Search


	Podcast:		Local Features by WXPR
	Episode:		How a Tiny Relative of the Mosquito Helps Make Chocolate a Reality
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:
	Publish Date:		2018-02-13 08:01:00
	Description:		In this month’s episode of Field Notes , Susan Knight explains how a tiny relative of our mosquito holds the key to all that chocolate you plan to eat tomorrow on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is coming up, and with it, a celebration of chocolate. Almost everyone loves chocolate, but you may not realize that the hero of the chocolate story is a tiny biting midge, a relative of our friends the mosquito and black fly. Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, a small evergreen tree native to tropical parts of Central and South America, though it is mostly cultivated in Africa. The cacao tree should not to be confused with another iconic South American plant, the coca plant, that brings us the mind-altering cocaine. All the same, the cacao tree itself is fascinating because of its history, its elaborate botanical features and of course, its delicious product. The first part of the scientific name, or genus, of the cacao plant, is Theobroma which comes from the Greek meaning “food of the
	Total Play:		0