hi all

I'm very glad with the freshly harvested cacao pods a friend of me brought straight from Sao Tome as a souvenir gift! Just 5 to play with, but I don't know how to keep m best though.

They are supposedly 4 days old and still closed, I would love to taste the raw 'pulp' in it, but how long can I keep them "juicy" and what other tips do you have te preserve them as well as possible? Dry them in the oven or so? ...

thanks for your help, I'll open a first one anyway


updated by @evert-jan-de-kort-choqoacom: 04/09/15 10:31:01

They will have started to degrade the moment they were cut from the tree. W/in 24 hours there will be noticeable flavor changes, if not refrigerated or frozen. The longer you wait, the less representative they will be.On a bigger note, exporting of raw agricultural products can be a very touchy subject. Up until now, the diseases in cocoa have been largely geographical and mitigated by physical barriers - ie big oceans in between them. There's a HUGE risk to geographical protection of cocoa if people start moving raw pods around the world. Witches broom in Brazil was likely caused by intentional sabotage in this fashion. CPB in Indonesia, if exported, will wreak havoc in other geographies. Black pod, if exported from Africa, will do the same. I hope your friend is taking the appropriate cautions when transporting and disposing these.

hi i would also like to know how to preserve cocao pods ?????

For human consumption, the cocoa pulp should be extracted in the same day of the crop. The liquid contained in the pulp (cocoa nectar) is acid and soon becomes vinegar.Few people know that with the nectar (the liquid part of the pulp) it is possible to make a delicious jelly. See enclosed picture.For the best chocolate, however, the fruits should rest for 4 to 5 days, before they be cracked.

hi all,thanks for all your respones!well after your first answers I immediately opened a first pod, and wow that pulp really is delicious.I shared it with a bunch of people, all liked it very much, tasting like grapes, mango, banana and lychees all at the same time! I took some pictures that I will share in a blog post with you.I now have still 3 left, I will open one more in the weekend to see what happens, the others I will try to dry to preserve them.enjoy chocolate in all its shapesEvert-Jan

hi Adeir,thx for that nice looking jellydo you have some kind of recipe for this as well? - what part of the pulp do you leave out?thx!

Hi Evert,If you squeeze the fresh seeds of cacao using a cloth, you will separate the liquid part, the nectar. The jelly may be obtained by cooking the nectar together sugar, until obtaining the ideal viscosity. It is very simple. If you want, I can translate the complete recipe for English...

The pods do not dry with the beautiful colors. They have a high water content, like many tropical plants and quickly shrink and go brown. You can use them to make a cast of the pod however with the plaster like material they make arm and leg casts of. Mold them, let dry, then paint them and shellac them and you will have a nice replica.

thx Adeir! no more seeds for now, will keep the jelly idea in mind for the next time

Sebastian,Congratulations for the information about the criminal introduction of witch's broom in Bahia/Brazil.Few people in the world know about this.I have copy of the report of the Federal Police of Brazil on this, and a heard that it was the first case in the world of biological terrorism against a agricultural activity (all of the previous cases were applied against the human life).All of brazilian farmers hope this subject make up the interest of the world press and that, in the future, we can have books, texts, films, etc, on this subject.Greetings

To preserve the pods with the color...Drill a small hole into the pod, then freeze dry it. I have pods that are 5-7 years old and still look great. Once dried, we shellac the surface and put a small rubber plug into the hole.

Hi Mark,What do you mean exactly by "Freeze dry"? How do you do that?And also what does shellac mean?Do you now if it is possible to keep a pod open in some sort of alohol liquid too to show the inside?Thank you very much for your help.Alain

Please could you give me the cocoa jelly recipe? I would like to do it at home now i have Frozen cocoa pulp in my reefer

Adeir, that picture is very beautiful and intriguing. I would love the recipe in English.

The recipe below is in the site of CEPLAC (government company that researches cocoa plantations in Brazil). Unhappily all of the information are in Portuguese, but they can be translated with an electronic translator. There is, also, recipes for an alcoholic drink and home-made chocolate. See in:

http://www.ceplac.gov.br/radar/geleia_cacau.htm

"Filter 2 liters of cocoa nectar (or cocoa honey) in fine cloth and spill in a container of stainless steel or aluminum beating; Increase 1 Kg of refined and light sugar and put in the high fire, moving with a teflon spoon or of wood, until to boil and to dissolve the sugar completely; Let to boil from 10 to 20 minutes, to depend on the stove type and burners, until obtaining the point. Point: Dip a skimmer or spoon and soon afterwards, lift a height above the steams liberated by the heating of the mixture. Tilt to pick so that it allows to spill the jelly. In case it forms a fine layer (a small drop similar to bee honey) in the border of the skimmer, it is in the ideal point. At this time, add to the jelly lemon drops or citric acid solution. Move the mixture well and turn off the fire With the jelly hot. Put in packing that allows hermetic (without entrance of air) closing and remove the foam with a spoon. Close the pots tightly and leave capsized them from 3 to 5 minutes to guarantee the best conservation of the product. After this period, return the pots to the normal position".

Cocoa gelly taste very good and diferent from all the gelly you have tried in the past...

We sold cacao jelly through the internet to Brazil. We have pure jelly, with pepper, and with ginger. See in:

http://www.dietacrua.com.br/alimentos/geleias.html

Let me know if you need more information.

How long do you freeze dry for? The custom dryers here specialise in wedding bouquets and they dry them typically for 4 days.

hello Mr Adeir boida

i was wondering if there is a recipe for cupuacu jelly,as i am de pulping some now . i am actually trying since a couple of months to make cupuacu bars with the seeds proceeding like cacao nibs. lots of people here love it.

you surely know about cupulate, have you ever tryed?i am from french guiana

HI

My apologies but unhappily, I never used the cupuau. Nor the seeds, nor the pulp, nor the nectar.