Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-08-09

ducers Fernando Pc, by the way, is another
small island, of only $50 square miles, not far
from Africa 1t was once Portuguese, but is now
Spanish.
The British possessions have become remark
able producers of cacao in recent years. In the
West Indies they include Trinidad, jamaica Gren-
ada, st. Lucia and Dominica; in Africa the Gold
Coast and Lagos, while in the far east is Ceylon,
which seems to specialize in crops that appeal to
the unalcoholic tastes of the modern.
The principal constituents of the cacao bean
are: Q) alkaloids; (2) starch and sugars; CD
albuminous matters; ca cacao butter, together
with various mineral substances. The alkaloids
are complex organic substances which are re-
sponsble for the stimuant effects OF cacao; CAT
feline is of them, but appears in lesser amount
than in coffee tea, and there is variable guam
tity of theobromne, which is not very unlike caf-
feine starch is present in the proportion of about
z to 10 per cent, while real sugar (glucose), at
BEAST In the bean ITSELF shows only about one-half
of 1 per cent, although the starch may be con-
verted as preparation of cacao advances: albu-
minous matters about to IL per cent fats, OF
which cacao butter Is the essential, from As to
something so per cent the mineral sub
stances are phosphoric acid, potash and magnesia.
Other analyses may be found or made, yet for
practical purposes this statement is accurate
enough. There Is delicate substance called
~cacao red" which is coloring matter, and this,
with theobromine, is said to give to cacao its
characteristic taste.
Such proportions of nutrient ingredients are by
no means a perfect food 1t may be shown that
100 parts of cacao nibs contain heat givers equva
lent to 1872 parts of starch, while the flesh form
ers present amount to about II parts; or in other
terms one pound of cacao nibs is more than
equal in hesh-forming constituents to l pound of
lean mutton chop, but pound OF cacao nibs can
not be eaten Or drunk at one time-it would be
quite indigestible-So that argument can be
based upon its tbeoretic food value The amount
of eacao butter however important in ITSELF is
also os little service in this connection, although
It has other and much higher values in COM
merce; 1t would therefore be wasted If reserved
70 food alone.
substances where also experience fails to sup
port theory is the fact that in the form of choco-
late where the fats retained, the paatability
and assimilability of sugar mixed with it very
much enhanced Not so many years ago the drink
called chocolate thought to be a reckless
dissipation for who had regard for his
or her stomach. To indulge in chocolate candy
was quite as pernicious to eat tomatoes, and
with quite as much reason Tomatoes once
declared poison, but today they considered
a very wholesome vegetable. Chocolate was once
an exotic and bizarre drink, told about by trav-
elers who had ventured into Mexico or Spain, but
at least In the form of cacao from which the fats
have largely been removed it is considered both
dgestible and nourishing. Candies and pastry
with chocolate were practically taboo to we'll
brought-up children, and the adult who INDUCED