and convert it into acetic acid.
Cacao pods contain many large seeds that are
covered with a sweet pulp. The seeds consist
mainly of the embryo’s tightly folded food-
storage cotyledons, which are speckled with
purple defensive cells rich in alkaloids and
astringent phenolic compounds.
Fermentation Transforms the Beans Cacao
fermentation is a fermentation of the pulp, not
the beans, but it transforms the beans as well.
The acetic acid produced by the vinegar
bacteria penetrates into the beans and etches
holes in cells as it does so, spilling the
contents of the cells together and allowing
them to react with each other. The astringent
phenolic substances mix with proteins,
oxygen, and each other, and form complexes