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The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa (/ ˈ k oʊ. k oʊ /) or cacao (/ k ə ˈ k aʊ /), [1] is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao trees are native to the Amazon rainforest.
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring in other foods. The cacao tree has been used as a source of food for at least 5,300 years, starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador.
At doses of 0.8–1.5 g/day (50–100 g cocoa), sweating, trembling and severe headaches were noted, with limited mood effects found at 250 mg/day. [34] Also, chocolate may be a factor for heartburn in some people because theobromine may affect the esophageal sphincter muscle in a way that permits stomach acids to enter the esophagus. [35]
Cacao and cocoa both come from cacao beans and they can be used interchangeably in a recipe, but they offer different health benefits.
Cocoa nibs, more properly known as cacao nibs, come from the beans (or seeds) of the cacao tree. The fruit of the tree is the cacao pod; each pod contains about 20 to 50 cacao beans.
In addition to boosting your immune system and being a natural remedy for coughs, cacao helps to lower blood pressure, prevent strokes, promote overall heart health, aid in digestion, and build ...
While dark chocolate is popularly considered a health food, [43] only limited high-quality clinical research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of compounds found in cocoa on physiological outcomes, such as blood pressure, for which only small (1–2 mmHg) changes resulted from short-term, high consumption of chocolate up to 105 grams ...
Chocolate's quality is heavily impacted by the basic raw materials and various steps of its manufacturing process. Traditional chocolate-making steps include conching, tempering, emulsification, flavouring, fermentation, drying, roasting, and grinding cocoa seeds, which are then combined with materials such as cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, and, in certain cases, milk components. [2]