Cocoa
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Description
A flavored powder obtained from the roasted seed kernels of the Theobroma cacao tree native to tropical America. Cocoa powder is used for chocolate flavoring. The seeds also contain a high proportion of oils called cocoa butter (see Theobroma oil). The dried powder has also been used as a brown fabic dye, through extraction with boiling water.
Synonyms and Related Terms
Theobroma cacao; cacao; chocolate
Physical and Chemical Properties
- Tree height = 4-8m (13-26Ft)
- Unlobed leaves alternate; 10-40cm long and 2-10 cm broad
- Flowers are small; 1-2 cm
- Cocoa pods are ovoid 15-30 cm long and 8-10 cm wide; each pod contains 20-60 seeds
Resources and Citations
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
- The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 2522
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobroma_cacao (Accessed June 2020)