The cacao tree produces the cacao bean, the source of chocolate.
Chocolate traces its origins to Central and South America where the small and finicky cacao tree evolved. Spanish conquistador, H rnan Cort s, was in Mexico in 1519 when he first tasted "chocolatl," a sacred beverage of the Aztecs. Impressed, he learned of the cacao tree and brought the secrets of chocolate to Spain where they remained closely guarded for about a century. As chocolate-making spread to France and throughout Europe, distinctive chocolate products began to emerge. Famous chocolates recognizable today owe their existence to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. Factories facilitated mass production, and companies, such as Hershey, Cadbury and Lindt, all began operations.
Famous Chocolate Creations
Chocolate is naturally not sweet. In the New World, it was traditionally consumed as a hot drink, livened up with peppers and spices. In the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, a chocolate mol sauce is used to flavor many dishes and is famous for its complex flavors. Spain first introduced cane sugar to cacao beans, something the Aztecs could not. Chocolatiers have since created many delicacies with different compositions, ranging from chocolate bars to chocolate mousse and fudge. Differences in dark, milk and white chocolate result from the ratio of cocoa liquor to cocoa butter and other blended ingredients, such as milk or vanilla. Cocoa is the powder of ground and roasted cacao beans. Dark chocolate is considered by many to be finest and most pure form, as it contains the highest percentage (at least 70 percent) of cocoa.
Best Chocolate or Most Famous?
Chocolate is made by companies large and small. Specialty chocolatiers are sometimes known as "bean to bar" producers. They source cacao beans from the highest quality plants and control all aspects of production. This does not necessarily translate to fame except within a small circle of connoisseurs, as manufacturing capacity is often small or limited by the amount of high-quality cacao beans obtainable. In contrast, large chocolate companies buy their beans en masse from brokers and often cannot trace their history or the plantations that grew them. This is not to say however, that the large chocolatiers don't have special recipes, storied histories, and in many cases, an excellent product.
Famous American Chocolates
The Hershey Company, founded in 1894, is the largest manufacturer in America and is famous for its chocolate bars. Ghirardelli chocolate began in 1852 in San Francisco by an Italian chocolatier who learned his craft in South America. Now owned by Lindt & Sprungli AG, it was the second-oldest American manufacturer. Ghirardelli prides itself for tracking its beans from the source and rejecting those it considers unfit.
Famous European Chocolates
The Swiss are renowned for their chocolate production and consumption. Favarger and Camille Bloch are considered specialty brands. Lindt chocolate began in 1845 in Zurich and is sold around the world as a luxury product. Nestl was founded in Vevey, Switzerland in 1867 and creates many chocolate products sold around the world. Milka, begun by Philippe Suchard in the early 20thCcentury and another Swiss chocolatier, has a huge following in Germany and Austria. It is now owned by Kraft Foods (an American company) who also acquired the iconic British chocolate company Cadbury in a 2010 hostile takeover bid. Cadbury has made chocolate since the 1850s, introducing its famous Dairy Milk bar in 1905. Belgium invented the praline and today is known for its gourmet chocolates from a variety of manufacturers, including Callebaut, the second-largest chocolate producer in the world. From Italy hails Ferrero, a family company since 1946. The rest of the world is far behind America and Europe in terms of chocolate, with Japan's Royce', one of Asia's largest manufacturers not established until 1983.
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