248 CACAO 



Citcao Cacao 



nibs, essence. 



Cacao buttet ..,,.. 50 parts 30 parts 



Albuminoid substances .... 16 „ 22 „ 

 Carbo-hydrates (sugar, starch, and digestible 



cellulose) 21 „ 30 „ 



Theobromine . . . . . . 1'5 „ 2 „ 



Salts 3-5 „ 5 „ 



Other constituents ..... 8 „ 11 „ 



100-0 1000 



Professor Church in " Food," gives the following analysis : 



Water 50 



Albuminoids ,,..,.,. 17'0 



Fat . "^^ 510 



Theobromine" . , , . . , . . 1"5 



Cacao red ,....,., 3'0 



Gum 10-9 



CeUulose 80 



Minerals .,.,.... 3'6 



100 



The Professor concludes that " Theobromine is the 

 active principle of cacao, and that taste and aroma are due 

 to an essential oil, and to tannin," and deems cacao a 

 milder and less stimulating beverage than either tea or 

 coffee. He also mentions four forms of preparation, in 

 which starch, flour, sugar, vanilla, bitter almonds, cinna- 

 mon, and other spices or flavouring substances are added 

 to cacao, in "soluble cocoa," "chocolate," "flake or 

 rock cocoa," and " pressed cocoa," for the making of which 

 a portion of the original fat of the cacao bean has to be 

 removed. He says : 



Most of the cacao consumed in Europe is prepared for use by admixture 

 with other substances or by removing part of the fat or " cacao butter." 

 Cacao-nibs, if simply ground, would yield a rich but heavy food but not a 

 beverage. It may indeed be shown that 100 parts of cacao-nibs contain heat- 

 givers equivalent to 132 parts of starch, while the flesh-formers present amount 

 to no less than 17 parts, the ratio of the latter being as 1 to 8, One pound 

 of cacao-nibs might, in fact, produce as much as 2J oz. of the dry nitrogenous 

 substance of muscle. 



This shows that one pound of cacao-nibs is more than 

 equal in flesh-forming constituents to one pound of lean 

 mutton chop, which is estimated to contain but 2 oz. of 

 the dry nitrogenous substance of muscle or flesh. But we 

 cannot eat or drink a pound of cacao-nibs at any one time. 



