  206. CHOCOLATE is a kind of cake or hard paste, sometimes made of different ingredients, but the basis of which is the pulp of the cacao or chocolate nut, a produce of the West Indies and America. The chocolate tree (Theobroma cacao, Fig. 54,) both in size and shape, somewhat resembles a young cherry tree, but it separates near the ground into four or five stems. The leaves are each about four inches in length, smooth but not glossy, and of dull green colour. The flowers are saffron-coloured, and very beautiful. The fruit of the chocolate-tree somewhat resembles a cucumber in shape, but is furrowed deeper on the sides. Its colour, while growing, is green; but, as it ripens, this changes to a fine bluish red, almost purple, with pink veins; or, in some of the varieties, to a delicate yellow or lemon colour. Each of the pods contains from twenty to thirty nuts or kernels, which in shape are not much unlike almonds. These are arranged in rows, surrounded by a sweet pulpy substance, and are called cacao or chocolate-nuts. Plantations of chocolate trees are numerous on the banks of the river Magdelana, in South America, and in the Caraccas; but, at present, there are very few in our own colonies. They are usually formed in morassy situations; and are sheltered from the intense heat of the sun by larger trees which are planted among them. There are two principal crops of chocolate-nuts in the year; the first in June, and the second in December. As soon as the fruit is ripe, it is gathered, and cut into slices; and the nuts, which at this time are in a pulpy state, are taken out with the hand; for the thinness of their husk precludes the possibility of using a machine. They are then laid in skins, or on leaves, to be dried in Previously to the preparation of these nuts into the substance which we call chocolate, they are gently roasted, or parched over the fire, in an iron vessel, after which process their thin external covering is easily separated. The kernel is then pounded in a mortar, and subsequently ground on a smooth warm stone. Sometimes a little arnatto (173) is added; and, with the aid of water, the whole is formed into a paste. This, whilst hot, is put into tin moulds, where in a short time it congeals; and in this state it is the chocolate of the shops. In South America and Spain other modes are adopted; the chocolate is mixed with sugar, long pepper (21), vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, and other ingredients, according to the taste of the respective inhabitants. Mr. Edwards was of opinion, that the cakes of chocolate used in England were made of about one half genuine chocolate, and the remainder of flour, or Castile soap. Chocolate was first introduced into Europe by the Spaniards, and that from the Caraccas is considered the best. It should be used whilst new, as neither the seeds nor the cakes will keep well more than two years. The chocolate used in this country must be manufactured in England, for, by an Act of the legislature, the importation of chocolate paste is prohibited, under heavy penalties. The mode in which this substance is immediately prepared for use is well known. By the natives of South America chocolate nuts are used for food, and also as a circulating medium instead of coin: about 1200 of them being considered equal in value to a dollar. A white oily matter, about the consistence of suet, is obtained by bruising these nuts, and boiling the pulp. The oil is by this means liquefied, and rises to the surface, ICOSANDRIA.207. The CITRON, LIME, and LEMON, are different varieties of the fruit of a small evergreen shrub, the original or parent stock of which (Citrus medica) was imported from Asia into the southern parts of Europe. The citron is oblong, with a very thick rind; the lemon is oblong with a small lump or protuberance at the end; and the lime has no protuberance, has a very thin rind, and is about the size of a small egg. These are the principal marks of discrimination betwixt these fruits, but they are not quite constant. The lemon shrub (Fig. 56) has large and slightly indented shining leaves, of somewhat oval shape, but pointed; and on the footstalks of the leaves there is no remarkable appendage. The flowers are large and white, but purplish on the outside of the petals. It is generally supposed that the citron-tree was first introduced from Assyria and Media into Greece, and thence into the Southern parts of Europe, where it is now cultivated to considerable extent. It is also grown in the islands of the West Indies. The fruit, partaking of the same quality as the lemon, with the exception of being somewhat less acid, is seldom eaten raw; but, preserved in sugar as a sweetmeat, it is much used by confectioners and others. The principal consumption of citron is on the Continent, where it is also occasionally employed in medicine. The lemon-tree is a native of Upper Asia, whence, like the citron, it was brought into Greece, and afterwards transplanted into Italy. The juice, which is one of the sharpest and most agreeable of all acids, is used in cookery, confectionary, medicine, and in various other ways. By calico-printers it is very extensively employed, as a discharger of colour, to produce, with Several modes have been recommended for preserving lemon juice. One of these is to put it into bottles, with a small quantity of oil, which, floating on the surface, prevents the immediate contact of the air, and retards the decomposition of the acid; though, in this case, the original fresh taste soon gives place to one which is less grateful. In the East Indies lemon juice is sometimes evaporated, by a gentle heat, to the consistence of a thick extract. Sometimes it is crystallized into a white and acid salt; but what is sold in the shops, under the name of essential salt of lemons, for taking out ink-stains and iron-mould spots from linen, is only a preparation from the juice of sorrel. The external part of the rind has a grateful aromatic and bitter taste, which renders it useful in cookery. When dried it is considered a good stomachic, promotes the appetite, and is otherwise serviceable as a medicine. It is often candied and made into a sweetmeat, under the name of lemon chips. When distilled it yields a light and almost colourless oil, which, in smell, is nearly as agreeable as the fresh peel, and is frequently employed as a perfume. Lemons are sometimes preserved in syrup. Small ones with thick rinds are converted into a grateful pickle; and a marmalade and syrup are also made of them. For the purpose of keeping the fruit, it is recommended that a fine packthread about a quarter of a yard long, should be run through the protuberance at the end of the lemons: the ends of the string are The cultivation of the lime is much attended to in several parts of North America and the West Indies. Its juice affords a more grateful acid than that of the lemon, which is there in little repute, and is, comparatively, but seldom seen. A plate of limes is said to be a constant dish at entertainments in the West Indies; and the juice is used for all the same purposes as that of lemons is with us. 208. ORANGE (Citrus aurantium, Fig. 55). The difference betwixt orange and lemon-trees is immediately known by the former having a kind of winged appendage on the leafstalks, of which the latter are destitute. We are informed that the first orange-tree introduced into Europe was sent as a present, from some part of Asia, to the Conde Mellor, prime minister of the King of Portugal. It was the only one of a great number which were contained in the same chest that survived; and it became the parent stock of multitudes of subsequent trees. The delightful perfume of an orange grove is such as to scent the air for miles, and the flowers appear in succession during the whole summer; and flowers and ripe fruit are found on the same tree. Orange flowers are valued as a perfume, and yield their flavour to rectified spirits; and, in distillation, both to spirits and water. In Portugal and Italy a fragrant red-coloured oil is obtained from them, which, by some persons, is considered of more delicate and agreeable perfume than even ottar of roses. The juice of the orange, when ripe and of good kind, is extremely sweet, grateful, and wholesome. In fevers, and other complaints, it is of considerable use for allaying heat and quenching thirst; and, in scurvy, it has been found a very valuable remedy. The rind, which yields a grateful aromatic bitter, is sometimes In cookery and by confectioners, oranges are used in numerous ways; for marmalade, in biscuits, cheesecakes, jelly, puddings, and tarts; and an agreeable wine is prepared from oranges, with water, sugar, and some other ingredients. Seville, or bitter oranges are a large, dark-coloured, and rough-skinned variety of the common species. These are much used in medicine and cookery. Bergamot is a well-known perfume, obtained from the rind of a variety of orange much cultivated near the town of Bergamo in Italy, whence it has obtained its name. The rind is cut into small pieces, and the oil is pressed out into glass vessels. Sometimes a fragrant water is distilled from the peel. 209. The SHADDOCK (Citrus decumana) is a yellowish green fruit, of the orange kind, as large as the head of a child, with twelve or more cells, and contains a red or whitish pulp. It is very common in many parts both of the East and West Indies. In hot climates the shaddock is much esteemed on account of its agreeable flavour, which is a pleasant mixture of sweet and acid. It is safely eaten, even in considerable quantities, and is esteemed very salubrious. The rind is thick, and has a disagreeable bitterish taste. This fruit is indebted, for its name, to a Captain Shaddock, who is said to have first brought it from China, or, as some say, from Guinea, and transplanted it into one of the West Indian islands. 210. CAJEPUT is a greenish coloured oil produced from the fruit of a tree (Melaleuca leucodendron) which grows in the East Indies. This tree has a long flexible trunk; with linear spear-shaped, The leaves of the cajeput tree have an aromatic odour, somewhat resembling that of cardamom seed (15); and they yield, by distillation, an essential oil, which manifests this aromatic principle still more strongly. Among the Malays cajeput oil is a medicine in great repute; but its uses are so little known in this country that it is rarely kept even in the shops of the metropolis. In acute rheumatism and gout, however, it has been known to afford immediate relief by being rubbed on the part affected; but it ought not to be applied without great care, as it is very powerful in its effects. Cajeput oil is one of the most valuable remedies which have hitherto been discovered for the toothache. From whatever cause this affection of the face may proceed, whether from a carious or hollow tooth, rheumatic acrimony, or cold, this oil has generally been found efficacious in removing it. It is best applied by being dropped on lint, and placed in the cavity of the tooth, or round the gum. Hence it deserves a place in the medicine chest of every private family. If taken internally, in a dose of five or six drops, it heats and stimulates the whole system; and it is said to have had a beneficial effect in dropsies and intermittent fevers. In India it is used, both internally and externally, in palsies, deafness, gout, rheumatism, and several other complaints. Its odour is remarkably destructive to insects. A few drops of it, in a cabinet or drawer in which animal or vegetable specimens of natural history are kept, in a dried state, have, on this account, been found useful. Cajeput oil is chiefly prepared in the island of Bouro, one of the Moluccas; and it is imported into Europe from the East Indies. But, from its high price, it is so frequently adulterated, that it is seldom to be had genuine in Europe. |
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