BEANS & PODS

CACAO – NOT YOUR AVERAGE CHOCOLATE 

Remember back in March when I visited Oaxaca and came back singing the praises of chocolate/cacao (and other Mexican beverages)? I think I even mentioned eventually discussing its sacred uses.  Well, last month I was invited to participate in a class on the processing of cacao to create yummy, healthy superfood drinks and candies. 

I met Nora Maldonado 4 years ago at a festival here in Ajijic when she participated in an indigenous dance as part of the celebration. It was obvious that she was totally absorbed in what she was doing so when I saw her later that day I complimented her on her performance. That’s when I learned that in addition to the rituals of dancing she is also totally absorbed in the study, presentation and sale of cacao – what most of us call “chocolate”.

From Nora’s class I learned that she had been working in Guadalajara in a large business when she had the opportunity to help a friend sell chocolate at a local event. She did it, loved it, and soon there was no looking back. Now, in addition to her family, Nora is all about cacao. She continues to expand as she is able with two young children and has future plans for educational tours in areas where Mexican cacao is grown. But for now her work includes managing her brilliant blue-faced shop where she sells food and cacao drinks as well as take-home items, selling her products at the local (and very popular) Tuesday organic market and providing educational opportunities. Recently my classmate Annabelle, who is bilingual (at the least), sometimes joins Nora and her staff in the shop to help educate and answer questions for people seeking more information about cacao and its uses.

The class was held in the grassy area just behind her shop. I’m proud to say that I was the oldest, and also the only gringo in the group of 6 though luckily not the only English speaker.  I’d love to see other expats join in but I must admit that my trips to Oaxaca are what peaked my interest in chocolate – it is so prevalent there – while others who go there may be drawn to different things. Meanwhile, I’ll help spread the word.

The origin of the cacao tree was in the Amazon basin but now there are plantations in Africa (cheaper variety) as well as the tropical forest areas in other countries, including the states of Chiapas and Tabasco in México.  The conditions that the forest provides – including allowing the smaller cacao trees to grow under the taller trees – help prevent disease and enhance flavor. Oddly enough, the football shaped pods grow from a short stem attached to the trunks of the trees. Though they come in a variety of colors, in México they are primarily pale yellow. The original thinking was that the Aztecs brought us cacao, but research shows that it was actually the Maya who brought us not only the beans but also the word “cacao” and how to use it. Though 90% was used for drinking (often as thin porridges and gruels which provided quick, easy calories), the seeds/beans were also used as currency as evidenced by storage of millions of beans in the storehouses of the wealthy.

The Maya and Aztecs considered cacao a superfood. It still is, providing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as well as being a vasodilator, stimulant and diuretic. “Commoners” were not allowed the use of cacao for decades. But for soldiers, officials, and the wealthy this superfood was part of daily life.

Artisanal chocolate is very laborious and time consuming so don’t be surprised when your little package costs 2-3 times what you’d expected. After collecting the pods from the trees, they can be cut lengthwise or crosswise to give access to the beans. The pods will not open on their own. Once opened you can see that 30-40 beans are enmeshed in a web of slightly sweet white fibers high in fructose. By the way, fresh pods do not rattle. If the pod rattles your beans are not fresh. Don’t bother. After the beans are separated from the sweet white fibers they must then be fermented to kill germs and enhance the flavor. This involves spreading them in boxes that are raised slightly on “legs” so that the acidic alcohol can drain off , covering them with banana leaves or reeds and leaving them for 4-10 days (depending on climate), rotating or mixing them frequently. The beans are then laid out on boards and dried in the sun or over a low fire (again depending on climate) for 5-10 days. By the way, cocoa butter is the fat rendered from the fermentation process and is used primarily for cosmetic purposes.

Next comes roasting over a low, hot fire. Carefully, to avoid burning. The familiar chocolate smell just barely begins to rise into the air during roasting. Once roasted the thin papery covering is rubbed off – blister time! -and the beans (the broken pieces are called “nibs”) are ready for grinding.

In Oaxaca I visited a chocolate store with oversized hand-cranked machines used to grind large quantities of beans. Smaller versions are more practical for home and shop use, but there’s nothing like watching the big ones turn out mass quantities of paste. The 3rd grind is the charm for the small grinders when the familiar odor of chocolate fills the air.

After the grinding Nora passed out sheets of red and white checked wax paper and loaded us all with dollops of the ground cacao along with ingredients to add at our discretion…white or brown sugar, cinnamon, chili powder (YES!), cardamom, dried cranberries and nuts. We worked quickly to mix in what we wanted then shaped our creations into bars. The shaped bars stood oily on the paper for hours but once home and refrigerated they looked like your average dark chocolate crunchy bar. Well, not exactly, but boy oh boy! They did NOT taste like it! I thought I’d added too much sugar but you could barely taste it. The bitter flavor of true cacao was definitely prevalent. And like the Maya, I treated it like gold, eating only tiny bites now and then, savoring the strong taste and lamenting the disappearance of the last bite.

There are a generous number of websites about cacao. And if you really want the deep details, check out THE TRUE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE by Sophie D. Coe & Michael D. Coe. Thank goodness Nora loaned me her English version.

Thanks to Nora, her sweet daughter Anandi & all my classmates. It was a blast!