THE HOUSE OF WALTER BAKER &- CO. 5 1 



the original cacao-seed was of poor quality. The uninformed person 

 naturally thinks that the deeper shade means strength. This it never 

 means. The black color simply shows that the manufacturer has seen 

 fit to employ harmful alkaline additions at some stage of the process, 

 or perhaps has preferred to color his goods artificially with coal-tar 

 dyes or with the less injurious lampblack. It may be said, once for 

 all, that black cacao-products must be looked upon with suspicion. 

 They contain foreign matters or else they have been maltreated by 

 chemicals during manufacture. Pure products of the cacao-seed pre- 

 serve their fine delicacy of flavor from start to finish : black products 

 are impure. Discriminating purchasers know this and recognize the 

 fine reddish-brown as characteristic of a pure product, while it is only 

 among those who do not give proper attention to the matter that a 

 market can be found for the cacaos and chocolates to which alkalies, 

 coal-tar dyes, or lampblack have given an unwholesome darkness. 



There are few articles in common use where so simple a test for 

 purity exists. 



A well-known medical expert has said: "The recent tendency to 

 interfere with the natural properties and constituents of such a valuable 

 food as cocoa is deeply to be deplored. The removal of the fiber and 

 the excess of fat is all that is necessary to produce the most perfect food 

 beverage known to physiologists, and the best cocoa from the dietetic 

 standpoint is undoubtedly that which is perfectly pure without addition 

 of any kind whatsoever. Some manufacturers add starch or sugar in 

 the mistaken idea that starch properly replaces the fat removed. But 

 in no case can starch take the place of fat in a food, and the result is 

 simply to lower the flesh-forming qualities of the cocoa so treated. 

 Starched cocoa is really a poor food, and should be avoided by all who 

 wish to get the most nutriment at the lowest cost in the form of pure 

 cocoa. Malted cocoa, so much in vogue lately, is merely a fad, and 

 has no actual food value over the plain article. The malt is added 

 because it contains a ferment termed ' diastase,' which has the power 



