Almost five million tonnes of cocoa produced annually drives the US$100 billion global chocolate industry. To sustain the industry, cacao planting materials (seeds and clones) have been successfully moved from the Amazon forests in America to the humid tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and Australia. In more than 150 years of commercial cacao cultivation, smallholder farmers that supply the bulk of cocoa beans still face several production constraints that impede their efficiency. Scientific technologies have therefore been deployed to remove these constraints by ensuring a continuous supply of good quality cocoa beans to meet growing global demand. This book provides insight into these scientific advances to address these current and emerging problems and to assure the sustainability of the global cocoa industry.

The opening study in this compilation compares variations of the fatty acid profile from cocoa butter as a function of the harvest periods, extraction methods and roasting treatments. The cocoa butter extraction is performed using Soxhlet solvent extraction according to AOAC, 2000 and mechanical pressing following the procedure reported by Bernardini, 1981.Following this, the aroma compounds from fermented, dried and roasted beans from fine-flavored Criollo cocoas of Venezuela are studied. These compounds are associated with nice odoriferous notes.The authors also examine Cuban cacao, the closest relation to the original introduction in Cuba which is endangered by its progressive replacement by commercial clones.Additionally, the authors study some structural and physicochemical changes of cocoa beans fermented in plastic baskets covered with Musaceae leaves for five days in Barlovento, Miranda state, Venezuela.The origin of fine-flavored cocoa is discussed based on its requirements for optimal production of highly aromatic fruits as a function of growth requirements such as humid terrain, warm climate, recurrent rain and characteristic fauna and flora.The closing study focuses on control methods for cacao frosty pod rot, an aggressive disease responsible for great losses and the deterioration of raw material in Colombia for over two centuries.

Updated with new chapters on the environmental and geopolitical impact of cacao production and the latest health findings, a visual reference incorporates new photography and 30 original or revised recipes for chocolate foods ranging from the sweet to the savory.

The cacao (Theobroma cacao) plant is an important Neo-Tropical species whose natural habitat is the Amazon basin. Over the last 30 years there has been a considerable geographical expansion in the availability of cacao genetic resources. As a result the plant has a rich genetic diversity that exists at two levels: that of the primitive populations in the area of original distribution of the species, and that of the derived cultivated populations. This book provides a comprehensive review of our current knowledge of the diversity of the species. It starts by examining the diversity and inheritance of the characteristics of primitive populations in the Amazonian and Caribbean regions. It then looks at the evolution of diversity within cultivated populations first in South America and around the Caribbean, and then beyond the Americas. The book describes the inter-relationships between populations based on morphological and molecular markers. It also examines the conservation of genetic resources and how these genetic resources can be utilized to produce new cultivars.

Raw food is not just a diet. It is a revolutionary philosophy. The purpose of this book is to introduce you to the revolutionary philosophy of raw and living foods by pulling together all of the components, including, but not limited to, diet, into one place. The book provides you with information to make a conscious decision about whether you will, or perhaps already have, incorporated any of the raw and living food philosophy into your own philosophy of living.