Chocolate and wine

Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, summed it up, by naming the cacao tree Theobroma cacao. Theobroma being Greek for food of the gods.

I have been savouring these delightful truffles from KokoBlack of Lygon St, Melbourne. The slightly dusty red pebble pictured is Chilli flavoured, and a perfect surprise for the unwary. The richness and endurance of the flavours is quite superb and made me think of the similarities between wine and chocolate. It's proven to be a fertile seam of inquiry.

Cacao trees and their bean laden pods, thrive in Equatorial climes. The pods are harvested and roughly broken and then left to ferment in the open. A better example of wild yeast fermentation would be hard to come by. If things go to plan the yeast convert the pulp sugars to alcohol, this is followed by an uncontrolled bout of 'malo' with lactic acid bacteria and then for good measure acetobacter joins the fray converting the alcohol to vinegar. Whilst the pulp is fermenting (rotting away) the beans are reacting to the acetic acid and the cocktail of flavour molecules they now find themselves bathed in. The beans are primed and transformed by this cascade of reactions.

Cleaned, separated from their pods and newly packed - the now enhanced beans are transported far and wide. They are still vinegary, unbalanced and awkward. Roasting and the ensuing Maillard browning reactions will fix this. The final stages in the production of chocolate involve grinding and then blending with sugar and other desired additives (milk solids, vanilla, cocoa butter).

As with wine, the final product depends on the quality of the starting material, and then the quality of the people and equipment along the way.

Some points of comparison:

Marketing.
A block of Cadbury chocolate is not too dissimilar to a bottle of [Yellowtail]. Both are commonly consumed without much thought, they give passing pleasure and a connoisseur would frown on both. The market similarities exist all the way up the quality / price spectrum.

Taste.
Just as a wine has flavours from the grape, the barrel and the process of fermentation. Chocolate has flavours from the bean, fermentation, the roast and finally the added compounds.
Personally I often detect bitter chocolate in the wine that I drink.

Storage.
Wine like chocolate is best stored at 15 degrees Celsius (60 degrees F). Too hot and the fat separates leaving a white stain on the surface of the chocolate.

Health.
Both wine and chocolate are laden with good and bad. Wine has alcohol but also a raft of compounds which may be of some positive health benefit. Chocolate is full of fat, but also antioxidants.

Cravings.
Maybe addiction is a better word. . .

Finally some possibly related posts:
Wine and Easter eggs.
Chocolate ice cream.
Sweet and fat.