Outline of chocolate explained

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:

What is chocolate?

• Chocolate – raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree.^[1] The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to improve the flavour. Chocolate is a popular ingredient in confectionery items and candies.

What type of thing is chocolate?

Chocolate is a type of:

• Food – substance to provide nutritional support for the body, ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, and/or stimulate growth.
  • Confectionery – the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well.
    • Candy – confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavourings and colourants are added. Candies come in numerous colours and varieties and have a long history in popular culture.
  • Ingredient – substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Chocolate is often used as an ingredient in dessert items, such as cakes and cookies.

What is chocolate made of?

Necessary ingredients

Substances found in cacao

• • • • • • • Phenethylamine – psychoactive drug that is usually inactive when orally ingested because most of it is metabolized into phenylacetic acid by monoamine oxidase (MAO), preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain^{[2] [3]}
• Theobromine – also known as xantheose,^[4] it contains no bromine^[5] and has a similar, but lesser, effect to caffeine
• Theophylline – methylxanthine drug found in tea leaves

Source of cocoa

• • • Africa
      • • • • • • Asia

Optional ingredients

Producers and trade organizations

See also: Fairtrade labelling.

• • • – a Ghanaian cocoa processing company
  • – a Ghanaian farmers' cooperative organisation

Brands

• • • – a chocolate brand containing coffee and cola nut

Edibles

• Brand names:
  • • • • • • • • • • • Cereals
                        • Chocolate
        • Chocolate
          • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Chocolates –

Drinks

Other articles

• • – named for its colour, does not contain cocoa

External links

• Chocolate. 20. 259.
• The Food of the Gods A Popular Account of Cocoa – Freely downloadable book from Project Gutenberg

Notes and References

1. Web site: 9 January 1998 . Theobroma cacao . 17 April 2013 . Hort.purdue.edu.
2. Yang HY, Neff NH . November 1973 . Beta-phenylethylamine: a specific substrate for type B monoamine oxidase of brain . Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics . 187 . 2 . 365–71 . 0022-3565 . 4748552.
3. Suzuki O, Katsumata Y, Oya M . March 1981 . Oxidation of beta-phenylethylamine by both types of monoamine oxidase: examination of enzymes in brain and liver mitochondria of eight species . Journal of Neurochemistry . 36 . 3 . 1298–301 . 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1981.tb01734.x . 0022-3042 . 7205271. 36099388 .
4. Book: Malisoff, William Marias . Dictionary of Bio-Chemistry and Related Subjects . Philosophical Library . 1943 . 311, 530, 573 . B0006AQ0NU.
5. Book: Bennett . Alan Weinberg . The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug . Bonnie K. Bealer . Routledge, New York . 2002 . 0-415-92723-4 . registration.