Coffee / Cocoa / Vanilla

COFFEE
- Family: seeds from the fruit of the coffee plant
- Edible: yes
- Form: seed. Protected by the pulp and parchment, the fruit of the coffee plant, known as the "cherry", contains two coffee beans.
- Colour: green under a silvery skin
- Season: all year round
- Edible part: extract
- Taste: coffee!
- Where to find: coffee plantations
- Use in cooking: as a beverage, of course. It is prepared in 5 ways: decoction (Turkish coffee), infusion (piston coffee maker), leaching (filter coffee), percolation (Italian domestic coffee maker), and high-pressure percolation (pump coffee machine) to make espresso. Coffee extract is used in confectionery to flavour ice creams, parfaits, sweets, macaroons and cakes (mocha, tiramisu, etc.).
- Processing: ice cream, liqueur. Caffeine, extracted from coffee, is used for its stimulating properties in the composition of certain soft drinks (cola, etc.), non-alcoholic soft drinks and certain energy drinks.
- Therapeutic properties, rimèd razié (home remedy): anti-pertussis,
anti-diarrhoea. Roasted coffee stimulates the nervous system and is a diuretic. It is indicated for cardiac asthenia. Coffee should be avoided in cases of high blood pressure, chronic gastritis and hyperthyroidism.

THE CACAO
- Family: seed (bean)
- Edible: yes
- Shape: slightly flattened seed
- Colour: light brown to purplish
- Size: pods 10 to 20 cm long; beans: 1 to 3 cm long
- Season: all year round
- Edible part: the fruit of the cocoa tree ("pod") contains 20 to 50 seeds (beans) surrounded by a whitish mucilage with a tangy-sweet flavour. This pulp is eaten raw. The fermented and dried cocoa seeds are then roasted, degermed and finally ground to obtain a fluid paste, the cocoa paste from which the cocoa butter is extracted, the basis for making chocolate (cocoa paste + cocoa butter + sugar).
- Taste: chocolate!
- Where to find it: cocoa farms
- Culinary use: chocolate in all its forms
- Processing: chocolate, drinks, powder, bars, confectionery, etc. In the West Indies, chocolate can be bought in the form of "bâton caco" or "gwo kako": the stick is grated and the powder obtained is used in pastries, drinks (first communion chocolate), punches and cocoa liqueur.
Two major chocolate manufacturers in Martinique: Chocolat Elot and Frères Lauzéa.



- Since 2012, Martinique has been involved in an ambitious project to develop a cocoa industry of excellence: Valcaco. The association has identified the three different varieties found in Martinique: a predominantly Creole Amelonado from Martinique, from the Forastero family, the Trinitario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero combining hardiness and finesse, and a third hybrid species specific to Martinique. So there is 100% cocoa chocolate from Martinique.

- Therapeutic properties, rimèd razié (home remedy) : Cocoa butter contains vitamin E and polyphenols. These are powerful anti-oxidants with a greater effect than vitamins C and E, and defend the body against oxidising substances such as the sun's rays, pollutants, alcohol, etc.



VANILLA
- Family: fruit of a vine, orchid family
- Edible: as a flavouring, spice
- Shape: elongated pod (capsule)
- Colour: green then brown after processing
- Size: up to 25 cm
- Season: all year round
- Edible part: extract
- Taste: sweet, fragrant
- Where to find: vanilla plantations, delicatessens
- Culinary use: Vanilla is used in a wide range of desserts: yoghurts, ice creams, custards, cream desserts, etc. Punch, rhum arrangé, etc.
- Processing: vanilla extract, powder, vanilla sugar
- Therapeutic properties, rimèd razié (home remedy): tonic and relaxing. Recommended for mental or physical fatigue, effective against insomnia.

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