time. At about an ounce/30 gm per day,
Switzerland’s per capita consumption is
nearly double that of the United States.
Making Chocolate
The transformation of the fresh cacao bean
into a finished chocolate is an intriguing
collaboration between the tremendous
potential of the natural world and human
ingenuity at finding nourishment and pleasure
in the most unpromising materials. Right out
of the pod, the bean is astringent, bitter, and
essentially aroma-less. Cacao farmers and
chocolate manufacturers develop its potential
in several distinct processing steps:
Farmers ferment the mass of beans and
pulp in order to generate the precursors
to chocolate flavor.
Manufacturers roast the fermented beans
to transform flavor precursors into