Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Piled beans heat up for days while microbes build the flavour precursors. The figure is taken from Food and Agriculture Organization, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a food fact?

Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Cocoa beans ferment before they are dried

Piled beans heat up for days while microbes build the flavour precursors Fresh cocoa beans taste bitter and astringent, so growers heap them in boxes or under banana leaves for five to seven days. Yeasts, then lactic and acetic acid bacteria, ferment the sugary pulp, and the heat and acid slowly kill the bean and break down its proteins. Drying follows, and roasting later turns those precursors into chocolate aroma. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Food and Agriculture Organization

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More facts like this

Dutch processing reduces acidity in cocoa powderTreating cocoa beans with alkaline solution darkens colour and mellows flavour Tempering chocolate aligns cocoa butter crystalsControlled cooling ensures chocolate sets with a glossy finish and crisp snap Cacao was first drunk in MesoamericaThe Maya and Aztecs frothed ground beans into a bitter spiced beverage Conching smooths chocolate for hoursThe mixture is kneaded and aerated until its particles are too small to feel A drop of water makes chocolate seizeMelted chocolate stiffens into a grainy paste when moisture touches it White chocolate contains no cocoa solidsIt is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk, with the dark powder left out

Tags: cocoa, fermentation, chocolate

Cocoa beans ferment before they are dried: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Piled beans heat up for days while microbes build the flavour precursors. The figure is taken from Food and Agriculture Organization, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.