Guide – ‘If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you.

Chocolate has been a longtime favorite of many. The earliest recorded mainstream use of chocolate was in 1529 when it was used in Spain. Since then chocolate has made stops around the globe. Introduced in liquid products in England chocolate has taken off in popularity since. Some of the first chocolate bars were bittersweet like that that became popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However chocolate really went mainstream in America around the 1920s. At that time there were approximately 40,000 different candy bars introduced in the Eastern United States.

Guide – In genearl, the shelf life for chocolate is a year. Chocolate that is refrigerated may not melt as readily.

Chocolate has grown ever popular since it was first produce and enjoyed. There are few who do not enjoy an occasional candy bar or sweet treat made with chocolate in it. Today you can find chocolate in candy, drinks foods and even medicine.

Chocolate has become both a favorite of many and a hindrance to many diets. The sweet smooth taste of chocolate is being constantly improved upon. There are many different types of chocolate available today. For instance, dark chocolate, which appears to produce a sweeter yet less sugary type of flavor has be come extremely popular in recent year.

Guide – When you begin eating chocolate, make sure you do it one bite at a time. This is important.

Chocolate has also long been known for its antioxidants that help to keep your body healthy. Indulging in a small piece of chocolate regularly has been shown in scientific studies to improve your mood and improve your health. As long as you don’t go overboard eating a small chocolate can help your body to fight off illness and various illnesses due to lack of antioxidants.

Chocolate is often given to others as a gift for some holidays. It is also proven to improve your mood due to releasing chemicals in your brain know as mood enhancers. Recent studies have shown that giving a small piece of chocolate to patients in the hospital can improve their mood and therefore speed the healing process.

Guide – If one swallows a cup of chocolate only three hours after a copious lunch, everything will be perfectly digested and there will still be room for dinner.

Dark chocolate has been show to contain the most antioxidants so if you are merely interested in the occasional chocolate for health purposes then you should be aware to use dark chocolate. The benefits have been proven by the FDA or Food and Drug Administration, which conduct and approve all regulated foods in the United States.

Regardless of whether you eat chocolate for enjoyment or for the health benefits there is no shortage of choice. You can find chocolate in many drinks, candy, foods, and some medicines. The love for chocolate seems to be a love shared by the entire world. You will find chocolate in most countries around the globe, sometimes in small villages that you may have never expected. Isn’t it great to know that wherever you go there is probably somewhere nearby where you can purchase your favorite sweet treat, chocolate?

Guide – ‘Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always tells a little white lie.

Guide – Make your own chocolates. It’s easy to make many chocolate delights yourself, with the exact ingredients you want.

The history of chocolate is a intricate one spanning back to the days of the Aztec. They associated chocolate with their goddess of fertility Xochiquetzal. It was consumed as a drink called xocoatl, which was often seasoned with vanilla, chili pepper, and pimento. It was believed that this drink combated fatigue, a belief believed to be attributed to the theobromine content that is found in chocolate. Chocolate was considered a luxury though out Mesoamerica, so much so that the cacao beans were often used as currency. The taste itself, at this time, had to be acquired. It bore no resemblance to the chocolate we know and love today. Jose de Acosta, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who lived in Peru and then Mexico in the later 16th century, wrote:

Guide – The Swiss eat the most chocolate. The average person eats 19lbs a year.

“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 Chocolate. 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.”

Guide – When you begin eating chocolate, make sure you do it one bite at a time. This is important.

The first hints of chocolate were never known in the “old world” of Europe until when Christopher Columbus returned from his trip. He brought with him a few of the cacao beans to present to the king and queen of Spain. They were not met with much excitement because well, they were just beans.

It was not until around 1519 when the Spaniards and Cortez were first introduce to the drink xocoatl that any true use was found for chocolate beans. The drink itself was very bitter in nature, so the Spaniards had the idea to add sugar-cane to sweeten it. They brought this back to their country, where it underwent many changes, and was eventually received quite well.

Guide – Tassimo from Braun is also one of the better-known appliances available. In addition to many kinds of coffee, this machine can make excellent Suchard Hot Chocolate drink.

Over time the chocolate making process went from small shops where it was made by hand to bigger mass production. With the advent of the steam engine, the process of making chocolate was improved drastically. Because of this, in around 1730, prices soon dropped to within the reach of everyone, and was not limited to the wealthy anymore. The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 brought prices down even further, while improving the quality of the drink.

Guide – In genearl, the shelf life for chocolate is a year. Chocolate that is refrigerated may not melt as readily.

Two big advancements in chocolate came in the 19th century. In 1847 an English company introduced the first solid eating chocolate. This was made possible through the development of fondant chocolate, a smooth and velvety variety that has almost completely replaced the old coarse grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. The second advancement was in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, when Daniel Peter devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.

The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake. Recipe For The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake.

French chocolate is one of the most popular types of confection in the world. It is used in many tasty treats such as chocolate mousse and the ever popular chocolate eclair. Chocolate truffles have long been favored for their rich taste and texture and chocolate covered pralines were also made popular by the French. Chocolate was not just considered a confection in France. It was also used for medicinal purposes and reported to be beneficial with health problems.

Guide – In genearl, the shelf life for chocolate is a year. Chocolate that is refrigerated may not melt as readily.

You may be interested to know that the French had a hand in making chocolate famous in areas besides France. During the mid 1800s, a Frenchman named Etienne Guittard was hoping to make his fortune in the California gold rush. He headed to the Barbary Coast where instead of mining for gold to make his living, he ended up growing rich by selling chocolate. In 1686, he opened the Guittard Chocolate factory where it is still family owned and operated to this day.

Guide – Holding the strawberry by the leaves, dip it into the warm chocolate and swirl.

The first London chocolate store, then called a chocolate house, was established by a Frenchman in 1657. The name of the store was the Coffee Mill and Tobacco roll. The chocolate that was sold there was so expensive that only wealthy patrons could afford to purchase it.

There are other very famous, French chocolate makers that still have shops and factories that have continued to be popular long after they were established.

Guide – Choose organic chocolates. Certified organic chocolate ensures there are no harmful pesticide residues.

In 1945, Maurice Bernachon opened the Bernachon Chocolate Factory in Lyons, France when he was only 26. He was trained in the art of chocolate making by his parents at the young age of 14. Today, 60 years later, the Bernachon factory is still famous for its delicious chocolate.

In 1660, a Frenchman named Debauve was dubbed the first “Royal Chocolate Maker”, by King Louis the 14th of France after he had received a wedding gift of chocolate from his wife Marie Therese. In 1800, approximately a century and ½ later, one of his descendents named Sulpice Debauve established a chocolate shop in Paris.

Guide – Make your own chocolates. It’s easy to make many chocolate delights yourself, with the exact ingredients you want.

His chocolate was so revered that he was able to open additional shops and had established 60 of them by 1804. He had a nephew named Antoine Gallais, who partnered up with him in 1823 and the name of his shops changed to Debauve and Gaillais. Continuing in the tradition of his ancestor, Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X appointed them the Official Chocolatiers of the French Court. Although Sulpice Debauve died in 1836, his legacy still continues with the company he founded in 1804.

Guide – ‘Life is like a box of chocolates..

French chocolate has had a strong impact on history. Many of the delicious chocolates that you enjoy today are due to the innovations of the French who took the simple cocoa bean and turned it into an entire industry.