I came across a reference in one of my wild food books, stating that the flowers of the Lime tree (Tilia spp.), ground up together with the fruits, yielded a substance resembling chocolate. Apparently this property was exploited commercially and bars of 'Linden Chocolate' were, for a while at least, commercially available.

Ingredients

I collected some ripe Lime fruits in fully-dried state (right) and some that were ripe, but still moist (left). The Lime flowers (centre) were dried earlier this year - in the summer.

Method

The big problem here is distinct lack of information. All I know is that the fruits and flowers are ground up together - I don't know what other preparation may be necessary (such as roasting, perhaps).

I also don't have the equipment to finely grind things, so I'll have to improvise...

Experiment One

I took a dried lime fruit and a couple of dried flowers and chewed them very thoroughly, attempting to crush and grind them as finely as possible between my molars. This also enabled me to taste the resulting mixture.

Result

The sensation is very similar, in terms of both taste and texture, to chewing a wooden pencil. Does not resemble chocolate even slightly.

Experiment Two

As Experiment One, but using a ripe, moist Lime fruit.

Result

Vile. Overwhelmingly bitter taste, with background note of sawdust. Not remotely chocolatey.

Conclusions

The experiments failed to yield anything that could, even under the most charitable of definitions, be said to resemble chocolate. The bitterness of the undried fruits might become palatable when mixed with sugar, but it's still nothing like the complex bitterness of cocoa.

Unless further information arises clarifying the proper method of manufacture, I fear little progress can be made here.