Something a little different from the typical post is chocolate. Normally I pick a food from another country, but chocolate is found everywhere, and everyone knows what it is. In this post, I am going to give you a brief history of chocolate and who discovered it. The earliest evidence of chocolate is said to be found during pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica (back 3 or 4 millennia). Both the Mayans and Aztecs used the cocoa bean to produce a chocolate drink, said to be the drink of the Gods. The Aztecs thought that the drink had supernatural and divine properties. Sacrifice victims were given a cup of this cocoa bean drink mixed with blood from the previous victim to give them the strength to go through the ritual. It was not until the Europeans brought this simple drink back to Europe that people started sweetening the drink. Sweetened with cane sugar or honey, this chocolate drink became very popular in Spain.
In 1828 a Dutch chemist created a powered form of chocolate, which soon led to solid chocolate, called “Dutch Cocoa” and in 1847 the first chocolate bar was created from a mold. Cadbury became one of the first companies to sell chocolate bars in England, which followed my Nestle who sold a new “milk chocolate” which skyrocketed the chocolate popularity. Chocolate was so important in America that during the Revolutionary War, it was used as part of soldiers wages.
Today, chocolate can be found in many different forms and flavors. It is a 4 billion dollar industry in the United States right now and only holds good outlook for the future. Below is a recipe to make chocolate at home:
INGREDIENTS
- 50 grams cocoa butter
- 50 grams icing sugar
- 25 grams milk powder (Full fat)
- 13 grams cocoa powder (Unsweetended)
To ensure a good product, its import that all equipment is clean and free of any water contamination. Use a steel saucepan and metal utensils.
Use a Bain-Marie if you are able to improvise one, which will reduce the chance to overheat the chocolate.
- Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa powder together to remove any lumps. Set aside.
- Blitz the powdered milk in a blender until it is a fine powder. Set aside.
- Melt the cocoa butter slowly in the saucepan until it is fully melted.
- Add the milk powder first and stir continually until it is fully dissolved.
- Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder mixture and stir continuously.
- Keep stirring until all the ingredients have dissolved and combined to make a smooth, glossy mixture.
- Remove from the heat for about five minutes, give a final stir and then pour into moulds.
- Allow to set and enjoy!
From: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/members/wdghs-homemade-milk-chocolate
