What’s more comforting than devouring your favorite chocolate? Well, to honor your favorite sweet indulgence and the art of chocolate making, the World Chocolate Day is celebrated every year on July 7. The day allows one to indulge in their cravings without any guilt.
History of chocolate
The origin of chocolate goes back to around 2,500 years. The Aztecs are believed to be the first to discover liquid chocolate. They believed the ‘god of wisdom’ bestowed it upon them. The people even used cocoa seeds as a form of currency.
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However, the chocolate consumed at that time was bitter in taste as sugar wasn’t added as an ingredient to sweeten it. It was in 16th century Europe that chocolate became sweet. It thus went on to become the favorite treat of the masses.
Many chocolate companies that we know of today, first began their operation in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Cadbury was opened in England in 1868. Nestle began production in the 1860s. These companies are now some of the biggest names in the chocolate industry.
How is chocolate made?
Chocolates are made from cocoa beans. The beans are first converted into cocoa mass, which is then combined with more cocoa butter and sweetener to make chocolate. To make chocolate, one has to first mix, grind and knead the ingredients into a paste.
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Different chocolates require different ingredients. Dark chocolates require cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and sugar. Milk is added as an ingredient to make milk chocolate. To make white chocolate, one needs cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder. There is no need to add cocoa mass.
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