Chocolate
- Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted and ground beans taken from the pod of the tropical cacao tree.
- The pods of the cacao tree take about 6 months to develop; hence, cocoa can be harvested about twice a year.
- Chocolate must contain not less than 35% total dry cocoa solids and not less than 18% cocoa butter.
- Chocolate comes in dark, milk and white varieties with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.
- Plain chocolate is the most popular on the continent.
- The U.S. produces more chocolate than any other country but the Swiss consume the most, followed closely by the English.
- Chocolate is the food most commonly craved by women.
- U.S. chocolate manufacturers use 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolate.
- In general, the shelf life for chocolate is a year.
- Chocolate was regarded as an aphrodisiac by Aztec Indians.
- It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love!
- In 1842 Cadbury's, in England, created the world’s first chocolate bar.
- Before the 1970s, there was hardly a single dessert recipe that contained white chocolate.