The precious cocoa of Madagascar
- Friendly Fins
- Dec 21, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 7
We decided to dedicate the last morning of the tour to the cocoa plantations. Let's not forget that we are in Madagascar, the country that boasts one of the most prized cocoa productions in the world.
So, after staying in that surreal European-style hotel, we dive back into the chaotic city of Ambilobè with its narrow streets and markets along the streets. (What were we doing there? Find out!)
This morning, however, we are headed to Ambanja: the home of the pure and unique cocoa of Madagascar.
Ambanja, a timeless town
When we arrive at the city of Ambanja, one of the largest in Madagascar, I feel like I've entered some sort of old movie: dirt roads, street stalls selling anything edible or not, and the legendary bicitaxis!
In general in Madagascar, the most common means of transport is the tuk tuk, a kind of modified Piaggio Ape in addition to the classic taxis. Here, however, you get around thanks to these young men who pedal all day on their bicitaxis.
A trip to the market
You cannot and I repeat you cannot, visit a city in Madagascar, without visiting the famous and “special” spice market. It is in all respects a covered market with all the stalls next to each other offering fruit, vegetables, raffia baskets, fish and meat, without forgetting some fried morsels to satisfy the mid-morning hunger.
We want to say that most people in Madagascar do not have electricity or running water, so they get energy from solar panels (not all of them) and fresh water wells in the villages. Where do we want to go?
We want to say that it is better not to launch into unknown culinary experiments because the food is not preserved like at home and therefore it could cause intestinal problems if we are not used to eating it.
Don't be afraid to try anything because you won't find a bathroom around every corner!
Once the mystical experience of the market is over, we leave the city and head to the plantations, they are not difficult to find because they are literally everywhere!
The cocoa plant
How do we recognize these strange plants from all the others? The first information that Stefano gives us is that they are plants that do not like direct sunlight so they are not very tall and live under other much larger plants that provide shade. The cocoa fruit, unlike the fruits we know, does not grow on the branches but directly on the trunk of the plant and there are three species (trinitarian, creole and forest) that differ externally thanks to the color. The fruits are either red or green.
When the fruit is ripe it becomes yellow, it is cut and inside there is a kind of white mush (good to eat) and some seeds immersed inside. They are taken, fermented for six days and finally dried until they take on the typical color of cocoa, that is, black. These, once crumbled, will give rise to the 100% bitter cocoa of Madagascar.
Well, we just have to try it!
The hunt for the right plant
Cocoa is not the only star of the plantation where we are, in fact everywhere around us there are "famous" but more or less hidden plants. So Stefano puts our sense of smell and taste to the test, thus starting an unprecedented botanical riddle!
Let's begin:
1. It is found underground, it is a brownish root, but once cut the inside is an intense orange! We immediately go for ginger but we are miserably wrong
because is it not orange! Second attempt: Turmeric! Here we are! Who would have ever said that this spice that we also use at home, actually looks like this?
Let's continue…
2. We approach a plant, Stefano cuts a small part of the bark and asks us to smell it! Here we can't go wrong: it's cinnamon! Depending on how it is cut from the plant it can create the typical "curls" with which we typically know it!
3. We come across another plant from which small bunches of green balls hang. This one is difficult: it is the black pepper of Madagascar. The green balls, once ripe, are dried in the sun until they become black and therefore ready for use.
4. Back on the ground, something with a familiar face pops out of the ground, there it is! This is ginger without a doubt, with its plump and irregular shape.
We're almost done, but Stefano saved the best for last...
The precious vanilla of Madagascar
Not only is cocoa famous all over the world, vanilla also has a first-rate place in terms of exports and quality.
With great surprise we tell you that vanilla is an orchid, and it is the only edible orchid. It is a climbing plant and therefore requires support for its cultivation.
However, vanilla is not native to Madagascar but comes from Mexico. So far everything is fine except that in Mexico the pollination of the flower is done by an ant that assiduously dedicates itself to this purpose.
However, this ant never arrived in Madagascar, so all vanilla plants are pollinated ARTIFICIALLY AND BY HAND! The bloomed flower can be pollinated within three days with a small needle that connects the male and female sexual organs that reside in the same flower but in different positions so self-pollination would be impossible.
Beyond the botanical explanation, the surprising thing is the hand-made process that requires attention and effort. The result, however, is absolutely sublime: from the flower will grow this green berry that once ripe will become yellow and therefore ready for harvesting and drying, until it becomes black and ready to be used.
I love vanilla and I can assure you that it smells amazing when dried! Here is one of the many wonders of Nature!
Return to Nosy Be
Our tour is coming to an end, after having bought a good amount of souvenirs, we jump in the car and set off again. We have an appointment at the port of Ankify for the return to Nosy Be in the early afternoon.
The journey to the port was a succession of different landscapes and moods for having experienced a small taste of a way of life completely different from ours.
After all, this is what travel is for, right? To make you come back different from how you left!
The tour of Northern Madagascar is certainly an adventurous and rewarding experience to do but not for everyone!
In general, Madagascar is not for everyone because it does not have the comforts that you are used to in Europe, so Friendly Fins to take a trip of this type we must arm ourselves with a spirit of adaptation at 360 degrees, but you will see that the satisfactions will not be long in coming!
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