Chocolate Candy
The Chocolate Connoisseur May 28th, 2007
Chocolate candy has been consumed and enjoyed for many years. Hawaii is the only place in the United States where cocoa beans are grown and on the large island of Hawaii cacao plants thrive in the warm, tropical climate. Cacao is the tree in which large pods grow up to ten inches long and each pod can have forty seeds, which are called cocoa beans. After the beans ferment, they are dried and roasted and the meat of the seed is then ground into a powder. Cocoa beans contain 50% of fat and when the beans are ground, a liquid is produced containing pure, bitter chocolate liquor. As the liquid cools, it solidifies, forming a chocolate form known in stores as baking chocolate. When the chocolate liquor is pressed, the fat is removed. This creates two results, one being cocoa powder, while the other is known as cocoa butter. The powder is used usually for baking and the butter can be used for making other products such as cosmetics and soap products.
The first introduction of chocolate recorded is in approximately 1500 BC to 400 BC but it was not turned into chocolate candy until much later. Olmec Indians were known to grow the first domestic crops of cocoa beans. The use of cocoa beans was developed by the Mayans, who produced an unsweetened bitter drink that was enjoyed by only the elite. The drink was made by grinding the cocoa beans into powder and by adding water to it. By the 1400s, the Aztecs referred to liquid chocolate as “xocalatl” which translated meant bitter or warm liquid. Not until the 1600s was sweetness added to the cocoa bean powder. The Spanish added sugar cane or vanilla to the cocoa and created a sweeter version of the bitter concoction. By 1570 cocoa had been recognized as a medicine and aphrodisiac. In 1790 the price of cocoa beans had dropped significantly and that allowed other people to be able to afford the beans besides the wealthy. Cocoa beans were introduced to the United States in about 1765 when an Irish chocolate maker named John Hanan imported the cocoa to Massachusetts. The well-known brand name of Baker’s Chocolate was founded with the introduction of the chocolate mill by 1780.
The term dutching produced chocolate candy, which created a smoother texture and removed the amount of cocoa butter. The Fry’s chocolate company mixed the cocoa butter and sugar and thus created a paste, which was formed into bars. This created the first chocolate candy bar. The first box of chocolates produced by Richard and John Cadbury were offered as a Valentines Day treat. For eight years, Daniel Peter of Switzerland developed the idea of milk chocolate. Herni Nestle joined him to create the company known today as Nestle Chocolate.
The price of chocolate candy depends on the company that produces the candy and the price of the cocoa beans. Some companies use generic cocoa beans and this lowers the price of the candy. Other companies’ prices are higher due to the reputation of the chocolate maker and the higher demand for the quality product. There are many choices of chocolate candy available today and the choice of which to buy is usually based on personal taste.
