Soth America* (for South America)

Today we focus on a topic near and dear to the hearts of many. I am, of course, referring to chocolate! This divine substance comes from the bean of the cacao tree, and in the South American country of Peru, the hunt is underway for new varietals. NPR reported recently that the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service has been hot on the trail in the Amazon rainforest there, and in 2008 and 2009, they documented 342 wild specimens. Experts say the flavor of cacao, just like wine, changes with the region where it’s grown. But don’t expect a taste in the near future, because newly cultivated cacao plants are slow to grow and produce beans.

Though less rewarding than the quest for chocolate, finding and correcting typos like Soth America* should help kill a little time while you wait. Enclose the phrase in quotation marks, and OhioLINK will yield 2 entries.

(Theobroma cacao by Luis Ovalles, from Wikimedia Commons)

Deb Kulczak