EVOLUTION OF CHOCOLATES 🍫

There is not many foods that people completely adore, chocolate being one of them. It being
so creamy and decadent, it’s not hard to understand why it’s so adored! All though it may seem like
there’s not much to learn abt chocolate, there’s a whole world out there abt the tasty treat’s
production, history and significance to people that the majority of us don’t know abt.

Chocolate may be the “food of the gods,” but for most of its 4,000-year history, it was
consumed as a bitter drink rather than as a sweet edible treat. Anthropologists have found evidence
that chocolate was produced by pre-Olmec cultures living in present-day Mexico as early as 1900
B.C! The ancient Mesoamericans who first cultivated cacao beans found in the rainforests of Central
America fermented, roasted and ground them into a paste that they mixed with water, vanilla,
honey, chili peppers and other spices to brew a chocolate drink.

Olmec, Mayan and Aztec civilizations found chocolate to be an energizing drink and mood
enhancer, which led them to believe that it possessed mysterious and magical qualities. The Mayans
worshipped a god of cacao, EK-CHUAH, and reserved chocolate for rulers, warriors, priests and
nobles at sacred ceremonies. The Aztecs traded with the Mayans for cacao beans, which were so
sought after they were used as currency. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers who sought gold and silver
in Mexico returned instead with chocolate.

Chocolate remained an aristocratic elixir until the Dutch chemist, Coenraad Johannes van
Houten, invented the cocoa press in 1828, which revolutionized chocolate-making. In 1847, a British
chocolate company known as J.S. Fry & Sons created the first solid edible chocolate bar from cocoa
butter, cocoa powder and sugar.

Chocolate is a popular ingredient in cooking and desserts. It can be used in many different
ways like:- Chocolate chips can be added to cake batter, cookie dough, and brownies. The chocolate
sauce can be drizzled over ice cream or cake. A chocolate ganache is a perfect topping for cakes and
cupcakes.

The US has a long history with chocolate, which is why it is the top 10 most popular types of
chocolate in the country. It took nearly eight yrs to develop the recipe for milk chocolate. Dark
chocolate, the healthiest chocolate, was invented in the mid-1900s. White Chocolate isn’t rly
chocolate cuz it doesn’t contain any cacao solids or cacao liquor. The fact is ‘It takes 400 cocoa beans
to make one pound of chocolate’.

Chocolate is a popular gift for kids, and it is important to choose the best chocolate brands
for kids that they will love.