230 The .Fermentation of Cacao 



Chemistry of Cacao. 



I shall confine myself principally to that 

 chemistry which is concerned with the fermen- 

 tation of cacao. 



Many analyses of wet cacao have been made 

 by Harrison, Bamber, Silva, and others, and 

 of cured cacao by Zipperer, Muter, and 

 Wanklyn ; the most noticeable point of their 

 tables is the extreme variations. Thus cacao 

 butter varies from below 40 per cent, to above 

 50 per cent, and all the other constituents 

 vary to much the same extent. The causes 

 of this are various, depending upon the variety 

 to be treated, the locality in which it is 

 grown, its cultivation, the nature of the season 

 (whether it has been wet or dry), the amount 

 of fermentation that has taken place, and the 

 degree of moisture present. 



Some of these factors are irremediable even 

 if it is desirable to produce a uniform cacao for 

 the markets. 



Fermentation takes place to its greatest 

 extent in relation to the saccharine pulp which 

 is adherent to and surrounds the testa of the 

 seeds, I have analysed a number of samples 

 of this obtained by straining fresh beans 

 through muslin ; they varied to a considerable 

 degree in composition. 



I have, therefore, given three columns : the 

 first is the minimum, the next is the maximum, 

 and the third the round figures which for 

 practical purposes can be taken as the 

 averages : 



