The Dark Side of Chocolate Trivia Quiz

Answer: Circulatory system

The circulatory system ferries nutrients, blood cells, hormones and various other components to the cells in our bodies. This then enables them to stabilise the body so that it works to its maximum potential. It's an efficient conveyor belt in other words. Dark chocolate is said to be helpful in this regard. In limited amounts each week, it is also supposed to benefit the heart. It does this by helping fight the cholesterol that coats the walls of the arteries. Scientific research also indicates that it can help enhance our thinking abilities. Little Nurse Choccie to the rescue!

However, don't become too enthusiastic. Research also indicates chocolate can cause obesity at any age, and osteoporosis in older people. It also draws in a certain amount of lead from the environment during processing, and therefore some types of it have the potential to cause lead poisoning to a mild degree.

Answer: Bitter water

Dark chocolate is an acquired taste. It's rather intense to say the least. It's hardly surprising then that only small amounts of it per week are said to be a health benefit. Any more than that would probably fry your tonsils. Drinking it in its natural state as it was consumed back then, without all the benefits of today's flavour enhancers, would have been extremely challenging. The Mayans drank this beverage warm, but the hardier Aztecs tossed it back cold.

The seeds of the cacao tree have a very bitter taste and have to undergo a fermenting process before consumption. This process includes drying, cleaning and roasting the beans. Cacao beans have to be dried as quickly as possible to prevent the formation of mildew. Originally this was done by the simple method of spreading them outside in the sunshine, but now drying methods are more technological. The next step is de-shelling the seeds. This leaves the inner parts of the seeds which are known as nibs. These are ground up into a liquefied mass, and it was this that those hardy people drank. Today of course it's processed much further, with piles of sugar and milk added to sweeten up the flavour.

Answer: Offered them to the gods during sacred ceremonies

It was customary to offer the seeds up to the gods. During ceremonies to venerate these gods, it was also customary for those present to share drinks of chocolate as well. I wonder if the occasional victim or two, whose hearts were about to be ripped out, were also offered this genial courtesy? Such was the value placed on cacao seeds during this era that members of society had to pay them as a form of tax to their rulers.

The Aztecs also offered chocolate beverages to Xochiquetzal, their goddess of fertility. Today, of course, some chocolate enthusiasts insist that consuming chocolate produces the release of various pleasant chemicals into our systems that are akin to the feeling of being in love. Its impact is said to last four times longer than the happy feelings caused by kissing. That depends on who is doing the kissing of course. The consumption of chocolate is even said to act as an aphrodisiac, but don't swallow that one. This has yet to be verified by scientists.

Answer: Western Africa

It produces sixty-six percent of it in fact. Of this percentage, half is grown in the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. We are more familiar perhaps with the name of this area as that of the Ivory Coast. Perhaps a grateful world will rename it the Chocolate Coast one day.

The down side to this country's position as the world's major producer of cocoa is that child labour is utilised in its production.

Answer: Cocoa powder

That's intriguing. Cocoa powder also contains caffeine and theobromine, both of which are mostly absent from the other forms. The powdered form is also rich in flavonoids, which in turn have been linked to heart disease and stroke prevention. This is still hotly debated by health experts.

They do suggest however that a hot cocoa (using the powdered form) is perhaps more beneficial than cocoa butter. This is because cocoa butter is used to make goodies such as chocolate and biscuits. Sorry, ladies, put those Tim-Tams away and have a hot cocoa instead.

Answer: Yes

Cocoa butter is a vegetable fat obtained from the cacao bean. It looks revolting, but is edible. It tastes a little like chocolate and smells like it as well, and is used in the manufacture of various foodstuffs, toiletries and ointments. Some pharmaceuticals also contain this product.

It's a major component in the manufacture of white chocolate. Interestingly, cocoa butter contains fat that is considerably finer than other fats known to man. This is because the contents that make up this fat contain a product that prevents it from going sour for up to five years.

Answer: Caca was the Spanish word for faeces

This took place shortly after the conquest of these lands by the Spaniards, and from that period on, this drink became known as ocolatl. When this word was pronounced, it sounded like okola. This, pronounced by the Spaniards became chocolatl, and from that today we have - drum roll - chocolate. So, ladies and gentlemen, next time you're enjoying your hot cocoa drink, pause a moment to savour its aroma.

It's only chocolate.

Answer: Separation of sugar and fat

This is known as chocolate bloom. Apparently it is caused when chocolate hasn't been stored properly. The more chocolate is processed, the less nutritious it is for you. Raw cacao is the most nutritious form of all, but, quite frankly, it tastes disgusting. That is why sugar, milk, and goodness knows what else, have been added to this product to enhance its flavour to please our genteel taste buds.

It was the Dutch who first came up with a method to remove the bitter taste from chocolate. They also created the means by which cocoa butter was mechanically squeezed out of the raw mix in order to make solid chocolate bars out of the remainder. However, more cocoa butter is extracted today by using the Broma process. This is basically just hanging the ground up mass of the cacao beans in a bag in a room that has been heated. This then allows the cocoa butter to drip down into a container below at its own pace.

Answer: Making alcoholic drinks

The cunning little things. Chocolate with a beer chaser. This product was allowed to ferment until it reached the required taste. If it was anything like the taste of an early cacao chocolate, it probably was a lethal weapon. Such was the value of the cacao seed in this part of the world, that it was also used as currency. Now we know why - to make hooch. In fact I'm beginning to think that those early sacrificial ceremonies were really a form of mercy killing to put alcoholic Aztecs out of their misery. An indication of the currency rate of chocolate from Aztec times is that the price of one turkey was 100 cacao seeds.

When the Spaniards who conquered these lands discovered this new chocolate drink, such was their desire for it that they enslaved the locals to produce the seed in great numbers. When it subsequently took off back in Spain itself, they enslaved African people to grow it there as well. Oh yes, dark chocolate definitely has a dark side.

Answer: Chili pepper

Oh my goodness, these people must have had cast iron stomachs. They also tossed in a bit of vanilla as well on the odd occasion, and a seed known as achiote. This has a flavour similar to saffron. All up, the drink was considered to be very helpful in fighting tiredness. The theobromine content of the cacao seed has mood enhancing properties, so perhaps they weren't any less tired from drinking it, but they felt good about their weariness. It was also believed that drinking this dark frothy drink was an excellent cure for diarrhoea. With that added association, it's no wonder the Spanish changed its name.

So, anyone for a nice hot cup of chocolate?