Cacao & Chocolate
With over 28 years of experience in the chocolate industry, FNI brings knowledge and technology ranging from cocoa genetics, seedlings and plant propagation, to fermentation, bean processing and tasting of the final product. While at The Hershey Company, Dr. Stuart was involved in development of cacao disease resistance, with the first efforts of sustainable production of cacao. In the late 1990s he was leader for the industry-wide efforts in West Africa to address farm labor of youth who could otherwise be in school. Beginning in 2005, he established and ran for eight years a center for health and nutrition.
FNI, LLC can provide services and/or informative lectures involving the following areas:
- Selection of cocoa beans suited to a particular use
- Product Development of chocolate products
- Lectures and education on topics as broad as:
* The origins and domestication of cacao
* The development of processing of cacao into the first chocolate
* Spread of cacao to Europe and its colonies
* Modern nutrition and health science of cocoa/chocolate
* Recent development of sustainable cocoa production systems
current science of chocolate and health
Dr. Stuart founded the Center for Health and Nutrition which analyzed commercial chocolates from the US marketplace, developed new methods to detect biologically active natural compounds in cacao, described the levels of bioactive compounds in cacao beans as they are processed to chocolate, worked on new products made with cocoa and performed human clinical trials with commercially available products. He has published papers on the subject, has patents on a new form of chocolate and provides lectures on the latest nutrition science of cocoa and chocolate.
archaeology of cacao in the americas
Cacao was first used in about 1500 BC by the Olmec people of what is now South Eastern Mexico. In fact, the Olmec gave cacao its name -- ca-Kaw-a. Cacao was adopted by the Mayan culture and eventually passed on to the Aztec culture. Cacao has a rich pre-European history.
ancient medicinal and cultural uses of cocoa
With the domestication of cacao, peoples of Meso-America placed an immense importance on cacao. Cacao is even part of the Mayan calendar. Descriptions of how cacao was used in ancient cultures of the Americas can be provided as lectures.
On-farm processing of cacao
Every day, millions of growers on small farms harvest cocoa beans from ripe cocoa pods. The pods are split open and their cocoa beans and pulp are removed. Beans are then allowed to naturally ferment for two to eight days. Beans are dried in the sun for 10 to 14 days. You see here dried beans being bagged prior to sale to a cocoa buyer. Farms in this region of Ivory Coast form community cooperatives that share the work of growing and processing the cocoa. The community also shares income from the sale of beans. Lectures can be provided that discuss the process and the economics of cocoa communites.
current efforts on sustainable production of cocoa
In the mid-1990s, the American Cocoa Research Institute sponsored what is believed to be the first modern cocoa sustainability programs in Indonesia and Central America. Dr. Stuart was part of these initial efforts which have led to cocoa with increased resistance to pests and disease. These efforts were consolidated into the operations of today's World Cocoa Foundation.
Cocoa Pod DEMONSTRATION
At first the cocoa pod looks strange until its structure can be compared to other berries such as pomegranate. The cocoa pod is actually a berry-like fruit. Farmers open the pod, harvesting both the seeds and their surrounding pulp. The pulp is full of sugars that help fuel a fermentation of the seed (cocoa beans). The demonstration includes expressing the pulp juice and tasting the juice. In cocoa growing regions, the pulp is often fermented separately to make a beer, a wine or vinegar.
chocolate tasting
Chocolates come in different forms. The most popular form is milk chocolate, which is the most common form of chocolate consumed around the world. Less common are the dark chocolates which come in a variety of strengths. Side-by-side taste comparisons are made of different milk chocolate and dark chocolates of differing percentages of cacao. An appreciation of the flavors and the pairing with wines can be made.