Chocolate bars, either made of solid chocolate or other ingredients coated in chocolate, are eaten as snacks. Question: Okay, so what is fake chocolate made of? The cacao tree produces pods all year long, so a typical tree would have pods in every stage of ripeness, from the earliest flowering bud to the most mature pod ready to be harvested. [14] Christopher Columbus and his son Ferdinand encountered the cacao bean on Columbus's fourth mission to the Americas on 15 August 1502, when he and his crew seized a large native canoe that proved to contain cacao beans among other goods for trade. [45], The sequencing in 2010 of the genome of the cacao tree may allow yields to be improved. Chocolate is one of the all-time favorite sweets which unit different people from various countries and gender. [109] Big Chocolate is the grouping of major international chocolate companies in Europe and the U.S. U.S. companies Mars and Hershey's alone generated $13 billion a year in chocolate sales and account for two-thirds of U.S. production in 2004. After fermentation, the beans are spread in a single layer and left to dry completely, usually in direct sunlight. [17], The Maya and Aztecs associated cacao with human sacrifice, and chocolate drinks specifically with sacrificial human blood. White chocolate is typically made from a blend of cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, milk fat and lecithin-- a fatty emulsifier that holds it all together. The origin of the Nahuatl word is uncertain, as it does not appear in any early Nahuatl source, where the word for chocolate drink is cacahuatl, "cacao water". [32][31], Cacao, pronounced by the Olmecs as kakawa,[1] dates to 1000 BC or earlier. (A.D.) – Making Chocolate", "Aztecs and Cacao: the bittersweet past of chocolate", "When cocoa was used as currency – pre-Columbian America – The Fortunes of Money", "Notes of a Gastronome: Extreme Chocolate", "Amazing archive images show how Cadbury cracked Easter egg market", "Where did the first chocolate factory in the U.S. Lindt is known for its truffle balls and gold foil-wrapped Easter bunnies. The Aztecs were unable to grow cacao themselves, as their home in the Mexican highlands was unsuitable for it, so chocolate was a luxury imported into the empire. Semisweet chocolate is dark chocolate with low sugar content. ( I learned this when I took a bite of my mom’s unsweetened baking chocolate at the age of 7.) [15] In contrast to the Maya, who liked their chocolate warm, the Aztecs drank it cold, seasoning it with a broad variety of additives, including the petals of the Cymbopetalum penduliflorum tree, chile pepper, allspice, vanilla, and honey. I think it's the proverbial all-hands-on-deck: government, civil society, the private sector. (A.D.) – Obtaining Cacao", "Chocolate: A Mesoamerican Luxury 250–900 C.E. Milk chocolate’s subtly sweet taste makes it the perfect partner to your favorite treats. Finally, the nibs are ground and liquefied, resulting in pure chocolate in fluid form: chocolate liquor. [14] Cacao plantations spread, as the English, Dutch, and French colonized and planted. [111], Chocolate manufacturers produce a range of products from chocolate bars to fudge. It is not toxic and can be safely consumed. Hot chocolate starts in powder form (usually a blend of cocoa powder, sugar, and often includes dairy powder and flavorings or spices) and is typically made with water. [6] According to Sona Ebai, the former secretary-general of the Alliance of Cocoa Producing Countries: "I think child labor cannot be just the responsibility of industry to solve. Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter and vanilla are added. Pure, unsweetened chocolate, often called "baking chocolate", contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Growing and harvesting cacao beans is a difficult process for the producers. In 1765 Dr. James Baker and John Hannon founded the company in Boston. [74], Chocolate bloom is caused by storage temperature fluctuating or exceeding 24 °C (75 °F), while sugar bloom is caused by temperature below 15 °C (59 °F) or excess humidity. Chocolate is a popular flavour of ice cream and pudding, and chocolate sauce is a commonly added as a topping on ice cream sundaes. Climate and weather permitting, this is done by spreading the beans out in the sun from five to seven days. Chocolate liqueur can be served on its own (usually over ice) or mixed into other recipes for food or beverages. Large manufacturers of chocolate products include Cadbury (the world's largest confectionery manufacturer), Ferrero, Guylian, The Hershey Company, Lindt & Sprüngli, Mars, Incorporated, Milka, Neuhaus and Suchard. The temper of chocolate can be measured with a chocolate temper meter to ensure accuracy and consistency. There, it quickly became a court favorite. The fats in cocoa butter can crystallize in six different forms (polymorphous crystallization). Manufacturers may add other fats, sugars, and milk, all of which increase the caloric content of chocolate. Dark chocolate can contain no milk powder and must have a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. First, the pods are split open to reveal the cocoa beans instead, surrounded by the fruity pulp of the pod. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, but no cocoa solids. [88], A few studies have documented allergic reactions from chocolate in children. The beans with their surrounding pulp are removed from the pods and placed in piles or bins, allowing access to micro-organisms so fermentation of the pectin-containing material can begin. [14][20] In 1879, the texture and taste of chocolate was further improved when Rudolphe Lindt invented the conching machine.[28]. Chocolate comes from the Theobroma cacao, aka the cocoa tree that contains seeds called cocoa beans that are used to make chocolate. Cocoa and chocolate in human health and disease. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, such as chocolate milk and hot chocolate, and in some alcoholic drinks, such as creme de cacao.