A Chocolatey Quiz in 19 Questions

#1. Tracking chocolate’s ties to love takes some serious time travel. Who’s said to have consumed it as an aphrodisiac?

King Henry VIII of England

Montezuma II , the ninth Aztec ruler

U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant

Atahuallpa , the last Incan emperor

Montezuma II evidently drank gallons of it every day for both love and energy. And remember: This was before chocolate was sweetened. (Photo by Peggy Greb, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

#2. Whom should we thank for chocolate becoming sweet, and when did that happen?

Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes took chocolate to Europe when he returned from Mexico in the 16th century. Spaniards added ground almonds, cinnamon, and sugar.

European explorers, who took cacao plants and sugar cane back to that continent. There, what the plantings produced was combined.

Portugal’s Pedro Álvares Cabral, thought to be the first European to reach Brazil, returned home with cacao beans and sugar cane. The Portuguese eventually mixed sugar cane juice with chocolate.

Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba, the first European to visit Mexican territory in 1517, took cacao pods back to Spain. Spaniards added honey to sweeten the chocolate.

Gracias, Cortes. When he and his men met Montezuma II (depicted above), they knelt before the Aztec emperor. After Cortes brought the gift of chocolate back to Spain, folks creatively changed it from a bitter beverage to a sweet one with some natural additives. (Library of Congress, 1878 lithograph)

#3. What are some health benefits of dark chocolate or cocoa powder that hasn’t been Dutch processed?

Protects your cells with antioxidants

May drop blood pressure

Improves blood flow to vital organs

All of the above

The fats in dark chocolate and naturally acidic cocoa powder supply your body with antioxidants, raise blood flow to critical organs, and may lower blood pressure. While experts warn about eating too much chocolate, we note there are no daily guidelines … (Photo by Simon A. Eugster, no change, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

#4. Is there a difference between cacao (pronounced kuh-cow’) and cocoa?

There’s no difference.

Cacao is richer and smoother.

Cacao beans become cocoa beans after processing.

It’s a spelling thing, depending on where you live.

Processing makes the difference between cacao beans (before processing) and cocoa beans (after). These workers in Ecuador are shown harvesting cacao pods, processing’s first step, in stereoscope photos. Cacao comes from “cacahuatl,” a word from Mesoamerican peoples (possibly Aztec), via the Spanish. (Photo from Library of Congress, 1907)

#5. Dr. Pucciarelli researched chocolate’s uses and history in the U.S. as part of a grant. Among her discoveries:

A Revolutionary War-era doctor used it to treat smallpox, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition drank chocolate to feel better.

It was used to relieve the misery of childbirth and of gunshot wounds.

Confederate soldiers got small doses during the Civil War to ease the torment of many wounds except for stomach ones.

Puritans allowed the drinking of chocolate, in strict moderation, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

In Penn State University archives, Pucciarelli found writings from Revolutionary War-era Dr. Benjamin Rush, who described chocolate’s use as a treatment for smallpox. And explorer William Clark, the Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the West, wrote in 1808 about soothing a bad stomach: “I felt my Self very unwell and derected a little Chocolate which Mr. [Robert] McClellen gave us, prepared of which I drank about a pint and found great relief …” (Photo by Sebastian Koppehei, no change, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

#6. Who used cacao beans as currency?

Olmecs, who lived in what’s now southern Mexico from around 1200 to 400 BCE.

Aztecs, who lived in what’s now central Mexico from around 1200 to 1521.

Maya, who lived in what’s now the tropical lowlands of Guatemala from about 1800 BCE to about 900 CE.

Incans, whose empire from northern Ecuador to central Chile, lasted from the 12th century to 1572.

Aztecs thought cacao beans were more valuable than gold and used them as money, to reward the military for battle successes, in rituals, and at royal feasts. (Photo by Isai Symens, no change, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

#7. What’s the color of a ripe cacao pod?

Orange, green and pink

Yellow, brown and purple

Red, maroon and tan

All of the above

Depending on the type of cacao, ripe pods can be brown, green, maroon, orange, pink, purple, red, tan or yellow. Some pods are multicolored. Sadly, we lost blue. In the Amazon rainforest in 2000, scientists found rare blue cacao pods, according to Heirloom Cacao Preservation. On their return the next season, they discovered the trees had been cut down to expand grazing pastures for cattle. (Photo be pierivb via iStock)

#8. What’s the minimum number of steps in processing cacao beans?

12

14

8

10

On a plantation near Port Limon, Costa Rica, beans and pulp are separated from inside cacao pods in the foreground (part of fermenting the beans), while other workers check the drying fermented beans. For those of us who love chocolate a bit too much, it’s appropriate that processing is (gotta say this) a 12-step program: (1) harvest pods; (2) ferment beans; (3) dry beans in the sun and rake so they don’t get sunburned; (4) sort by size; (5) roast to add taste; (6) winnow, or crack outer shell and discard; (7) grind nibs into a paste; (8) press paste to separate butter from nonalcoholic chocolate liquor; (9) add sugar, other ingredients; (10) conch (refine particles to less than 20% the width of a human hair) and temper (changes sugar crystals’ chemical structure); (11) mold chocolate; (12) package for distribution. (Photo from Library of Congress, 1904)

#9. What country produced the most cacao beans in 2018-19?

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Ecuador

All of them tied

Ivory Coast harvested 2,150 metric tons of cacao beans in 2018-19. Ghana was second with 900 metric tons. Ecuador brought in 298 metric tons, and Cameroon produced 250 metric tons. A metric ton weighs just a speck under 2,205 pounds. In Ivory Coast’s official language, as a former French colony, merci. (Photo by orenzoT81 via iStock)

#10. Where did the U.S. rank in 2017 worldwide per-capita chocolate consumption?

We're No. 1

Eighth

19th

23rd

The U.S. was No. 19 out of the top 24 countries, averaging 9.7 pounds of yumminess per person. Switzerland was the chocolate champ of the universe, with an average of 19.4 pounds of the divine treat melting in the mouth of each Swiss resident. America’s even behind Norway, which has fewer residents than Indiana, and almost a full pound per person in back of Russia. (Photo by Dennis Wong, Hong Kong, no change, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

#11. Periodic chocolate scarcity concerns — tied to climate change, destructive diseases, and pests — have spurred what effort?

Two companies that own major chocolate brands are helping farmers in several nations learn to grow cacao more efficiently.

A chocolate maker pledged $500 million through 2030 for training and resources to help farmers protect the global cacao supply.

One company helping growers to increase their cacao yields says it aims to buy only from participating farms by 2025.

All of the above

In Uruçuca, Brazil, local farmers discuss low bean yields with Martin Aitkin (right) of Mars, Inc. Before widespread problems from diseases such as witches’-broom and pests, this 40-by-80-foot drying platform would have been covered with harvested cacao beans. Major chocolate makers are helping cacao growers harvest more cacao pods, and by 2025, one company wants to do business only with farmers working to harvest more pods. (Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

#12. Where do cacao pods grow?

Under the cacao tree

At the tree’s base

On the tree's trunk and branches

On the tree's base and trunk

A cacao tree grows in Bahia, Brazil. Unlike other fruit-bearing trees, trunks have a big role in growing and supporting the cacao pods that survive until harvesting. (Photo by Lyndel Meinhardt, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

#13. In the 19th century, African slaves taken to the Caribbean and islands off Africa’s west coast produced most cacao. During the next century, demand rose as the public joined the elite in savoring chocolate, and much production shifted to Africa’s west coast. What’s a major concern tied to this change?

The environmental effects of taking native crops out of production

The pocketing of profits by some officials, which harms their countries

The lack of full effectiveness of major chocolate companies partnering with African nations to reduce child labor

Planting non-native crops and the related agricultural issues

Despite efforts to address the human rights issue, up to 2 million child workers, plus indentured laborers, are used in this dangerous environment.

#14. How can you tell when a cacao pod is ripe?

Shake it or scratch it.

Shake it or feel how heavy it is.

Thump it or scratch it.

Feel how heavy it is or thump it.

If you shake the pod, and you feel its innards moving around a bit, chances are it’s ripe because the beans and pulp have likely separated a bit from the husk. If it feels or sounds like a sloshy can of soup, it’s probably overripe. And if it feels solid, it’s not close to ready. You also can scratch the pod’s thin outer layer with a fingernail or knife. See a pale mellow yellow or white? Score! (Photo by Narong Khueankaew via iStock)

#15. Disease and pests can destroy how much of a cacao crop?

20%-50%

30%-100%

25%-75%

10%

Diseases like witches’-broom on a cacao pod (left) can decimate from 30% to all of a crop. USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists, working with industry counterparts, discovered the fungus in 1999. Unfortunately, it still wreaks havoc on cacao trees. (Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

The black pod fungus that infects cacao pods (right) makes them rot on the tree during the last stages of ripening. (Photo by Christopher Saunders, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

#16. If Mesoamerica, the birthplace of chocolate, were still around, where would it be?

Mexico

Southern Texas and Mexico

Central America

A and C

Today, Mesoamerica would cover parts of Central America and Mexico, where indigenous cultures developed before Spain’s 16th century conquest. (Graphic by Alex Covarrubias)

#17. A pound of chocolate requires about how many cacao beans?

40

400

4,000

We lost count.

About 400 cacao beans help create a pound of chocolate. A cacao pod, which is about 5 inches wide and up to 14 inches long, holds about 20-60 beans enveloped in an edible, tangy, fruity, segmented white pulp. A cacao tree can produce up to 70 pods a year, so thank a cacao tree next time you see one for your sweetie’s pound of sweets. (Photo by Bernd, no change, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

#18. Growing cacao — the basic ingredient in the world’s favorite confection — is a livelihood for more than 6.5 million farmers in Africa, Asia, and South America. It’s also one of the world’s top 10 agricultural products. What big project is working to protect its future?

The Chocolate Project/Chocolate’s Future

Cacao Productivity Future

Cacao Genome Project/Cacao Genome Database

Cacao Genetics’ Project

As of August 2019, the Cacao Genome Project/Cacao Genome Database had mapped 92% of the cacao tree’s genome to make research more efficient and hasten the breeding process to create more disease- and pest-resistant trees. (Photo by Keith Weller, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

#19. What does the scientific name of cacao, Theobroma cacao, mean?

“Food of the gods” in Greek

“Gift from the earth” in Hebrew

“Food we love” in Latin

“Gift we love” in Arabic

The Greek genus and species name, which means “Food of the gods,” is courtesy of Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. He bequeathed the name in 1753. (Photo by dichohecho, no change, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

Results

#1. Tracking chocolate’s ties to love takes some serious time travel. Who’s said to have consumed it as an aphrodisiac?

#2. Whom should we thank for chocolate becoming sweet, and when did that happen?

#3. What are some health benefits of dark chocolate or cocoa powder that hasn’t been Dutch processed?

#4. Is there a difference between cacao (pronounced kuh-cow’) and cocoa?

#5. Dr. Pucciarelli researched chocolate’s uses and history in the U.S. as part of a grant. Among her discoveries:

#6. Who used cacao beans as currency?

#7. What’s the color of a ripe cacao pod?

#8. What’s the minimum number of steps in processing cacao beans?

#9. What country produced the most cacao beans in 2018-19?

#10. Where did the U.S. rank in 2017 worldwide per-capita chocolate consumption?

#11. Periodic chocolate scarcity concerns — tied to climate change, destructive diseases, and pests — have spurred what effort?

#12. Where do cacao pods grow?

#14. How can you tell when a cacao pod is ripe?

#15. Disease and pests can destroy how much of a cacao crop?

#16. If Mesoamerica, the birthplace of chocolate, were still around, where would it be?

#17. A pound of chocolate requires about how many cacao beans?

#18. Growing cacao — the basic ingredient in the world’s favorite confection — is a livelihood for more than 6.5 million farmers in Africa, Asia, and South America. It’s also one of the world’s top 10 agricultural products. What big project is working to protect its future?

#19. What does the scientific name of cacao, Theobroma cacao, mean?

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