Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
‘Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain.’ Noted columnist and author Dave Barry’s words speak a lot about our everlasting love for chocolates. As we celebrate World Chocolate Day on July 7 we not only fuel some of our chocolate memories but also sink our teeth into the history of chocolates, the making, and what makes them so irresistible.
Switzerland leads the world in chocolate consumption with 22.36 pounds per person per year, revealed a survey by the Chocolate Manufacturer’s Association. Austria and Ireland are not far behind with 20.13 pounds and 19.47 pounds, respectively. Even in the Middle East, chocolate sales have exceeded $4.2 billion, forcing international brands to flood the market.
While To’ak is considered as the most expensive chocolate in the world, Toblerone from Switzerland is the most popular brand followed by Guylian from Belgium. Welcome to the world of chocolates, something that’s never enough. After all, when it comes to chocolates resistance is futile, isn’t it?
Chocolate as a food item has come a long, long way since its inception. The origins can be traced to the ancient Aztec and Mayan civilisations, which prized chocolate for centuries, before slowly bestowing the knowledge to the world. The divine cocoa was first said to have been used in a drink called ‘chocolati’ made from roasted cocoa beans. That was how the sweet, addictive journey of chocolate began, and since then there has been no looking back.
Today, a whopping $100 billion worth of chocolates are sold each year throughout the world, and those who claim to not like chocolates are given judgemental stares for saying such a despicable thing out loud. SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago market research firm, people in the United States spent more than $7 billion for individual-sized chocolate candy bars, bags, and boxes in just one year.
According to a survey data released in 2015, M&M’s generated $406.7 million, selling a total of 417.7 million units of these colourful chocolate filled candies that wouldn’t melt in the hands. Trendingtopmost.com reported that so far this year, Snickers is the best selling chocolate bar brand. It belongs to Mars Incorporation, which also has other top chocolate brands like Maltesers, Mars, Bounty, Twix, Milky Way and more.
Chocolate making is not a child’s play. You don’t realise it while savouring your favourite bar, but it’s a long, intricate process. It all starts with the cultivation of cacao. The Theobroma cocao tree grows at 20 degrees north and south of Equator, and bears pods which contain the precious cocoa beans. Once the pods turn yellow-orange, they are chopped open and the seeds are removed. The beans are then left to be fermented, either by the heap method or in cascading boxes. Once fermented, which take 2 to 9 days, they must be carefully dried. And then they are shipped to international markets or chocolate makers. This is called the cocoa mass which, when placed under extreme temperatures, become cocoa powder or cocoa butter. And then there’s conching, tempering, moulding, and finally the never-ending, unstoppable eating.
According to the International Cocoa Organisation, cocoa is predominantly a smallholder crop, as more than 90 per cent of world cocoa production originates from small farms. In Africa and Asia, a typical smallholder cocoa farm covers only 2 to 5 hectares of land. And it approximately takes 400 cacao beans to make 450 grams of chocolate. This information is vital, so you will value every bite of your favourite chocolate bar, not just for the taste, but also for the effort that has gone into bringing it to you.
Chocolate, apart from being a versatile food item, is said to do a number of other jobs. The smell of chocolate increases the brain waves, which triggers relaxation. So if you thought that you feel relaxed after having a bite of the best Hershey’s bar only because of the satisfaction of getting to eat it, then remember that there is actually more to it.
Also, eat some chocolate when you are feeling a little drained and low on energy, and drinking chocolate milk after exercising is great for our health, because it is full of protein. Additionally, it helps increase your endurance, making it a great workout buddy. And if you are feeling low and a little stressed out, then chocolate can come to the rescue. The contents of dark chocolate can help in the production of endorphins, which are known to improve your mood. Apart from this, dark chocolate has a number of health and skin benefits.
No wonder Thornton created the world’s largest chocolate bar on his 100th birthday, and due to Marie Antoinette’s love for the magical hot chocolate, it became one of the most frequently served drinks at the Palace of Versailles. And don’t forget that there was an entire movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, made and remade about this wondrous gift mankind ever got.
