Cocoa pulp isn’t a meal that fills you up, but it’s a sweet, juicy and refreshing snack to enjoy after working hard in the cocoa fields. Farmers often suck the pulp off the beans before drying the seeds to make chocolate. It’s a little treat after all their hard work picking the cocoa pods off trees and cutting them open.
I was a little nervous to try it at first. Before I could even taste the cocoa fruit, I had to open the pod – that was the hardest part! To open it, farmers use a sharp machete, like a big, curved knife, to slice it in half. It was very challenging, and I wasn’t able to do that safely so they had me smash it hard on a rock until it cracked open. Then you have to tear it open with your hands to reach the pulp and seeds inside.
The farmers I was helping made it look so easy. It took them about thirty seconds to open a cocoa pod, but it took me a few sweaty minutes to get mine open. When I finally did, I instantly smelled the sweet fruit inside. The pod smelled like a banana smoothie mixed with tropical fruit. I was unsure how the pulp would taste, but once I tried it, I couldn’t stop! It was juicy, fruity and delicious! My nervousness turned into surprise — and then into curiosity for another bite.
Cocoa is grown on trees that are about 20 feet tall. If Ms. Gentile and Mr. Palmer stood on top of each other, the tree would still be taller than them! The trees grow big, dark green leaves that are oval in shape. The cocoa pods grow on the trunk and branches of the tree.
Each tree can grow around 20-30 cocoa pods every harvest season. They grow quickly, so farmers can pick them twice a year.
