Edible Products. 381 [Nov. 1906. 



you will get batter results than by keeping the mass closely packed together in a 

 deeper vessel. The close packing of the mass does not make it hotter ; on the con- 

 trary the more air reaches the mass, up to a certain limit, the hotter the cacao will 

 become. As prices stand at present you will not find it advisable to ferment for a 

 longer time, but on the other hand I cannot recommend you to shorten the time by 

 a single day as your cacao would then retain too much of its original bitter flavour." 

 This method is interesting, but whether it is largely adopted in Jamaica or else- 

 where is not quite clear. 



FERMENTING CACAO IN TRINIDAD. 



The fermenting of the cacao in Trinidad is, according to Preuss, carried out 

 on very much the same principle as in Surinam, though fermenting houses in the 

 former place are frequently only protected by a roof to keep the rain off the boxes. 

 Many methods are adopted in the island of Trinidad. One fermenting house 

 on La Reunion Plantation, Trinidad, consists of sixteen compartments each 

 1.5 metres high and about as broad, and 2 metres long. The walls are made 

 of wood, and between each two boxes and along the sides is a layer of clay 

 and dried grass, sometimes about 20 cm. thick, to act as a non-conductor of heat ; 

 each compartment is supplied with a lid. The boxes are filled to a depth of about 

 one metre with fresh wet cacao, covered with a layer of banana leaves and then 

 closed. One box is kept empty so that the seeds can be transferred at any time, and 

 the used boxes washed out every one or two days. The seeds are first fer- 

 mented for one or two days, after which they are transferred to an empty box and 

 fermented again for a similar period. The transference from box to box is made 

 every one or two days until fermentation is complete, eight days being generally 

 required for ordinary Forastero seeds and fourteen days for Calabacillo. 



In some districts the cacao is fermented in bags suspended in holes in the 

 earth, the contents being repeatedly kneaded without the sack being opened ; by 

 this means fermentation is said to be affected in about five days. 



Another method is that associated with Cradwick, which consists of using a 

 cask, perforated at the bottom to allow the liquid to escape ; the floor is covered 

 with a thick layer of dried banana leaves (25 cm. in thickness), and the walls are 

 covered with a layer of the same material. The wet seeds are placed in the cask and 

 then covered with banana leaves and allowed to ferment ; after they have fermented 

 for about two days, those in the upper part are taken out separately and subse- 

 quently returned first to the empty cask so as to be at the bottom during the 

 following days, and those which were previously at the bottom now occupy the 

 upper part. This operation is again repeated after two days' fermenting. This 

 method is said to be suitable for fermenting cacao from about one thousand fruits, 

 but if more are used an undesirable temperature may occur ; if the quantity is less, 

 more banana leaves are used and the cacao often weighted during fermentation. 



FERMENTATION IN AFRICA. 



The report* of one company operating in Africa states that in the preparation 

 of cacao very good results have been obtained by fermenting the cacao for six days, 

 the cured product having lost much of its bitter taste and secured a higher valuation. 

 The same persons also report that the washing of cacao, though it always gave them 

 a clear bright colour, has now been dispensed with, as by omitting this operation 

 they increase their weight of cacao by 8 to 10 per cent, 



In West Africa, according to Johnson, the old plan of preparing the beans 

 for market by simply drying them in the sun has been abandoned everywhere in 

 ^^meruiTL^nd-uiid Plautageii.aesellscliaf-ii, Hamburg, p. 581, Der Tropenflanzer, NoV. 1902- 



