About Chocolates

"Chocolates" redirects here. For other uses, see Chocolate (disambiguation).

Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree.

Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and hearts on Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and hot chocolate.

Etymology

The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztecs of Mexico, and is derived from the Nahuatl word xocolatl [1] which is a combination of the words, xocolli, meaning "bitter", and atl, which is "water". The Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. Chocolate is also associated with the Maya god of fertility. Mexican philologist Ignacio Davila Garibi proposed that "Spaniards had coined the word by taking the Maya word chocol and then replacing the Mayan term for water, haa, with the Aztec term, atl."[2] However, it is more likely that the Aztecs themselves coined the term,[3] having long adopted into Nahuatl the Mayan word for the "cacao" bean; the Spanish had little contact with the Maya before Cortés' early reports to the Spanish King of the beverage known as xocolatl.[4] William Bright noted that the word xocoatl does not occur in early Spanish or Nahuatl colonial sources.

History

Native to lowland, tropical South America, cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Central America and Mexico, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican peoples made chocolate beverages, including the Maya and Aztecs.
Chocolate has been used as a drink for nearly all of its history. The earliest record of using chocolate dates back before the Olmec. In November 2007, archaeologists reported finding evidence of the oldest known cultivation and use of cacao at a site in Puerto Escondido, Honduras, dating from about 1100 to 1400 BC.[6] The residues found and the kind of vessel they were found in indicate that the initial use of cacao was not simply as a beverage, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was likely used as a source of fermentable sugars for an alcoholic drink.[6] The Maya civilization grew cacao trees in their backyard,[7] and used the cacao seeds it produced to make a frothy, bitter drink.[8] Documents in Maya hieroglyphs stated that chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes, in addition to everyday life.[9] The chocolate residue found in an early ancient Maya pot in Río Azul, Guatemala, suggests that Maya were drinking chocolate around 400 AD. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spicy drink called xocoatl, and was often flavored with vanilla, chile pepper, and achiote (known today as annatto).[10] Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the theobromine content. Chocolate was also an important luxury good throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cacao beans were often used as currency.[11] For example, the Aztecs used a system in which one turkey cost one hundred cacao beans and one fresh avocado was worth three beans.[12] South American and European cultures have used cocoa to treat diarrhea for hundreds of years.[13] All of the areas that were conquered by the Azetcs that grew cacao beans were ordered to pay them as a tax, or as the Aztecs called it, a "tribute".[14]
Until the 16th century, no European had ever heard of the popular drink from the Central and South American peoples.[15] It was not until the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs that chocolate could be imported to Europe, where it quickly became a court favorite.[15] To keep up with the high demand for this new drink, Spanish armies began enslaving Mesoamericans to produce cacao.[16] Even with cacao harvesting becoming a regular business, only royalty and the well-connected could afford to drink this expensive import.[17] Before long, the Spanish began growing cacao beans on plantations, and using an African workforce to help manage them.[18] The situation was different in England. Put simply, anyone with money could buy it.[19] The first chocolate house opened in London in 1657.[19] In 1689, noted physician and collector Hans Sloane developed a milk chocolate drink in Jamaica which was initially used by apothecaries, but later sold to the Cadbury brothers.[20]
For hundreds of years, the chocolate making process remained unchanged. When the people saw the Industrial Revolution arrive, many changes occurred that brought about the food today in its modern form. In the 1700s, mechanical mills were created that squeezed out cocoa butter, which in turn helped to create hard, durable chocolate.[21] But, it was not until the arrival of the Industrial Revolution that these mills were put to bigger use. Not long after the revolution cooled down, companies began advertising this new invention to sell many of the chocolate treats we see today.[22] When new machines were produced, people began experiencing and consuming chocolate worldwide

Types of chocolate

Several types of chocolate can be distinguished. Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. "White chocolate" contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids. Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have some physiological effects in humans, but the presence of theobromine renders it toxic to some animals, such as dogs and cats.[24]. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Dark chocolate has recently been promoted for its health benefits, as it seems to possess substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals.
Alongside milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate are also common chocolate varieties.
White chocolate is formed from a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids. Although its texture is similar to milk and dark chocolate, it does not contain any cocoa solids. Because of this, many countries do not consider white chocolate as chocolate at all.[25] Although first introduced by Hebert Candies in 1955, Mars, Incorporated was the first to produce white chocolate within the United States. Because it does not contain any cocoa solids, white chocolate does not contain any theobromine, meaning it can be consumed by animals.
Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture. The U.S. Government calls this "sweet chocolate", and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.[26] Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties. Dark chocolate has also been said to reduce the possibility of a heart attack when consumed regularly in small amounts.[27] Semisweet chocolate is a dark chocolate with a low sugar content. Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin have been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking.
Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor.

SRC: Wikipedia.org