chocolate riches from the rainforest what is not to like about chocolate?
TRANSCRIPT
It is not surprising that there are so many chocolate goodies…
What IS surprising is the story of chocolate itself.
The seeds go through many changes on the way to becoming a candy bar, but it all starts in the
tropical rainforests…
•
The Cacao Tree needs…
20o C + temps
190 cm + rainfall
Shade
High Humidity
Special insect
pollinators - midges
If humans continue to cut down rainforests and destroy the
ecosystem there, we will no longer have
CHOCOLATE.
Yikes!
Mayan Hieroglyphics tell us…
• Cacao tree named for bitter seeds – caca
• Mayans drank a broth of the sweet pulp
Cacao for the rich
• In Mayan temples. Chocolate was served to kings and priests.
• Chocolate symbolized vitality and riches.
Aztec Hieroglyphics tell us…
• Cacao beans used for currency
• Aztecs did not grow their own cacao trees, but massed large “banks” of seeds from trading with neighbors to the south.
• Montezuma and his guards drank 2,000 pots of chocolate per day
Aztecs also revered chocolate
• Offerings of cacao were made to the gods
• When Cortez arrived, the Aztecs thought he was a god, so they gave
him chocolate.
Cacao for the Conquistadors?
• Received mixed reviews, but was a source of nutrition
• In Spanish, caca means….
• Taste some cocoa
Chocolate comes to Europe
• During the 1700’s, cocoa houses started popping up all over Europe.
• Now adding considerable amounts of sugar and other spices.
• Fashionable
Physical Properties
• Facts about a substance that can be observed mainly with the senses.
• Examples are color, texture, taste, phase, boiling point, and density.
Physical Changes
• When a substance changes form or shape.
• When a substance changes phase.
• Substance still has the same chemical identity.
Chemical Properties
• Facts that describe how a substance reacts with other substances.
• Sometimes these can be observed with the senses – eg. copper changing color after reacting with water.
Chemical Changes
• When two substances react with each other and form chemical bonds to become a NEW substance.
• Often occur because of added heat / energy
• Color change or change in smell usually indicate a chemical change.