Last Saturday my wine group got together for a chocolate and wine pairing tasting. Never really thought about it (or just never really knew it) chocolate and wine have a great deal in common (history-wise and evolution-wise). What really amazed me was how similar the history of wine and history of chocolate are. The two stories seem to run parallel to each other. Both were “discovered” and probably by “accident”. (Man possibly discovered chocolate by mimicking what the monkeys did). At an early time both commodities were linked to a God or religion and “enjoyed” only by the “elite” of society. Winemakers and chocolatiers have a lot in common. Both deal with an agricultural product (chocolate does grow on trees); both processes involve a fermentation (yeast and bacteria).The only difference is that for chocolate you want the fermentation to go further along, you want to encourage the formation of acetic acid. The acetic acid is responsible for creating changes in the cocoa (or should I say cacao) beans itself (basically during fermentation the heat causes the bean to germinate (some do not) and chemical reactions occur within the bean creating the precursors to the aroma and flavor compounds we associate with chocolate (and basically the bean which starts off as a living viable seed dies). The drying and roasting process (which most likely was developed by “accident”) eliminates the alcohol and any “off-odors” produced during fermentation.
The “pulp and juice” of the pod which consists of 80-90% water; 10-15% sugar (fermentable sugar); .4% citric acid; and 1% pectin, with the assistance of yeast and bacteria is responsible for this fermentation. It was the pulp and juice that the monkeys and “early” man was after. The beans which are basically viable seeds are very bitter and astringent so they were just discarded (this is what nature intended). But somewhere along the way this pulp juice fermentation took place in the present of the beans, the “fermented” beans were than left maybe accidentally to dry and possible roasted- chocolate was “discovered”.
Over the years I have “eaten” a lot of chocolate (and have grown very fond of it) and in my own way have enjoyed it. But after this tasting I don’t think I ever really “tasted” chocolate. (Holding a small piece between your fingers, performing the “snap” test, placing a small piece in your mouth and letting it just “melt” and than swishing it around in your mouth). Just like wine there is a lot to think about when “tasting” chocolate. So for two to three hours having seven different chocolates in front of me with six different wines I was in heaven!
Salute