Almost five million tonnes of cocoa produced annually drives the US$100 billion global chocolate industry. To sustain the industry, cacao planting materials (seeds and clones) have been successfully moved from the Amazon forests in America to the humid tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and Australia. In more than 150 years of commercial cacao cultivation, smallholder farmers that supply the bulk of cocoa beans still face several production constraints that impede their efficiency. Scientific technologies have therefore been deployed to remove these constraints by ensuring a continuous supply of good quality cocoa beans to meet growing global demand. This book provides insight into these scientific advances to address these current and emerging problems and to assure the sustainability of the global cocoa industry.

The opening study in this compilation compares variations of the fatty acid profile from cocoa butter as a function of the harvest periods, extraction methods and roasting treatments. The cocoa butter extraction is performed using Soxhlet solvent extraction according to AOAC, 2000 and mechanical pressing following the procedure reported by Bernardini, 1981.Following this, the aroma compounds from fermented, dried and roasted beans from fine-flavored Criollo cocoas of Venezuela are studied. These compounds are associated with nice odoriferous notes.The authors also examine Cuban cacao, the closest relation to the original introduction in Cuba which is endangered by its progressive replacement by commercial clones.Additionally, the authors study some structural and physicochemical changes of cocoa beans fermented in plastic baskets covered with Musaceae leaves for five days in Barlovento, Miranda state, Venezuela.The origin of fine-flavored cocoa is discussed based on its requirements for optimal production of highly aromatic fruits as a function of growth requirements such as humid terrain, warm climate, recurrent rain and characteristic fauna and flora.The closing study focuses on control methods for cacao frosty pod rot, an aggressive disease responsible for great losses and the deterioration of raw material in Colombia for over two centuries.

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is a sacred tree and noble resource from South America. The Mayans and other early civilizations in Central America used cacao beans as tokens, which were subsequently transported to Europe to nurture monarchies and elites. Based on the discovery of cacao’s commercial potential and attributes, new cocoa plantations were established in other parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Thus, cocoa has become an important cash crop in Africa, Central and South America, and Asia, where it is a major foreign exchange earner, industrial raw material, support for livelihood, and ecosystem services provision. Based on its global importance, there has been an increased need for the expansion of cultivation to meet the rising demand for cacao beans. Global environmental change, including climate change, variability, and weather extremes, has established new environmental boundaries with implications for area suitability for cocoa production and sustainability. Efforts to unlock the potentials of the established environmental boundaries may be built on the development and adoption of agrotechnological practices and integration of climate resilience for harnessing opportunities and potentials of the new environment, and thus, extension of the frontiers of cacao cultivation to meet the increasing global demand for cocoa beans. This book, “Shifting Frontiers of Theobroma Cacao - Opportunities and Challenges for Production” presents a comprehensive perspective of the interactions of changing environmental conditions, cocoa production, and sustainability. The book illuminates the challenges climate change presents for cocoa production and sustainability. It provides insights into the need for cocoa actors within the cocoa sector to strengthen climate mitigation and resilience building and to come to grips with the realities, magnitude, and inevitable persistence of climate challenges to cocoa production and sustainability.

Updated with new chapters on the environmental and geopolitical impact of cacao production and the latest health findings, a visual reference incorporates new photography and 30 original or revised recipes for chocolate foods ranging from the sweet to the savory.

The cacao (Theobroma cacao) plant is an important Neo-Tropical species whose natural habitat is the Amazon basin. Over the last 30 years there has been a considerable geographical expansion in the availability of cacao genetic resources. As a result the plant has a rich genetic diversity that exists at two levels: that of the primitive populations in the area of original distribution of the species, and that of the derived cultivated populations. This book provides a comprehensive review of our current knowledge of the diversity of the species. It starts by examining the diversity and inheritance of the characteristics of primitive populations in the Amazonian and Caribbean regions. It then looks at the evolution of diversity within cultivated populations first in South America and around the Caribbean, and then beyond the Americas. The book describes the inter-relationships between populations based on morphological and molecular markers. It also examines the conservation of genetic resources and how these genetic resources can be utilized to produce new cultivars.

This book reviews the current state of knowledge concerning cacao pathogens and methods for their management. Topics discussed include the history, biology and genetic diversity of Moniliophthora species (which cause witches’ broom and frosty pod rot) and Phytophthora species (which cause black pod rot) that cause diseases resulting in major losses to cacao production. Emerging pathogens such as Cacao swollen shoot virus and Ceratobasidium theobromae (which causes vascular streak dieback) are also discussed in detail, along with many pathogens of significant local concern. Most of these pathogens represent major risks to global cacao production should they expand into new areas, breaking out of their current limited distributions. By considering cacao diseases as a group, similarities in the available tools and techniques used in their management become apparent, as do their limitations. Gaps in our current knowledge of cacao pathogens and the management of the diseases they cause are detailed, and suggestions for future research directions are provided. This insight allows readers to consider cacao disease threats from a more comprehensive, global perspective and paves the way for an improved synergy of efforts between the various research programs, agencies, and industries, both private and public, with vested interests in cacao production, and cacao farmers.

Exotic Fruits Reference Guide is the ultimate, most complete reference work on exotic fruits from around the world. The book focuses on exotic fruit origin, botanical aspects, cultivation and harvest, physiology and biochemistry, chemical composition and nutritional value, including phenolics and antioxidant compounds. This guide is in four-color and contains images of the fruits, in addition to their regional names and geographical locations. Harvest and post-harvest conservation, as well as the potential for industrialization, are also presented as a way of stimulating interest in consumption and large scale production. - Covers exotic fruits found all over the world, described by a team of global contributors - Provides quick and easy access to botanical information, biochemistry, fruit processing and nutritional value - Features four-color images throughout for each fruit, along with its regional name and geographical location - Serves as a useful reference for researchers, industrial practitioners and students

The story of chocolate, from its discovery as a food source to today's gourmet chocolate recipes and European chocolatiers.