that a 30 per cent. b.u.t.ter content meets all requirements. It is worthy of note that 28 to 30 per cent. is the quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter found in ordinary high-cla.s.s cocoas.

[1] _Hygienische Rundschau_, 1900, p. 305.

[2] _Die Bewertung des Kakaos als Nahrungs- und Genussmittel_, 1906.

As experts are liable to disagree, and it is almost possible to prove anything by a judicious selection from their writings, it may be well to give an extract from some modern text book as more nearly expressing the standard opinion of the times. In _Second Stage Hygiene_, by Mr. Ikin and Dr. Lyster, a text book written for the Board of Education Syllabus, we read, p. 96: "... in the better cocoas the greater part of the fat is removed by heat and pressure. In this form cocoa may be looked upon as almost an ideal food, as it contains proteids, fats, and carbohydrates in roughly the right proportions. Prepared with milk and sugar it forms a highly nutritious and valuable stimulating beverage."

_Stimulating Property of Cocoa._

The mild stimulating property which cocoa possesses is due to the presence of the two substances, theobromine and caffein. The presence of theobromine is peculiar to cocoa, but caffein is a stimulating principle which also occurs in tea and coffee. Whilst in the quant.i.ties in which they are present in cocoa (about 1.5 per cent. of theobromine and 0.6 per cent. of caffein) they act only as agreeable stimulants, in the pure condition, as white crystalline powders, they are powerful curative agents. Caffein is well known as a specific for nervous headaches, and as a heart stimulant and diuretic. Theobromine is similar in action, but has the advantage for certain cases, that it has much less effect on the central nervous system, and for this reason it is a very valuable medicine for sufferers from heart dropsy, and as a tonic for senile heart. That its medicinal properties are appreciated is shown by its price: during 1918 the retail price was about 8 shillings an ounce, from which we can calculate that every pound of cocoa contained nearly two shillingsworth of theobromine.

_"Soluble" Cocoa._

Whilst Forster states that treated cocoa is the most digestible, experts are not in agreement as to which is the more valuable foodstuff, the pure untouched cocoa, or that which is treated during its manufacture with alkaline salts. The cocoa so treated is generally described as "soluble," although its only claim to this name is that the mineral salts in the cocoa are rendered more soluble by the treatment. It is also sometimes incorrectly described as containing alkali, but actually no alkali is present in the cocoa either in a free state or as carbonate; the pota.s.sium exists "in the form of phosphates or combinations of organic acids, that is to say, in the ideal form in which these bodies occur in foods of animal and vegetable origin"

(Fritsch, _Fabrication du Chocolat_, p. 216).

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOXING CHOCOLATES.]

_Food Value of Chocolate._

I ate a little chocolate from my supply, well knowing the miraculous sustaining powers of the simple little block (from _Mr. Isaacs_, by F. Marion Crawford).

Whilst the food value of cocoa powder is very high the drink prepared from it can only be regarded as an accessory food, because it is usual to take the powder in small quant.i.ties--just as with beef-tea it is usual to take only a small portion of an ox in a tea-cup--but chocolate is often eaten in considerable quant.i.ties at a time, and must therefore be regarded as an important foodstuff, and not considered, as it frequently is considered, simply as a luxury.

The eating of cacao mixed with sugar dates from very early days, but it is only in recent times that it has become the princ.i.p.al sweetmeat. What would a "sweetshop" be to-day without chocolate, that summit of the confectioner's art, when the rich brown of chocolate is the predominant note in every confectioner's window? What would the lovers in England do without chocolates, which enable them to indulge their delight in giving that which is sure to be well received?

As a luxury it is universally appreciated, and because of this appreciation its value as a food is sometimes overlooked.

During the war chocolate was valued as a compact foodstuff, which is easily preserved. Dr. Gastineau Earle, lecturing for the Inst.i.tute of Hygiene in 1915 on "Food Factor in War," said: "Chocolate is a most valuable concentrated food, especially when other foods are not available; it is the chief const.i.tuent of the emergency ration." Its importance as a concentrated foodstuff was appreciated in the United States, for every "comfort kit" made up for the American soldiers fighting in the war contained a cake of sweet chocolate.

There are a number of records of people whose lives have been preserved by means of chocolate. One of the most recent was the case of Commander Stewart, who was torpedoed in H.M.S. "Cornwallis" in the Mediterranean in 1917. He happened to have in his cabin one of the boxes of chocolate presented to the Army and Navy in 1915 by the colonies of Trinidad, Grenada, and St. Lucia, who gave the cacao and paid English manufacturers to make it into chocolate. He had been treasuring the box as a souvenir, but being the only article of food available, he filled his pockets with the chocolate, which sustained him through many trying hours.[3]

[3] See _West India Committee Journal_, p. 55, 1917.

We have already seen the high food value of the cacao bean: what of the sugar which chocolate contains? Sugar is consumed in large quant.i.ties in England, the consumption per head amounting to 80-90 lbs. per year. It is well known as a giver of heat and energy, and Sir Ernest Shackleton reports that it proved a great life preserver and sustainer in Arctic regions. Our practical acquaintance with sugar commences at birth--milk containing about 5 per cent. of milk sugar--and when one considers the amazing activity of young children one understands their continuous demand for sugar. Dr. Hutchison, in his well-known _Food and the Principles of Dietetics_, says: "The craving for sweets which children show is, no doubt, the natural expression of a physiological need, but they should be taken with, and not between, meals. Chocolate is one of the most wholesome and nutritious forms of such sweets."

Both the const.i.tuents of chocolate being nourishing, it follows that chocolate itself has a high food value. This is proved by the figures given below.

As with cocoa, we have first to know the composition before we can calculate the food value. The relative proportions of nib, b.u.t.ter and sugar, vary considerably in ordinary chocolate, so that it is difficult to give an average composition: there are sticks of eating chocolate which contain as little as 24 per cent. of cacao b.u.t.ter, whilst chocolate used for covering contains about 36 per cent. of b.u.t.ter.

As modern high-cla.s.s eating chocolate contains about 31 per cent. of b.u.t.ter, we will take this for purposes of calculation: