Chocolate Facts
Chocolate Facts
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2. The cacao tree was discovered 2,000 years ago in Mesoamerica. Ancient Maya and Aztec
cultures ground the seeds into a paste and made a bitter chocolate drink.
3. The Aztecs often used the cacao seeds as a form of money, in non-sweet main dishes (like today's mole sauces) and some sacred ceremonies.
4. Explorers took the seeds to Spain and cacao was then dispersed throughout Europe. There, new recipes, which included cream and sugar, were created and the new sweet version of a chocolate-based food was developed.
5. Cacao is the seed of a pod. Cacao, or what is used to make chocolate, is bitter in its raw form.
6. There are different types of chocolate: unsweetened, Dutch, bittersweet, sweet (dark), milk and cocoa. By law, these items differ in terms of cacao content and amounts of other ingredients.
7. It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.
8. Research to date supports that chocolate can be enjoyed as part of a balanced, heart healthy diet and lifestyle.
9. The average serving of milk chocolate has about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaf coffee.
10. Because cacao trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.
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12. Studies have demonstrated that one of the major saturated fats in chocolate does not raise cholesterol like other hard fats-meaning chocolate can be enjoyed in moderation.
13. Chocolate comes from a fruit tree; it’s made from a seed.
14. Theobroma Cacao is the tree that produces cocoa beans, and it means "food of the gods". Carolus Linnaeus, the father of plant taxonomy, named it.
15. Most cocoa-70 percent-hails from West Africa.
16. Cacao leaves can move 90 degrees, from horizontal to vertical, to get sun and to protect younger leaves.
17. Some cacao trees are more than 200 years old, but most give marketable cocoa beans for only the first 25 years.
18. The average size of a cocoa farm in West Africa is 7 to 10 acres.
19. Rudolph Lindt designed the first conching machine, its bed curved like a conch shell.
20. Cote d'Ivoire is the single largest producer of cocoa, providing roughly 40 percent of the world's supply.
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21. Through some programs supported by industry and partners including foundations and
governments, farmers are now earning between 20 percent and 55 percent more from their crops.
22. Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his print shop in Philadelphia.
23. The price of cocoa can fluctuate daily-affecting farmers’ incomes.
24. Cacao beans were so valuable to early Mesoamericans that they were used as currency.
25. The average West African cocoa family has eight members.
26. An Indonesian cocoa farming community built a giant statue of hands holding a cocoa pod.
27. In addition to tending cacao trees, family members may harvest bananas or other fruit crops.
28. The ancients also fermented the pulp of the cacao pod to make other beverages.
29. In November, Germans celebrate St. Martin-a knight who shared his cloak with a beggar-with a lantern-lit parade, sweets and steaming hot chocolate.
30. Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans.
31. Cacao percentage determines the amount of cocoa bean products by weight in a chocolate.
32. "Cacao" is how you say "cocoa" in Spanish.
33. Champagne and sparkling wines are too acidic to pair well with milk or dark chocolate.
34. Try pairing bubbly with white chocolate and red wine with dark.
35. Some cocoa certification programs are modeled on success with a similar product-coffee.
36. Chocolate can make dogs and cats ill-meaning no tastings for your furry friend, and more for you.
37. A farmer must wait four to five years for a cacao tree to produce its first beans.
38. German chocolate cake was named for Sam German, who developed a sweet bar for Baker's. Chocolate-and was not from Germany.
39. Chocolate is America's favorite flavor. About half of all U.S. adults consistently rank chocolate as their favorite flavor for treats and sweets snacks. Berry flavors and vanilla are distant rivals, each garnering about 10 percent of votes.
40. U.S. chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the almonds produced in the United States and 25 percent of domestic peanuts.
41. U.S. chocolate manufacturers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to
make chocolate.
42. The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature (98.6
degrees)-which is why it literally melts in your mouth.
43. Older children are significantly more likely to prefer chocolate than younger children.
44. Dark chocolate is most popular among men.
45. The largest chocolate bar ever manufactured was in Italy in 2000 and the bar had a weight of 2268 kilograms.
46. More than twice as many women than men eat and crave chocolate.
47. The first chocolate bar was produced by Cadbury in England in 1842.
48. Nestle introduced Chocolate Chips in 1939.49. "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get".
(Forrest Gump)
49. Chocolate contains very little caffeine.
50. White chocolate isn't chocolate. It's a confection made with sugar, vanilla, cream and/or milk solids, cocoa butter and doesn't have chocolate liquor.
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