2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14
Chocolate is the name given to certain types of edible products that are obtained from cocoa beans. The latter are the seeds of a tropical tree - cocoa. There are a variety of interesting facts about chocolate, telling about its origin, healing properties, contraindications, types and methods of application.
Chocolate is a delicious delicacy that everyone loves, from the smallest gourmets to the elderly. This dish is idolized, holidays are organized in its honor, museums are opened and entire exhibitions are dedicated to it. Therefore, there is something to tell about chocolate.
A bit of chocolate history
Chocolate first appeared among the Aztec, Olmec and Mayan tribes. But how exactly this product arose, where it came from, who exactly opened it to the world, no one knows to this day. But there is a version according to which chocolate comes from Mexico. The supreme god of the Aztecs - Quetzalcoatl - had a magnificent orchard. A wide variety of plants grew in it. Were among themand completely unsightly cocoa trees, and their fruits had a bitter taste and an unusual appearance. The king thought for a very long time how to use these tasteless fruits, and what to do with the trees themselves.
And one day a thought came to him: God peeled the crops, crushed them to a powder and filled them with water. Quetzalcoatl liked the resulting drink very much, as it inspired joy and gave strength. The drink was called "chocolatl" and after a while became widespread among the Indians. As a result, the name "drink of the gods" was granted to the new dish. Christopher Columbus, who visited Mexico, was honored to taste this nectar.
Interesting facts about chocolate are also connected with Anne of Austria. After all, it was thanks to her that this product came to Europe. When the future queen was 14 years old, she married King Louis XIII of France. In a foreign land, the girl experienced incredible longing. In order to somehow create the atmosphere of her home and cheer herself up a little, she drank hot chocolate, which she brought with her from her country. Anna also brought a huge amount of outlandish fruits that had never been seen before in France and a maid who knew the recipe for making chocolate. Later, the princess taught her husband to use the new drink. The nobility tried with all their might to get food and drinks, which the king himself indulged in. This is how chocolate began to spread across the European continent.
Richelieu, Casanova and chocolate
With such famous historicalPersonalities like Cardinal Richelieu and Casanova's ladies' man are also associated with some interesting facts about chocolate. The French cardinal, suffering from many ailments, drank a chocolate drink on the advice of his doctor. Every morning, Richelieu consumed chocolate, not knowing that the doctor was secretly adding drugs to it. Soon the cardinal recovered. It is not known what gave a greater effect - medicines or still chocolate, but the product has since become the best medicine.
Lovelace Giovanni Casanova also started his day with a cup of delicious drink and was sure that he owed his undying "male power" to him. Casanova treated his mistresses with black liquid chocolate to warm them up a little.
All the fun about chocolate
We will try to give all the most interesting facts about chocolate below. So, the first chocolate bar was made in 1842 by the English factory Cadbury. Today, Côte d'Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa. About 40% of all world deliveries of the product fall to the share of this state. Every year, worldwide revenue from sold chocolate exceeds 83 million US dollars. But this is not the limit - economists say that demand will grow by another 15-20% in the near future.
Cocoa trees grow in Central and South America, Southeast Asia and West Africa. To make 400 grams of chocolate, you need to use approximately 400 cocoa beans. Dark chocolate is he althier. The white and milk variety will not bring as much benefit asthis will make them a dark "relative".
Many, many years ago, only the elite strata of society could afford to eat sweet treats from cocoa beans. In Barcelona, in 1870, the first mechanical machine was designed to make chocolate.
Chocolate benefits
Indian tribes noticed the benefits of chocolate. Modern scientists have only confirmed their theories. So, it has been proven that a cup of hot chocolate helps wounds heal faster, improves body tone and relieves a person of fatigue. Chocolate lovers may not worry about the occurrence of a disease such as atherosclerosis. The essential oils contained in the product prevent the deposition of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels, and therefore the disease will not develop.
Neurosurgeons and cardiologists also note the benefits of treats. So, in patients who regularly consume sweets and cocoa bars, blood clots do not form. And the flavonoids present in the product protect against heart attacks and strokes. 50 grams of treats every day prevents the development of ulcers and cancer.
Delicious food production process
Chocolate production is a long and difficult process that begins with the extraction of cocoa beans from the fruit. They are rid of the gelatin ball that surrounds them and the beans are left to ferment for a few days. During this time, elements appear that subsequently affect the aroma of cocoa. Then the grains are cleaned again and roasted at a temperature of 120-140 degrees. During this process, the taste of the finalproduct.
Further, the production of chocolate looks like this: roasted grains are ground into gruel, which is then finely ground and cocoa butter and sugar are added. Now you can also add almonds, liquor, milk and other ingredients. In order to add sweetness and flavor to chocolate, the resulting mass is cleaned of the smallest grains and mixed in special tanks for several days.
This composition is cooled to a temperature at which the chocolate looks most appetizing, and poured into molds. Molding is the final step in making chocolate. The molds are filled with a liquid mass, then the product cools down, it is easily removed from the containers and sent to the sale.
Museum exhibitions
Chocolate is such a popular and beloved delicacy that almost every country has a museum of chocolate. In such an institution, you can learn a lot of interesting things about the product and its history, as well as try different types of it. One of the best museums is in Belgium. And this is not surprising, because this country is considered a chocolate state, and its sweets are the best in the world. The institution is located in the city of Bruges in the old Castle of Harze and is called Choco-Story. The chocolate collection of the royal dynasty is presented here. The museum has a bar Choc, which sells 44 varieties of chocolate cocktails.
There is an interesting chocolate museum in Prague. The Vladomir Cech Museum is dedicated to chocolate as a drink. An entertaining exposition demonstrates the history of the product. Also passes herean interesting exhibition of paintings painted with liquid chocolate. After viewing the exhibition, visitors can take an exam and receive a sweet bar and a few cocoa beans as a reward.
Chocolate Feast
In addition to museums dedicated to cocoa treats, in many states a fun chocolate festival is held every year. The most famous is the Eurochocolate festival, which takes place in the Italian city of Perugia. Approximately one million people visit the event every year. The holiday brings together about 200 chocolate makers from all over the world.
In Paris, local authorities also regularly organize a chocolate festival, where global food manufacturers offer festival visitors not only to drink and eat chocolate, but also to put it on themselves. The Paris celebration is considered the largest on the planet.
Chocolate Festival in Ukrainian Lviv is the youngest, since it was founded only in 2007. It takes place every year on Valentine's Day. On this day, everyone has the opportunity to taste only the best chocolate delicacies.
Beware of chocolate
Many sweet tooth today has a chocolate addiction. To understand if you have become addicted to this product, monitor your behavior: if you notice that you cannot fall asleep until you eat a chocolate bar and drink a cup of aromatic hot drink made from cocoa beans, then you can be sure that you are suffering this ailment. It is comparable to alcoholism and drug addiction, therefore it requiresimmediate treatment.
Chocolate addiction is psychological. After all, colorful commercials are often broadcast on TV, calling for eating a chocolate bar. And it’s hard for a person to resist, especially if tasty tiles are stored in the bedside table. Cocoa also provokes addiction, in which there are many substances that stimulate the production of the hormone of happiness - phenethylamine. Thus, chocolate is an excellent antidepressant.
As a result of excessive consumption of chocolate in the body, there is a lack of substances necessary for its functioning. This leads to the development of many ailments. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of chocolate addiction as soon as possible.
Extraordinary types of chocolate
Everyone knows that there are four types of chocolate: bitter, milk, dark and white. But today there are chocolate sweets that are a curiosity, especially for the domestic consumer. For example, chocolate made from camel milk. It is produced in the United Arab Emirates. Experts are sure that this variety is much he althier than usual, and even people with diabetes can use it.
A Swiss company supplies chocolate with absinthe to the European market. At the moment when the sweetness begins to melt in the mouth, it releases the bitterness of the wormwood tincture, and the taste of the chocolate is especially sharp. The product contains only 8.5% alcohol, so it is impossible to get drunk from it.
Now also available in dark chocolate with s alt. This is an organic product that producesAmerican enterprise. The composition of the tiles includes sea s alt, but you can find specimens with pepper and s alt, with s alt and ground coffee, as well as with s alt and cane sugar.
The most expensive chocolate in the world
For more than a century, the American company Chocopologie by Knipschildt (Connecticut) has been offering the world's most expensive exclusive chocolate. All the inhabitants of the White House are crazy about him. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain also loves to enjoy American sweetness. This chocolate is made entirely by hand. One pound of this delicacy costs $2,600.
Is there any harm
Many skeptics believe that chocolate is not capable of doing anything but harm. Sweetness has a negative effect only on persons prone to allergies, people with diabetes and individuals who cannot limit themselves in eating food. Everyone else can enjoy the divine taste of a delicacy with peace of mind, which will only benefit them.
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