Chocolate
Chocolate is a common ingredient in many kinds of sweets—one of the most popular in the world—made from the fermented, roasted, and ground seeds of the tropical cacao tree Theobroma cacao. Dictionaries refer to this cacao substance as "chocolate," which is an intensely flavored bitter (not sweet) food, although this is properly defined as cocoa in many countries. However, in the American chocolate industry, cocoa is defined as the solids of the cacao bean, cocoa butter is defined as the fat component, and chocolate is the combination of the solids and the fat. This is usually sweetened with sugar and other ingredients and made into chocolate bars (the substance of which is also and commonly referred to as chocolate), or beverages (called cocoa or hot chocolate).
Chocolate is often produced in the form of little sculptures (usually of animals or people), for example as rabbit- or egg-shaped chocolates, near a holiday in many countries called Easter, and other shapes for Christmas and Saint Nicholas (for the latter also chocolate letters). Chocolate is also sometimes sculpted into famous celebrities, such as Regis Philbin and John Stamos.
Different kinds of chocolate
Chocolate is an extremely popular ingredient, available in many types, and great quantity. Different forms and flavors of chocolate are usually produced by varying the amount of the ingredients used to make the chocolate.
A chocolate bar is a bar of chocolate, frequently containing other ingredients as well, such as peanuts (as in Mr. Goodbar ®) or caramel, or even crisped rice. It is a common snack all over the world.
The history of chocolate
The Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a drink called xocoatl, often seasoned with vanilla, chili pepper, and pimento. Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the theobromine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cacao beans were often used as currency. Other chocolate drinks combined it with such edibles as maize gruel and honey.
The xocoatl was said to be an acquired taste. Jose de Acosta, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who lived in Peru and then Mexico in the later 16th century, wrote:
- Loathsome to such as are not acquainted with it, having a scum or froth that is very unpleasant to taste. Yet it is a drink very much esteemed among the Indians, where with they feast noble men who pass through their country. The Spaniards, both men and women, that are accustomed to the country, are very greedy of this ChocolatÃÂé. They say they make diverse sorts of it, some hot, some cold, and some temperate, and put therein much of that "chili"; yea, they make paste thereof, the which they say is good for the stomach and against the catarrh.
The first recorded shipment of chocolate to the Old World for commercial purposes was in a shipment from Veracruz to Seville in 1585. It was still served as a beverage, but the Europeans added sugar to counteract the natural bitterness, and removed the chili pepper. By the 17th century it was a luxury item among the European nobility.
In 1828, Conrad J. van Houten patented a method for extracting the fat from cocoa beans and making powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. This made it possible to form the modern chocolate bar. It is believed that Joseph Fry made the first chocolate for eating in 1847.
Daniel Peter, a Swiss candle-maker joined his father-in-law's chocolate business. In 1867 he began experimenting with milk as an ingredient. He brought his new product, milk chocolate, to market in 1875. He was assisted in removing the water content from the milk to prevent mildewing by a neighbor, a baby food manufacturer named Henri NestlÃÂé.
Chocolate as a stimulant
Chocolate is very mildly psychoactive since it contains theobromine, small quantities of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid found in the brain, as well as caffeine and tryptophan. In small quantities, chocolate is a very potent stimulant for horses; it is banned as an illegal stimulant in horse-racing.
Chocolate is lethally toxic to dogs
The theobromine in chocolate is lethally toxic to animals such as dogs (and other small animals) and horses because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively. If they are fed chocolate, the theobromine may exist in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours, and these animals may experience epileptic seizures, heart attacks, internal bleeding, and eventually death. Treatment involves inducing vomitting within two hours of ingestion, or contacting a veterinarian. About two ounces (30g) of milk chocolate can be poisonous to a 10-lb (4.5kg) puppy and plain chocolate could prove lethal at less than an ounce (15g).
Why chocolate tastes so good
Part of the enjoyability of the chocolate eating experience is ascribed to the fact that its melting point is slightly below human body temperature and so it melts in the mouth. Chocolate also releases endorphins in the brain, which makes it nice regardless of taste (like a drug) .Chocolate in the media
See also
Further reading
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