History of Chocolate
History
of Dark Chocolate
Dark
chocolate history goes back at least 3000 years. What
began as a bitter drink in the pre-historic tropics of South
America has
become one of the world's most popular treats. For most of this
time,
dark chocolate was the only form. So chocolate history is really
the
history of dark chocolate.
Native
American Drink
Throughout
the tropical areas of Central and South America, a room-temperature
drink made
from cacao seeds has been enjoyed for several thousand years, with the
earliest
documented usage between 1400 to 1100 BC. Pre-columbian
societies,
through the Maya and Aztec, used the drink for ceremonial and medicinal
purposes,
and also as a luxury for the elite.
This
drink was very bitter, and was laced with various additions such as
vanilla,
chili pepper, sometimes alcohol, other spices, and corn meal. It
was
served warm, with no sugar or other sweetener, and would not be
particularly
recognizable today.
Spanish
discovery
Columbus
was exposed to the native chocolate drink, but was unimpressed.
It was
not until Hernando Cortez arrived that the value and possibilities in
Spain
were recognized.
The
Spanish added cane sugar, or sometimes honey, to the formula, and also
started
serving the drink hot. For almost 100 years the secrets of
chocolate
belonged exclusively to the Spanish, but then spread throughout
Europe.
At first, chocolate was available only to royalty and the nobility, but
was
later made available in coffee and chocolate houses to any who could
afford the
expensive luxury.
Until
this point, all chocolate was dark chocolate, so the history of
chocolate was
dark chocolate history. It wasn't until 1689 that milk was added
to the
chocolate drink by Hans Sloan in Jamaica.
19th
Century Change and Innovation
During
the 19th century, chocolate changed from a dark chocolate drink
available only
to the rich to the inexpensive, mass-produced, eating chocolate that we
enjoy
today. The development and growth of large plantations and
markets, and
the industrial revolution and mass production techniques, led to
chocolate that
was inexpensive enough to be available to everyone, and developed some
of the
names we are still familiar with today.
In
1828, the Dutch chocolate maker Conrad van Houten invented a hydraulic
press to
make cocoa powder, and an alkanizing process used to mellow the ta ste,
and to
make the powder easier to mix with water. This process is now
known as
the "dutch process" or "dutching process".
In
1847, Fry and Sons of England created the first solid eating chocolate
using a
process similar to that used today. This product was, of course,
a dark
chocolate.
Cadbury's
began business operations in England in 1860. Tobler was making
hand-made
chocolates in Switzerland in 1864. By 1876 the Swiss were adding
dry milk
to the formula to make milk chocolate. Lindt invented the conch
in
1879. Milton Hershey began operations in 1894. And in 1899,
Lindt
and Sprüngli were formed, and Tobler opened its first factory.
Modern
Times
In
the 20th century, mass distribution greatly increased the range and
world-wide
popularity of chocolate, with milk chocolate becoming the "primary",
most popular form. But, by the late 20th century, and into the early
21st, dark
chocolate, the original, has been regaining popularity.

History of Milk
Chocolate
There
is some confusion as to when milk was first used in the manufacture of
a solid
milk chocolate. It is though that in 1672 Sir Hans Sloane, founder of
the
British Museum and physician to Queen Anne and George II, had the
brainwave of
adding milk to drinking chocolate. the confusion deepens as in 1672 he
was only
12 years old!
It
seems that while Sir Hans was traveling in Jamaica, he recognised the
therapeutic qualities of chocolate. He saw malnourished, sickly babies
revive
after being given a mixture of cocoa, spices and water. It was after
this
experience that he is thought to have introduced milk with cocoa,
recognizing
that milk had complimentary nutritional qualities. Sir Hans was a young
man of
great vision, but his recipe was regarded as pure;y medicinal and milk
in
chocolate only became commercially available some 200 years later! It
was not
until 1820, when the Cadbury brothers eventually came to own the
recipe, that
they used it to create their highly profitable drinking chocolate
market.
In
1847, in an attempt to combat the flood of chocolate that was entering
the UK
from the Continent (mainly from Switzerland and France), Fry and Son
started to
make tablets of roasted and ground beans, mixed with sugar. These were
sold as
eating chocolate. By 1849 Cadbury was also selling “French”
eating chocolate
and as this new market expanded so the original enthusiasm for drinking
chocolate diminished.
In
1876 the Swiss Daniel Peter working in conjunction with Nestlé,
whose creamery
was next door to his factory, formulated the first commercial milk
chocolate
recipe. As only a minuscule amount of moisture can be used
“condensed” milk.
Other manufacturers were quick to follow his lead in making this milder
flavoured chocolate which now dominates the chocolate market today.
Three
years later in 1879 Lindt created the last major manufacturing
technique to
producing modern chocolate. He discovered that a much smoother textured
product
could be made if chocolate was repeatedly rolled from side to side, in
a stone
vessel . This process is called conching, and can continue for as long
as five
days.
WHAT SORT
OF MILK IS
USED TODAY?
Fresh
milk contains approximately 88% water, so it is not practical for use
in it’s
raw form. Water being the great enemy of chocolate! Most manufacturers
today
use milk crumb, which is produced by dissolving refined sugar in milk
and then
evaporating the water to produce condensed milk. Chocolate liquor is
mixed with
the sweetened condensed milk and the whole mixture is dried. The
freshness and
quality of the “original” milk is very important for the
keeping qualities of
the finished bar.
HOW MILK
CHOCOLATE IS
MADE
The
crushed cocoa beans are weighed and blended according to each
manufacturer’s
recipe – these recipes are all kept top secret! Each cocoa
variety has
distinctive qualities and tastes and blending determines the
chocolate’s
flavour. Once blended, the coarse beans are ground into a fine paste.
During
this process, some of the cocoa butter melts due to the heat and
friction
generated in the grinding. One part of the resulting cocoa paste
undergoes a
further pressing to extract the cocoa butter.
The
remaining chocolate paste / crumb is mixed with cocoa butter and
sometimes
extra chocolate liquor, sugar and flavouring i.e vanilla and the
mixture is
ground through a series of steel rollers. This is known as refining and
grinds
the cocoa particles so smooth that they can hardly be felt on the
tongue, this
mixture tastes pleasant but lacks the fine flavour of good chocolate.
Then
the liquid is placed in conching machines. These are huge shell (conch
in
Latin) shaped machines, which slowly roll and turn the mixture for
anything up
to 5 days. Extra cocoa butter and lecithin can be added to give further
smoothness. This process is designed to improve the flavour and texture
of the
final product and to remove any bitter / astringent residues in the
chocolate.
The
temperature of the liquid chocolate is raised then lowered and then
raised
again before being poured into the moulds. The tempering process is the
all
important influence on the final texture, appearance and
shelf–life of the
product.
The
use of different types of SUGAR, as well as different varieties of
cocoa beans,
helps to create the individual flavours in milk chocolate.
“Chocolate
is an article so disguised in the manufacture that it is impossible to
tell its
purity or value. The only safeguard is to buy that which bears the name
of a
reputable maker"– Chambers, Manual of Diet 1902
History of White
Chocolate
White
chocolate is a (nearly) white confection based on cocoa
butter without the cocoa solids. It also includes milk, sugar, and
usually
vanilla. Cocoa butter is the ingredient used in other chocolates so
that they
remain solid at room temperature yet melt easily in the mouth. Thus,
white
chocolate has a texture like that of chocolate but does not have the
same
taste. Some, however, find the taste similar to milk chocolate.
White chocolate was first made in Switzerland after World War I. It was
first
popularly distributed in America in 1984 with the introduction of
Nestle's
Alpine White Chocolate bar, which contained white chocolate and almonds.
As white chocolate does not contain cocoa solids it does not meet the
standards
to be called chocolate in many countries. In the United States since
2004 white
chocolate needs to be at least 20% (by weight) cocoa butter, and at
least 14%
total milk solids and less than 55% sweeteners such as sugar. Before
this date
US firms needed temporary marketing permits to sell this cocoa
solids-free
chocolate. In the European Union white chocolate needs to contain not
less than
20% cocoa butter and not less than 14% dry milk solids.
White chocolate can be used for decoration of milk or dark chocolate
confections or in any way the chocolates might be used. It is softer
than
regular chocolate and harder to find.

|