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In land of the cacao, one of the largest attractions is to know how the
production of chocolate works, from the care with the farming up to the industrialization of its fruit and its products. The whole process can
be followed by the tourists who visit the Ceplac - Comissão Executiva do Plano de Lavoura Cacaueira (Executive Comission of the Plan of Cacao
Tree Farming), a federal organ linked to the Ministry of Agriculture that has existed since 1957.
The intention of the Ceplac is to promote the research to combat the plagues of
the cacao trees and, because of the discoveries of the institute, the cacao producers have managed to control the "Vassoura de
Bruxa" (Witch's Broom), a desease that attacked the cacao trees in 1989.
The visitor that arrives today at the Department of Public Relations of the
Ceplac first sees a film where various phases of the production of chocolate are shown. After relishing drinks prepared with cacao, the
tourists then go for a visit.
The first stop the tourists see how the cacao trees that resist the
"Vassoura de Bruxa" are produced. The plants that weren't touched by the plague are used to create "clones". Grafts are
made in the sick trees through small branches, the birds, which are removed from the bark of the healthy trees.
The graft doesn't alter the quality or the productivity of the tree. On the
contrary, it improves its growth, because the healthy seedlings take less time to grow and take only a year to start to produce, while it
usually takes around three years.
The production of chocolate begins in the garden. The cacao is broken and the
humid nuts go to a fermentation trough. This process is necessary to give the flavour and taste to the chocolate before the drying. After
that, the nuts go to the barges where they remain drying.
Barge is the name given to the enormous metal structures that cover the nuts
that are spread out over the wooden surface. During the day, the barges are opened so that they can dry in the sun while the workers rake the
nuts with their feet. At night, the metallic structures are closed again to protect the nuts from the open air.
When the seeds are very dry, they are grinded and put into a machine where a
pulp called liqueur is produced. After that, the liqueur is put into a heated machine where the cacao butter is separated from the rest of the
substance. The cacao butter is one of the most noble parts of the fruit, used in the cosmetic industry and to produce the white
chocolate.
In the Ceplac factory, the tourist can see how the chocolate that is
comercialized is produced. The pulp is beaten with milk and sugar, besides other ingredients, the hydrigenated shortering is among them. The
Ceplac chocolate has the equivalent of 56% of cacao in each 100 grams while the traditional product that is sold by the large companies has
only 6% of cacao. The rest is hydrogenated shortening which works as a natural conservative.
The cacao is sold by "arrobas" (equivalent to 15 kg) on the average, 4
arrobas of cacao cost R$ 250,00. The cacao farmer just sells the nuts but the Ceplac is to orient the producers to advance in the process of
industrialization since the price of pure chocolate is much higher.
The tourists who want to know Ceplac and the process of transforming cacao
into chocolate have to get up early. The visits have to begin between 8:30 am an 10:30 am. The Department Public Relations of Ceplac is
located on the Rodovia Ilhéus-Itabuna, km 22.
Phone: (73) 3214-3014 / 3214-3016 / 3214-3013. |
Presentation
