Ferrero Rocher, Hershey’s, Toblerone, Cadbury and many more are among the most popular chocolate brands. They produce a wide variety of chocolaty treats.Chocolate is one of the most popular and craved food/snack.The majority of people love this sweet treat, but how much do you know about chocolate? In this blog we will discuss 10 facts about chocolate.
Chocolate is a product of the Cocoa tree.
The cocoa tree is native to tropical regions. The fruits of this plant are harvested for their beans, cocoa beans, to make chocolate. The seeds are dried up, roasted and fermented, then liquidize to create chocolate. Chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter are some other products made with the cocoa beans.
Chocolate is bitter.
Real chocolate-lovers and chocolate enthusiasts will already know this, but for those unfamiliar with this it may come as a shock. The cocoa beans have a bitter taste by nature. To let the chocolate most of us consume taste sweeter, they add a great amount of sugar into the paste. Milk chocolate has milk added to it, logically.
White chocolate.
This is a very logical one, but given the fact people think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, i will take the liberty to address this one. White chocolate is not made of white cocoa beans. White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids (the non-fat component of cocoa). Cocoa solids are the primary constituent of conventional chocolate liquor — chocolate in its raw, unsweetened form. During manufacturing, the dark-colored solids of the cocoa bean are separated from its fatty content, as with milk chocolate and dark chocolate. As a result, this cocoa butter is the only cocoa ingredient in white chocolate. Because it contains no cocoa solids, white chocolate contains only trace amounts of the stimulants theobromine and caffeine. White chocolate may include additional flavorings, such as vanilla.
The history of chocolate
The history of chocolate began in Southern Mexico. Fermented beverages made from chocolate date back to 450 BC.The Aztecs believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom, and the seeds once had so much value that they were used as a form of currency. Originally prepared only as a drink, chocolate was served as a bitter liquid, mixed with spices or corn puree. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac and to give the drinker strength. Today, such drinks are also known as "Chilate" and are made by locals in the South of Mexico. After its arrival to Europe in the sixteenth century, sugar was added to it and it became popular throughout society, first among the ruling classes and then among the common people.
Chocolate countries
Although chocolate is a tropical plant, not a single tropical country is considered a “chocolate” capital. Most of the countries that are famous for their chocolate are: Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France. Worth noticing is that four of the top five cocoa beans exporting countries had colonial ties with one of the before mentioned countries.
The price of chocolate
Tropical countries, mostly African countries, export their cocoa beans to Europe or other major chocolate producing countries. According to reliable sources the price per metric tonne chocolate was around $2,100 in 2019. The price of cocoa beans is kept significantly low, so that chocolate can be sold for a reasonable price. Most of the profits in the chocolate industry goes to the processors and not the farmers.
Chocolate Love
Most people will tell you that they feel better after consuming chocolate. The reason for that is as follow: Chocolate triggers the brain to release endorphins – hormones that cause your pulse to speed up and give you a pleasant high feeling, rather like being in love.
The theobromine and phenylethylamine in cocoa are also thought to affect levels of serotonin – which can boost your mood and ease depression. Chocolate also triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin, the so called “feel-good” hormones.
Health benefits of dark chocolate
Chocolate has a lot of health benefits some of them are listed below :
Lowering cholesterol levels
Preventing cognitive decline
Reducing the risk of cardiovascular problems
High antioxidants level
Positive effects on fetal growth and development (pregnant women)
Health risks
Like everything else, chocolate also has some negative effects on your health. The less pleasant effects are listed below:
Tooth decay, because of high sugar content
Degrading bone health
Prevalence of heavy metals in cocoa powder and other products.
Surinamese Chocolate
During the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade one of the crops cultivated in the then dutch colony, Suriname, was cocoa. This product along with coffee, timber, sugar, cotton and tobacco were primarily the crops cultivated in Suriname. Sadly most of the cocoa plantations stopped production around the 20th century.
Next time you hold a bar of chocolate in your hand, think about the long history of chocolate. I hope that after you’ve read this blog you’ve been enriched with more knowledge about chocolate.
Read, Educate and Share.
See you soon.
sources:
History Cocoa Plantations Suriname
Top 10 cocoa producing countries
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