52 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



Fermenting. 



I allow myself the pleasure of thinking that I am 

 causing some of my readers a little surprise when I 

 tell them that cacao is fermented, and that the fer- 

 mentation produces alcohol. As I mentioned above, 

 the cacao bean is covered with a fruity pulp. The bean 

 as it comes from the pod is moist, whilst the pulp is 

 full of juice. It would be impossible to convey it to 

 Europe in this condition ; it would decompose, and, 

 when it reached its destination, would be worthless. 

 In order that a product can be handled commercially 

 it is desirable to have it in such a condition that it does 

 not change, and thus with cacao it becomes necessary 

 to get rid of the pulp, and, whilst this may be done by 

 washing or simply by drying, experience has shown 

 that the finest and driest product is obtained when 

 the drying is preceded by fermentation. Just as broken 

 grapes will ferment, so will the fruity pulp of the cacao 

 bean. Present day fermentaries are simply convenient 

 places for storing the cacao whilst the process goes 

 on. In the process of fermentation, Dr. Chittenden 

 says the beans are "stewed in their own juice." 

 This may be expressed less picturesquely but more 

 accurately by saying the beans are warmed by the 

 heat of their own fermenting pulp, from which they 

 absorb liquid. 



In Trinidad the cacao which the girls have scooped 

 out into the baskets is emptied into larger baskets, 

 two of which are " crooked " on a mule's back, and 

 carried thus to the fermentary. In Surinam it is con- 

 veyed by boat, and in San Thome by trucks, which 

 run on Decauville railways. 



The period of fermentation and the receptacle to 

 hold the cacao vary from country to country. With 

 cacao of the criollo type only one or two days fermenta- 

 tion is required, and as a result, in Ecuador and Ceylon, 

 the cacao is simply put in heaps on a suitable floor. 

 In Trinidad and the majority of other cacao-producing 



