Chocolate Fun
Quotes
Chocolate Vocabulary
Bloom
A harmless white or gray discoloration on chocolate, due to improper tempering or a change in ambient temperature or humidity. It doesn't affect flavor.
Tempering
The technique of melting and reheating chocolate, stabilizing it in a beautiful sheen and clean snap.
Couverture
With a higher cocoa butter content than typical eating chocolates, couverture (pronounced "koo-vehr-tyoor", it means "blanket" in French) is solid chocolate, refined so it has an especially silky mouthfeel. It's meant for melting and tempering so it can be used for dipping or enrobing.
Dutch Chocolate
A method of treating the nib or the liquor with an alkali solution after roasting, which will reduce the acidity by increasing the normal pH factor from about 5.0 up to 8.0. The name honors the homeland of its inventor, C.J. Van Houten.
Chocolate Liquor
This, the professional term for unsweetened chocolate, consists of roasted cacao nibs ground into a thick paste that may be semi-liquid or solid, depending on the temperature. It contains no alcohol. The word "liquor" refers to its semi-liquid state. The two main components of chocolate liquor are cocoa butter (the fat that causes chocolate to literally melt in your mouth) and nonfat dry cocoa solids.
FUN FACTS
Chocolate was Consumed Many Millennia Ago
The first instances of chocolate being consumed go back as far as 4,000 years. Some estimates put this date further back to 5,300 years ago. People native to Mesoamerica harvested chocolate pods from high up in cacao trees growing in the wild. It is thought that the pulp was eaten rather than the seeds. The pulp is sweet, whereas the seeds are incredibly bitter.
Milk Chocolate Originates in Jamaica
The idea of adding milk to chocolate was first noticed by Europeans in the 17th century. Scottish-Irish physician Hans Sloane traveled to Jamaica in 1687 and reported that the locals added milk to their cocoa before drinking it. According to prominent historian James Delbourgo, the Jamaicans had been brewing chocolate in this fashion since 1494.
Chocolate was Drunk as a Frothy Brew
The earliest record of chocolate being consumed was as a frothy brew. There is no record of the recipes that were used, but it is assumed it was alcoholic in nature. It was used by the Olmecs, who passed on their knowledge of chocolate to the Mayans who came after. The Mayans often drank their chocolate with honey and chili.
Chocolate was an Important Part of Mayan Culture
Chocolate was so important to the Mayans that they used the beans as currency, and chocolate served as an accompaniment to religious ceremonies, as well as for everyday use where it was consumed with daily meals.
The Aztecs believed Chocolate Came From the Gods
The Latin name for the tree that gives us chocolate is Theobroma cacao, which means “food of the gods.” This ties in with the fact that the Aztecs literally believed that chocolate was a gift from one of their gods, Quetzalcoatl, who, after giving chocolate to humans, was condemned by the other gods for this transgression.