Chocolate
The evolution of chocolate
Introduction
We want to tell you some information about chocolate. We decided to talk about it because of its amazing history and facts of evolution that we all were very interested in. We hope that you will be interested in our presentation as well.
The legends of the birth of chocolate
We would like to start by telling you legends of birth of chocolate. The word “Chocolate” came from American Indians and includes two words: “Choco” that means foam (puta) and “Alt” that means water.
J: Aztecs thought that Cacao seeds came to Earth from Heaven, and that Cacao tree promotes power and cleverness. According to another legend the Mon God stole Cacao seeds from the Suns children country and gave them to people.
Ie: There were some truths in these legends, because chocolate stimulates brain activity and pleasing feelings. And that’s why chocolate is one of the biggest world accepted pleasures.
The history of chocolate
Columbus was the first who has brought coffee-beans to the Europe. Chocolate could be drinkable only by rich and highborn, because he was “drinking money”.
Chocolate was used as a drink for a long time, adding spice and bitter pepper in it. Sugarcanes were used for making sweet chocolate. Spanish monks seasoned chocolate by putting some honey in it.
Spain became empire of chocolate and recipes of this drink were protected in monasteries for more than 100 years. Only in the middle of XVII century houses of chocolate were opened in London. Since then, it was drunk not only by males, but women and children could enjoy sugarcoated drink too.
Chocolate became more available, because of other European countries fighting with Spain monopoly of cocoa. Soon French, English, Dutch have started cultivate cacao-trees, at the colonies of their own. Chocolate became more available for Europeans, Americans, because of declining prices, while manufacturing more and more production. a lot of experiments appeared When cacao became easier to get. People tried to find more ways of using cacao. Chocolate was used for making cakes, sherbets and others products. “Modern epoch” of chocolate has started.The chocolate making mutation
In XIXth century Swiss chemist Henri Nestle invented milk powder and other Swiss, chocolate maker, Daniel Peter, started to use them for making new, milk chocolate. After few years Rudolph Linder improved chocolate mixing process and now it became reality to get paste, from which chocolate sweets were started to form.
Making of chocolate has one very specific process – capability to mix cacao powder with sugar, vanilla and other spices. Sometimes it is running on even 72 hours. After mixing, paste of chocolate heats, then colds and it is done several times. Features of this product are so treacherous and preparation of it is as heavy as metal foundry.
If you want to make high quality chocolate, you must use even 12 kinds of cacao beans.
Cacao trees
Of course you all know that cacao beans grow on the cacao trees.
Cacao tree is called Theobroma cacao. This name was given by Swedish botanist Carl von Linné. These trees grow in rainforests, usually in the shades near the rivers and grow up to 15m height. Cultivated (sukultūrinti medžiai) trees grow only about 8m height for easier harvesting (derliaus nuėmimas).
It is interesting that flowers and pods (vaisiai) grow exactly from the stem (kamienas) called Chupon or from main branches. The pods can be up to 30 centimeters long, red-brown colour. Also cacao trees leaves can move 90 degrees from vertical to horizontal to get better sun access and to protect young leaves! There are from 20 to 40 seeds in pod that are used for chocolate. Each tree produces annually about 0.5 -2.5 kg of seed kernels (branuolys,vaisiaus sėklelė).
Chocolate classification?
Chocolate is classified to these categories: milk chocolate, bitter chocolate and white chocolate. To make every kind of chocolate, you must use different kinds of cacao beans.
Milk chocolate was first made in Switzerland and is souvenir of this country. There are few types of milk chocolate, which are recognized by milk, which is used for making. In Europe most producers uses condensed milk, in USA and England – milk and sugar powder. Taste of chocolate is different in every country by his flavour and breath.