Chocolate is a food product made from the fruit of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao). Raw chocolate tastes bitter and dry, but fermented, dried, and baked chocolate tastes great with sugar and cream.
People worldwide love the decadent taste of chocolate and various foods. More than half of all the chocolate we consume comes from West African countries, primarily Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.
WHAT IS CHOCOLATE MADE OF? AND HOW?
Who created chocolate
Next, the beans are taken to a chocolate factory, cleaned, and residues removed. The beans are roasted in a large rotary oven. Roasting releases the flavor and removes the beans from their shells. The roasted beans go into a sieving machine, which breaks the beans and removes the hulls. The remainder of the bean is called the nib, which becomes edible chocolate.
The cocoa nibs are ground under rollers to form a thick paste called chocolate mass. Chocolate liquor is non-alcoholic (chocolate liquor contains alcohol) and is the leading source of unsweetened baking chocolate, says Pam Williams, co-founder and past president of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA). Founder and lead lecturer at Ecolé Chocolat School of Chocolate Arts.
At this point, chocolatiers are free to create chocolates to their liking. According to the FCIA, ingredients separate premium chocolate from average quality. FCIA designates "fine chocolate" to contain only cocoa mass, cocoa butter (optional), sugar, lecithin, vanilla (optional), and possibly milkfat and solids. Other flavorings or ingredients, such as nuts, can be added later.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF CHOCOLATE?
Williams explained that, historically, premium chocolate fell into three main categories: dark, milk, and white. Dark chocolate is made from chocolate mass, cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar, and vanilla. Milk chocolate contains the same ingredients as dark chocolate, milkfat, and solids. White chocolate is made from the same ingredients as milk chocolate, except it doesn't have any chocolate liquor.
White chocolate doesn't contain chocolate liquor, prompting chocolatiers to debate whether it's really chocolate. Until 2002, the FDA considered it a candy rather than chocolate because it had no chocolate liquor. The Hershey Foods Chocolate Manufacturers Association petitioned the FDA to add labeling standards for white chocolate. Because the FDA designates it as white chocolate, not candy, some experts, like Williams, consider it chocolate.
A fourth chocolate category was added in 2017: ruby chocolate. Barry Callebaut, the world's largest cocoa processor, developed pink chocolate by adding a powder naturally extracted when cocoa beans are processed into chocolate. Peter Boone, Barry Callebaut's chief innovation and quality officer, told The Guardian in 2017: "We don't add flavors, colors or additives: it's all from that bean, and it's all-natural. According to The Guardian, ruby chocolate has a lighter flavor than milk chocolate and is not as sweet as milk chocolate, according to its creator.
Williams said that the FDA also recognizes multiple varieties within each chocolate category. These include unsweetened or raw, containing up to 99 percent chocolate liquor; bittersweet, semi-sweet; and dark milk chocolate. The type of chocolate depends not only on the origin and method of preparation of the cocoa beans but also on the ingredients and cocoa content.
IS CHOCOLATE GOOD FOR YOU?
Is eating chocolate good for health?
For many years, physicians have warned against overeating chocolate - suggesting its high-fat content can lead to acne, tooth decay, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. In recent years, however, the discovery of antioxidants in chocolate has changed that perception and spurred research into its potential health benefits, according to a 2013 review published in The Netherlands Journal of Medicine.
Cocoa contains healthy and unhealthy dietary fat and minerals essential for human health, including potassium, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, and magnesium.
Cocoa also contains high levels of flavonoids, chemicals found in plants known for their health benefits. A 2013 review found that dark chocolate is exceptionally high in flavonoids, so eating chocolate in recent years may have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Several studies have found that regular consumption of chocolate is associated with lower blood pressure, lower stress levels, and increased blood pressure alertness. However, other studies have found no effect of increased chocolate intake on these parameters.
Some research suggests that eating chocolate also supports brain health. A 2009 study published in the "Journal of Nutrition" reported that older adults who regularly ate chocolate performed better on cognitive tests than those who ate infrequently. A 2012 study published in Neurology found that eating chocolate daily was linked to a lower risk of stroke.
Studies that have found positive health effects associated with eating chocolate have focused on eating dark chocolate, which contains less sugar and fat than milk chocolate, according to the 2013 review.
Also, these studies looked at moderate amounts of chocolate: no more than 2 ounces per day. Like many foods, chocolate is healthiest when eaten in moderation. The sugar and fat added to chocolate make it high in calories, which can lead to weight gain. Additionally, many of the protective effects that chocolate can provide can be negated by overconsumption.
WHO DISCOVERED CHOCOLATE?
Scientists debate how long people have been using and eating cocoa beans. The history of chocolate dates back at least 2,000 years, and historians Sophie and Michael Coe, authors of (The True History of Chocolate), believe it goes back 4,000 years. The word chocolate dates back to the Aztec word "xocoatl," the name of a bitter drink made from cocoa beans. Chocolate was consumed this way before the Spanish conquistadors came to Central America.
Chocolate was a trendy drink for affluent Europeans throughout the 18th century. The Industrial Revolution allowed chocolate to be mass-produced and brought the treat to the masses. The popularity led to the development of cacao tree plantations.
Enslaved people managed most of the plantations. Initially, Spanish colonists forced Mesoamericans to work cocoa plantations. When indigenous peoples started dying in large numbers from diseases brought by Europeans, enslaved Africans were brought here to fill the labor shortage. Along with sugar cane, indigo, and other crops, enslaved Africans planted, tended, and harvested cocoa trees in the Caribbean and Central and South America to satisfy Europe's new taste for chocolate.
According to Cornell University, in 1815, Dutch physicist Coenraad Van Houten attempted to remove varying amounts of cocoa butter from the chocolate liqueur. This results in cocoa powder and solid chocolate.
According to the Bristol Museum, a chocolate company in Bristol, England, created Fry's, the first mass-produced chocolate bar, in 1847 when Joseph Fry was at Van Houten's. Extra cocoa butter is added to the chocolate, making it a malleable paste. Not long after, milk chocolate was invented with the help of Henri Nestlé, who later founded the giant food company that bears his name. Major European chocolate brands Lindt and Cadbury also began in the 19th century; Rodolphe Lindt invented the conch, which gave chocolate its velvety texture.
Chocolate became widely consumed in the late 1800s when Milton S. Hershey started selling chocolate-covered caramels. He then developed his own milk chocolate recipe, purchased equipment for a chocolate factory, and in 1900 introduced mass-produced chocolate bars and other shapes, such as Hershey's Kiss.
In 1923, Mars Co. developed the Milky Way chocolate bar by putting nougat in a candy bar. That same year, former Hershey employee H.B. Reese launched Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, later becoming part of the Hershey brand.
Over the years, chocolate preparations by manufacturers, large and small, have become more and more innovative.
CHOCOLATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Chocolate production is threatened by climate change. According to a 2016 U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report, temperatures in major cocoa-producing countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia will rise by 2.1 degrees Celsius by 2050. Precipitation does not increase with temperature, resulting in lower humidity. As a result, the available land for cocoa production will be significantly reduced. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report "Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability", 89.5% of the 294 chocolate production sites surveyed will become less suitable by 2050.
Farmers and scientists are working to develop strategies to keep chocolate production going. According to NOAA, some farmers plant taller trees next to cocoa trees to increase shade and reduce water loss. Cocoa plantations can also be relocated to higher elevations with cooler temperatures and more rainfall.
Genetics takes a different approach. The Innovative Genomics Institute announced a project to develop disease-resistant cocoa in a January 2018 press release. Declining cocoa plantations due to climate change could exacerbate disease transmission, and the project will use CRISPR DNA editing technology to breed more vigorous cocoa seeds.
Chocolate production also harms the environment. Farmers often clear forests to make way for cocoa plantations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, about 70 percent of illegal deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire is linked to cocoa cultivation. According to Candy News, one of the threats to deforestation is soil erosion, which can make the land less fertile for cocoa crops and create a vicious cycle.
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