Just when you thought you had heard of all the Holidays! National Chocolate Day was started by the National Confectioner's Association. While National Chocolate Day is not an "official holiday", it seems like a great way to indulge in some chocolate bliss guilt free! Best of all, no need to buy a card, just some rich, delicious, melt in your mouth sweetness.
Where does Chocolate come from?
Chocolate grows on trees.
The cocoa "beans" that form the basis of chocolate are actually seeds from the fruit of the cacao tree, which grows near the Equator. The seeds grow inside a pod-like fruit and are covered with white pulp.
How is chocolate made?
To make chocolate, cocoa farmers crack open the pods, scoop out the seeds, ferment them and dry them.
The beans are shipped to factories, where manufacturers inspect and clean them, then roast and grind them into a paste called chocolate liquor. More pressing, rolling, mixing with sugar and other ingredients, and heating and cooling yields delicious chocolate.
FUN CHOCOLATE FACTS:
1. The average serving of milk chocolate has about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaf coffee.
2. Research to date supports that chocolate can be enjoyed as part of a balanced, heart-healthy diet and lifestyle.
3. Chocolate comes from a fruit tree; it’s made from a seed.
4. It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.
5. 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.
6. Because cacao trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.
7. 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.
My personal favorite chocolate dishes are: Flour less chocolate cake, chocolate covered strawberries and molten lava cake, YUM!
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