Chocolate Is A Fruit?
March 15, 2022
Some say chocolate is a fruit. Others say it’s a vegetable… or a nut. But what is it exactly?
Most people know that chocolate comes from cocoa beans, and in turn, cocoa beans come from the cocoa pod.
Cacao is a tropical tree whose scientific name translates to “food of the gods” in Greek. Cacao pods grow from the trunk of the Theobroma cacao tree, which technically makes it a fruit-bearing tree. The seeds, which are the cocoa beans, are technically considered as nuts. These will then be processed into chocolate and cocoa powder.
So, it’s the nuts of the seed of a pod of the fruit of the tree. Wait, what?!
Cacao Pods as Fruits
Generally, a fruit is the edible portion of a plant and has seeds. Research says you can actually eat the fruit pulp of the Theobroma cacao pod; however, majority of us have only consumed the manufactured seed portion of it in the form of cocoa powder or chocolate.
Did you know that a cocoa tree grows flowers? In fact, it can grow up to 100,000 flowers in a year. These flowers will then turn into fruits or the cacao pods. The flowers grow on the trunk of the tree directly since cacao trees have relatively thin branches, and cacao pods are big and heavy. Pods can grow up to 12 inches with a weight of up to 1 pound per pod. Smart huh? However, the percentage of fruits that are naturally fertilized are only approximately 5% of the flowers or 20-70 fruits per year.
There’s also a reason why cocoa trees are mostly found in tropical countries. To be able to grow optimally, temperatures should be over 20° Celsius with uniform rainfall all year round.
When harvesting cacao fruits, the seeds are usually fermented and then left to dry under the sunlight. Dried seeds will then be manufactured by roasting and grinding them. Each pod can hold around 20-60 seeds or beans, while one pound of chocolate is equivalent to 400 seeds.
Cacao as a Super Fruit
Did you know that according to research, cacao seeds are considered a “super fruit”?
This is because of cocoa’s antioxidant capacity and content of naturally occurring compounds such as polyphenols which may be linked to potential health benefits. According to research, dark chocolate contains antioxidants called flavonoids, that are good for lowering blood pressure and inflammation in the body.
It also helps improve your body’s metabolism and nervous system. The secret to this is that an antioxidant epicatechin with just the right amount of B-complex vitamin and other minerals such as iron, selenium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and zinc, which are all good for your heart and blood pressure.
Cocoa also contains psychoactive ingredients which helps reduce symptoms of depression and it has phenolic acids, which work against inflammation and aging. Yes to youthful glow!
So, now we know chocolate is a fruit! But others still say it’s a vegetable… Whatever it is, I’m sure we can all agree that eating chocolate is good for us as long as we take it in moderation.
Time to munch on some fruits! 😉
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Very informative! Not many people think about where chocolate comes from and how it is made.