History Of Chocolate

The following is a brief overview of the history of chocolate, according to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. For more information you can visit their website at ghirardelli.com. & Chocolate Fountain Sales

Chocolate Facts & Fiction

Most people enjoy chocolate and agree that it tastes wonderful, yet they also have misconceptions about its effect on health. Here are some facts (Provided by The American Dietetic Association/National Center for Nutrition & Dietetics) about chocolate that you may not know.

Chocolate and fat

Chocolate contributes less than two percent of the fat in the American diet.
The main sources of fat are meat, full fat dairy products, and fried foods.

Chocolate and saturated fats

While chocolate contains some saturated fats, studies have shown that not all types of saturated fats raise blood cholesterol levels. For example, stearic acid is a saturated fat that makes up one-third of the fat in chocolate. Stearic acid does not raise blood cholesterol levels. In addition, oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil, makes up one-third of the fat in chocolate. Eating foods with oleic acid as part of a healthful eating plan has been shown to be beneficial for heart health.

Chocolate and caffeine

Chocolate contains very little caffeine. See the chart below for the caffeine content of a few foods and beverages.

Chocolate and polyphenols

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans which come from the cocoa tree Theobroma cacao. As a result, chocolate contains many of the same healthy compounds from plants, including minerals (copper, iron, zinc, and magnesium) and specific antioxidants called polyphenols. Polyphenols, like those found in tea and red wine are currently being studied for their potential health benefits.

Chocolate and allergies

Allergies to chocolate are very uncommon. If you have been diagnosed with food allergies by a board-certified allergist, you must read labels and avoid the foods or ingredients that cause the allergic reaction. A registered dietitian can help you plan meals and select foods that exclude the food to which you are allergic.

Chocolate and headaches

Research shows that most headaches and chocolate intake are not related. Experts agree that most often it is stress, irregular sleep patterns, hunger, and hormone changes that trigger headaches.

Chocolate and tooth decay

Tooth decay happens when carbohydrates (both complex and simple) mix with natural bacteria in the mouth. This creates acid that breaks down the enamel on teeth. Chocolate, which contains carbohydrates, is no more or less responsible for tooth decay than other carbohydrate- containing foods like bread, raisins, crackers, and fruit. In fact, chocolate actually clears the mouth relatively quickly, reducing the time it spends in contact with the teeth.

Chocolate cravings

A recent study looked at why we crave chocolate and concluded that people do not become addicted to chocolate. Instead, the study found that people desire chocolate because they enjoy the sensation of eating it.

Chocolate and hyperactivity

Chocolate Humor

Harry Burnet Reese
In the early 1920's Reese worked in one of the dairies owned by Milton Hershey. Inspired by Hershey's success, he decided, "if Hershey can sell a trainload of chocolate every day, I can at least make a living making candy." Reese struck out on his own and by the mid 1920's had an entire line of candies, including dinner mints, dipped chocolates, caramels, and coconut candies. In 1928 he added peanut butter cups; they were so popular that when World War II rationing put a dent in his business in 1942, he dumped the rest of his product line and focused exclusively on them. Today Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are part of Hershey Foods.

L. S. Heath
In 1914 an Illinois schoolteacher names L.S. Heath mortgaged his house for $3,000 to buy his sons a soda shop. A year later he quit his teaching job to join them and expanded the business into homemade ice cream and candy. One afternoon in the mid 1920's a salesman told them about a candy called Trail-Toffee that he'd seen in another store. The Heath brothers took the basic recipe-almonds, butter and sugar- and spent the next several months experimenting. In 1928 they finally came up with a chocolate covered English toffee bar-the Heath Bar.

Dr. James Baker
In 1765 Dr. Baker and an Irish immigrant chocolate maker named John Hannon formed a chocolate company in Dorchester, Massachusetts. in 1772 they started advertising they chocolate under the brand name Hannon's Best Chocolate...but when Hannon was lost at sea in 1799, Dr. Baker assumed full control of the company and renamed the product Baker's Chocolate.

Sam German
The guy that German chocolate is named after worked for the guy that Baker's chocolate is named after. No kidding. Sam German was an employee of Baker Chocolate Company in the 1850's, when he created a mild dark chocolate bar for baking. The bar was named Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate in his honor.
About a century later in 1957, a Dallas, Texas newspaper published a recipe for German Chocolate Cake, sparking a local baking craze. When General Foods, then-owner of the Baker's Chocolate company, noticed a spike in German's Chocolate sales, they investigated... and when they learned that German Chocolate cake was responsible, sent copies of the recipe and photo's of the cake to food editors all over the country. Sales of German's Chocolate jumped 73% in the first year alone, and German Chocolate Cake became an American Dessert Classic.

John and Richard Cadbury
In 1822 John Cadbury opened a tea and coffee shop in Birmingham, England. He expanded into chocolate manufacturing, and in 1853 because purveyor of chocolate to Queen Victoria. In 1861 his son Richard Cadbury hit upon the idea of increasing sales of Valentine's Day chocolate sales by packaging Cadbury chocolates in the world's first heart shaped candy box.

David Little Clark
In 1883 Clark, an Irish immigrant, hired a cook and started a candy business in Pittsburg. While the cook prepared the candy, Clark sold it out of the back of a wagon to local merchants. In 1886 he tasted chewing gum for the first time; a short while later he added it to his product line. Countless other products followed; in time Clark became known as the Pittsburg Candy King. But his biggest claim to fame came in 1917, when he invented a nickel candy bar similar to the Butterfinger- honeycombed ground, roasted peanuts coated with milk chocolate- that America's World War I fighting men could carry with them into battle. Clark liked his new product so much he named it after himself: the Clark Bar.

How Chocolate Is Made

In order to produce the chocolate of today, one must first start with fermented cocoa beans, which are roasted, shelled, and shattered into nibs or large fragments. The nibs are then crushed and heated between large milling wheels or disks. The result is a thick, dark brown paste which goes by the trade name of Chocolate Liquor. This Chocolate Liquor, which does not have any alcoholic content, forms the basis of most, if not all, chocolate products. Equally important, it is at this point where the additives and/or further processing will be the main determinate of the type, quality, and flavor of the chocolate product to come.

When put into heavy metal canisters and subjected to a large amount of pressure, the Chocolate Liquor can be separated into its two major components: cocoa butter, a beautiful amber-colored oil, and cocoa powder. The next step is to combine some of the extra cocoa butter with Chocolate Liquor and sugar. The mixture is then stirred or conched in large vats for up to 72 hours. The result is what we know today as Chocolate.

Types Of Chocolate

In the Unites States, a set of federal regulations, called the Standards of Identity, govern the composition and nomenclature of chocolate. Below are some of the standards as they apply to the various types of chocolate.

Milk Chocolate: Must contain a minimum of 10 percent of chocolate liquor and at least 12 percent milk solids. It is made up of cocoa butter, milk, sweeteners and flavorings that are added to chocolate liquor.

Dark Chocolate: Must contain a minimum of 35 percent chocolate liquor, less than 12 percent milk solids and an average fat content of 27 percent. It is also known as bitter chocolate. It is made up of chocolate liquor and additional sweeteners and cocoa butter.

Coverture Chocolate: Is made up of a minimum of 32 percent cocoa butter. Due to the higher percentage of cocoa butter, this chocolate is easy to work with and is used to create the thin glossy chocolate coating on fruit dipped in chocolate or in fancy chocolate preparation. Do not confuse with "Coating" chocolate that comes in wafers.

Unsweetened Chocolate: Also called chocolate liquor, unsweetened chocolate is the finely ground roasted cocoa nibs. It can be natural or dutch (alkalized).