Chocolate

Today's Topic: Chocolate

     Chocolate is a sweet that dates back to about 100 million years ago. That's right, 100 million years ago! People have been making it for so long. It's a food that is probably just a part of your daily life. But we should know the history behind this sweet treat. 

Who?

     As stated earlier, chocolate itself was created/discovered about 100 million years ago. But in 1847, the first chocolate bar was created by Joseph Fry. 

Where?

     Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which were originally found in South and Central America. Cocoa beans grow on trees. These trees can only thrive in hot, rainy climates close to the equator. It was actually said that the trees may have gotten their start on the lower slopes of the Andes Mountains. 

How?

     As stated before, chocolate is made from cocoa beans. The process used to take lots of time, but over time, new methods have been developed, allowing it to be easier to have mass production of chocolate. This is specially modeled in chocolate factories. 
     Since cocoa beans have a naturally bitter taste to them, they must first be fermented for sweetness. Then they are dried, cleaned, and roasted. Then the cocoa beans are cooked and crushed afterward. This is to make the cocoa butter and chocolate liquor. After this, different ingredients are mixed in to create the different types of chocolate, like dark, milk, mint, nut chocolates, raisins, etc. 
     After this, the chocolate makers have one more step. This step is called conching. Conching is when the chocolate is crushed very finely. Also, it keeps the chocolate warm so it stays liquid. Then the liquid is cooled to make smooth chocolate. Or rough chocolate depending on the type!
     Also, fun fact: White chocolate is not actually made from the cocoa beans. It is made from the fat found in the bean. So basically, only the cocoa butter and none of the chocolate liquor. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about the history and process of chocolate! Today, I wrote this. Usually, this blog is written by Harish Sowmy. My name is Sreenidhi Das and starting today, I will also be writing posts on this blog. Don't forget to spread the word about us!

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