The history of chocolate: from ancient civilizations to the present day. Aztec legends, the birth and flourishing of the chocolate industry in Europe, interesting facts from the history of chocolate.

The history of the appearance of chocolate is inextricably linked with the birth of the first civilizations. The oldest delicacy has gone from a bitter Aztec drink to a sweet European dessert, which in the 19th century took on a solid state familiar to us, and today is one of the most popular confectionery products in the world.

The oldest history of chocolate

The history of chocolate began more than 3 thousand years ago in the fertile lowlands of the Gulf of Mexico, where civilization was born. Very little evidence has been preserved about the life of this people, but scientists believe that it was in the Olmec language that the word “kakawa” first appeared. So the ancient Indians called a drink made from crushed cocoa beans diluted with cold water.

After the disappearance of the Olmec civilization, the Maya Indians settled on the territory of modern Mexico. They considered the cocoa tree to be a kind of deity, and magical properties were attributed to its grains. The ancient Mexicans even had their own patron - the cocoa god, to whom the priests prayed in the temples.

This is interesting! The Indians used cocoa beans as a bargaining chip: for 10 fruits of a cocoa tree, you could buy a rabbit, and for 100 - a slave.

The first cocoa plantations

Cacao trees grew in abundance, so for a long time they were not cultivated by the Maya. True, a drink from their seeds was considered a luxury available only to the elite - priests, tribal fathers and the most worthy warriors.

By the 6th century AD Mayan civilization reached its peak. It is hard to believe that this small nation managed to build entire cities, with pyramid castles, which surpassed the monuments of the Ancient World in their architecture. At this time, the first cocoa plantations were laid.

Ancient history of chocolate

By the 10th century AD the Mayan culture was in decline. And two centuries later, a powerful Aztec empire was formed on the territory of Mexico. Of course, they did not leave cocoa plantations without attention, and every year cocoa trees gave more and more crops.

At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Aztecs conquered the Xoconochco region, gaining access to the best cocoa plantations. According to legend, about 500 bags of cocoa beans were consumed in the Nezahualcoyotl palace per year, and the warehouse of the Aztec leader Montezuma contained tens of thousands of bags of cocoa.

Aztec legends

The legend of the Garden of Eden of the wizard Quetzalcoatl

The history of the origin of chocolate is covered with many secrets and legends. The Aztecs believed that cocoa seeds came to them from paradise, and the fruits of the sacred tree are the food of the celestials, from which wisdom and strength come. There are many beautiful legends about the divine drink made from cocoa beans. One of them tells about the wizard Quetzalcoatl, who supposedly lived among these people and planted a garden of cocoa trees. The drink, which people began to prepare from the fruits of the cocoa tree, healed their souls and bodies. Quetzalcoatl was so proud of the results of his labor that he was punished by the gods with deprivation of reason. In a fit of madness, he destroyed his Garden of Eden. But one single tree survived, and since then gives people joy.

The legend of Montezuma's favorite drink

This legend says that the leader of the ancient Indians loved the drink from the fruits of the cocoa tree so much that he drank 50 small cups of this delicacy daily. For Montezuma, chocolatl (from choco - “foam” and latl - “water”), as the ancient Indians called it, was prepared according to a special recipe: cocoa beans were fried, ground with grains of milk corn, sweet agave juice, honey and vanilla. Chocolatl was served in gold glasses adorned with precious stones.

Destruction of the Maya civilization

The Indians believed in these legends so much that they accepted the prudent and bloodthirsty Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, that in 1519 he came to Tenochtitlan (the ancient capital of Mexico), for the god Quetzalcoatl, who had returned from heaven. Gold and other treasures gave Cortes Montezuma. But the cruel Spaniard walked with bloody footprints on Mexican soil. The Spaniards plundered Montezuma's palace, and tortured the Indian chiefs to teach them the secrets of making a chocolate drink. After that, the insidious and cruel Cortes ordered the destruction of all the priests who knew this secret.

The history of chocolate in the Middle Ages. Conquest of Europe

Spanish introduction to chocolate

Returning to Spain, Cortes went to the king, who had heard about the atrocities of the cruel conquistador. But Cortes managed to appease the monarch with a drink made from an outlandish overseas product. It must be said that the Spaniards changed the recipe for chocolate that existed for centuries: they began to add cinnamon, cane sugar and nutmeg to the too bitter Aztec chocolatl. For more than half a century, the Spaniards kept the recipe for making a chocolate drink in the strictest confidence, not wanting to share their discovery with anyone.

Italian acquaintance with chocolate

Thanks to smugglers, the Netherlands learned about chocolate. And the Florentine traveler Francesco Carletti told the Italians about a drink made from cocoa beans that they were the first to invent licenses for the creation of chocolate production. The country was gripped by a real chocolate mania: chocolatiers - as chocolate cafes were called in Italy, opened one after another in different cities. The Italians did not zealously guard the recipe for an exquisite delicacy. Austria, Germany and Switzerland learned about chocolate from them.

Acquaintance of the French with chocolate. History of chocolate in France

It should be noted that the Spanish princess, who became the wife of the French king Louis XIII, made a great contribution to the spread of noble sweets in Europe. The queen introduced cocoa beans to Paris, where she brought a box of cocoa fruit in the early 17th century. After chocolate was approved by the French royal court, it quickly conquered all of Europe. True, the fragrant drink, although it was more popular than coffee and tea, remained so expensive that only the rich could afford this rare pleasure.

In medieval Europe, a cup of hot chocolate for dessert was considered a sign of good taste. Among the fans of chocolate was the wife of Louis XIV Maria Teresa, as well as favorites of Louis XV Madame du Barry and Madame Pompadour.

In 1671, the Duke of Plessis-Praline created the sweet praline dessert - grated nuts with lumps of chocolate and candied honey. And in the middle of the 18th century, every Frenchman could enjoy his favorite drink: chocolate confectioneries opened one after another in the country. In Paris, by 1798, there were about 500 such establishments. Very popular "Chocolate Houses" were in England, so much so that they overshadowed the coffee and tea salons.

Interesting facts from the history of chocolate!

male drink

For a long time, bitter and strong chocolate was considered a masculine drink, until it acquired the lightness it lacked: in 1700, the British added milk to chocolate.

Lovely "Chocolate"

The Swiss artist Jean Etienne Lyotard, inspired by the divine drink, in the mid-40s of the 17th century painted his most famous painting - "Chocolate Girl", which depicts a maid carrying hot chocolate on a tray.

Queen's Chocolatier

In 1770, Louis XVI married the Austrian Archduchess Marie Antoinette. She came to France not alone, but with her personal "chocolatier". So a new position appeared at the court - the queen's chocolatier. The master came up with new varieties of noble delicacy: chocolate with orange blossoms to calm the nerves, with orchids for vivacity, with almond milk for good digestion.

ancient medicine

In the Middle Ages, chocolate was used as a medicine. A striking confirmation of this is the experience of the treatment of Cardinal Richelieu by the famous healer of that time, Christopher Ludwig Hoffmann. And in Belgium, the first producers of chocolate were pharmacists.

Modern history of chocolate

Until the early 19th century, chocolate existed only in the form of a drink, until the Swiss chocolatier François-Louis Caille came up with a recipe that allowed cocoa beans to be turned into a solid, oily mass. A year later, a chocolate factory was built near the town of Vevey, and after it chocolate factories began to open in other European countries.

First chocolate bar

The turning point in the history of the emergence of chocolate was 1828, when the Dutchman Konrad van Houten managed to get cocoa butter in its pure form, thanks to which the royal delicacy acquired its usual solid form.

In the middle of the 19th century, the first chocolate bar appeared, which consisted of cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter and liquor. It was created by the English firm J.S. Fry & Sons, which in 1728 built the first mechanized chocolate factory in Bristol. Two years later, a similar product was launched on the market by Cadbury Brothers, which in 1919 absorbed the creator of the first chocolate bar.

The rise of the chocolate industry

The middle of the 19th century was marked by the flourishing of the chocolate industry. The first chocolate kings appeared, tirelessly improving the recipe of solid chocolate and the technology of its preparation. The German Alfred Ritter replaced the rectangular shape of the tile with a square one. Swiss Theodor Tobler invented the famous triangular chocolate bar "". And his compatriot Charles-Amede Kohler invented chocolate with nuts.

Creation of white and milk chocolate

The turning point in the history of noble sweetness was 1875, when the Swiss Daniel Peter created milk chocolate. His compatriot, Henri Nestlé, at the beginning of the 20th century began to produce milk chocolate under the Nestlé brand according to this recipe. Serious competition for him was Cadbury in England, Kanebo in Belgium, and the American Milton Hershey, who founded a whole town in Pennsylvania, where they did nothing but make chocolate. Today, the city of Hershey is a real museum, which is reminiscent of the scenery of the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

In 1930, Nestlé began producing white chocolate. A year later, a similar product appeared in the American company M&M's.

It is not known for certain when Imperial Petersburg learned about chocolate. Historians do not name the exact date. It is only known that during the reign of Empress Catherine II, the recipe for a wonderful delicacy was brought to Russia by the Latin American ambassador and officer Francisco de Miranda.

In the middle of the 19th century, the first chocolate factories appeared in Moscow, although they were controlled by foreigners: the Frenchman Adolphe Siou, the creator of A. Sioux and Co. ”and the German Ferdinand von Einem - the owner of“ Einem ”(today -“ Red October ”). Boxes with sweets "Einem" were decorated with velvet, leather and silk, and notes of specially written melodies were put into sets with surprises.

Aleksey Abrikosov, a talented merchant and self-taught marketer, was the first to establish domestic production of chocolate. His factory, established in the 1950s, produced chocolate in exquisite collectible packages: the cards that were inserted inside had portraits of famous artists. Abrikosov also came up with children's wrappers with ducks and gnomes. The famous caramel "Goose paws", "Cancerous necks" and "Duck noses", everyone's favorite chocolate Santa Clauses and hares - all these are signature creations of a talented confectioner. In the 20th century, the brainchild of Abrikosov turned into the Babaevsky confectionery concern.

Today, a royal delicacy with a centuries-old history is available to everyone and is probably the most attractive sweet in the world. The history of chocolate does not end. Talented confectioners tirelessly improve their skills in order to give us a piece of such a simple, familiar from childhood happiness every day.

The amazing history of chocolate originates from Latin America, the birthplace of the cocoa tree. Before an exquisite delicacy appeared in the hands of modern sweet tooth, it went a long way from a bitter and tart drink to a fragrant sweet tile, having even managed to be a monetary unit. Such metamorphoses have made the product the most sought-after dessert and ensured its popularity all over the world.

How it all began

The history of the origin of the delicacy goes back over 3000 thousand years. In 1000 BC. e. The Olmec tribe lived in Latin America. The ancient people first drew attention to the unique grains of the chocolate tree, which was called Theobroma cacao. They learned how to grind fruits into powder and invented a unique drink, which had no analogues anywhere in the world at that time. It is noteworthy that there is a version according to which the tribe called the delicacy "kakava", which formed the basis of the modern pronunciation of the word.

In the III-IX century AD, the tradition of the Olmecs was picked up by the Maya tribe. They managed to improve the recipe and prepare the divine and sacred drink chocolatl, which means “bitter water” in Russian. The manufacturing technology was very unusual: hot pepper and sweet corn grains were added to the crushed cocoa beans, after which the resulting consistency was whipped in water. The fermented drink was consumed only by leaders and noble people; women and children were strictly forbidden to drink chocolatl. Such nectar was considered divine, since the Maya worshiped a cocoa god named Eh-Chuah and believed that the beans had healing and magical properties.

It is noteworthy that in those distant times, the grain of the chocolate tree was a monetary unit. For 10 pieces you could buy a rabbit, and for 100 you could buy a whole slave. Some unscrupulous Indians, in an effort to improve their social status, secretly made fake grains on their own, carving them out of clay and passing them off as real beans.

Over time, the territories inhabited by the Mayans were captured by the Aztecs. Together with the lands, the history of chocolate and the secrets of producing amazing divine nectar passed to them. This continued until the 16th century.

Chocolate in Medieval Europe

The history of the appearance of exquisite sweetness in Europe dates back to the middle of the 16th century. At this time, the Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus went to discover the New World, but mistakenly wandered into Nicaragua. There he was treated to a tart chocolate drink, which did not make the proper impression on the researcher. Having sailed further and landed off the coast of America, Columbus treated the local natives with cocoa beans. If not for such an unfortunate oversight, the navigator would have become the discoverer of chocolate in Europe. However, the palm went to his compatriot and contemporary Hernan Cortes.

In 1519, a Spanish conquistador landed off the coast of Mexico, where the Aztecs lived. Chief Montezuma decided to treat his dear guest with a divine chocolatl according to a recipe borrowed from the Mayan tribe. He did not even suspect that history would soon teach him a cruel lesson: Cortes would not only take precious grains to Europe, but also wipe the entire Aztec empire from the face of the earth.

After the overthrow of Montezuma, the conquistador became the sole owner of cocoa plantations. In 1927, he presented the unique fruits to the Spanish monarch, who appreciated the taste of the product. Soon Spain became Europe's first supplier of cocoa beans. The production of chocolate drink was carried out by monks and noble hidalgos. As a result of long experiments, they changed the recipe, removing hot peppers with corn kernels and adding sugar. It turned out that sweet chocolate tastes much better than spicy and tart. In addition, they began to serve it hot, and not cold, as was customary among the Aztecs.

Taste is more valuable than money

Cocoa beans were still so expensive that only noble and wealthy people could taste the divine chocolate nectar. The reasons for the overpricing were:

• high taxes on beans;
• production difficulties.

The last reason was due to the peculiarities of grain processing. The fact is that in Europe they were processed in the same way that was practiced by the Aztecs: beans had to be crushed on their knees and manually. To save on production, some unscrupulous confectioners added a little cocoa to the almond mass. This method was practiced after chocolate appeared in France. The French diplomat and politician Louis Savary even mentioned that only in this country you can taste the most tasteless chocolate. Fortunately, in 1732, Dubuisson invented the bean-processing table, which greatly simplified production and slightly reduced the price.

After Anne of Austria, after her marriage to Louis, introduced the French to a new dessert, secular society was divided into supporters and opponents of cocoa. The writer Marquis de Sevigne, with her characteristic sarcasm, noted that after drinking a cocoa drink, her pregnant friend gave birth to a black baby. Marie Antoinette appreciated the exquisite taste and even invited a personal chocolatier to work, introducing a new position at court.

In England and France, chocolate has become the most expensive delicacy and an indicator of luxury and wealth. Drinking such a drink was equivalent to drinking money. At least that's what historians and critics of the time noted. By the end of the 18th century, there were over 500 chocolate houses in Paris, and in England such establishments replaced tea and coffee shops.

The invention of hard chocolate

At the beginning of the 19th century, the chemist Guten from the Netherlands made a sensational discovery: he designed a press that allowed squeezing cocoa butter from grains. Some time later, his son came up with a new processing of chocolate, during which all microorganisms were killed. This allowed to extend the shelf life of sweets.

In 1847, Joseph Fry added cocoa butter for the first time in the history of a confection, causing the chocolate to set and harden. His eponymous confectionery, Fry & Sons, became the world's first bar chocolate manufacturer. Soon the hot drink faded into the background, and the hard delicacy became very popular all over the world.

The history of the emergence of chocolate with filling is also associated with the name of an Englishman. George Cadbury followed in the footsteps of his father, a chocolate shop owner. He and his brother opened the Cadbury factory, the progenitor of the Picnic and Wispa bars, which appeared already in the middle of the 20th century. And back in 1866, the brothers invented a new unique recipe for sweets and for the first time in history began to pour chocolate over fruit sweets. The success of the opening was supported by unpretentious packaging with funny pictures, the author of which was the eldest of the brothers. The long-lived factory lasted until 2010, and then passed to the Kraft Foods concern.

The appearance of chocolate in Russia

In Russia, dessert appeared thanks to Catherine II at the end of the 18th century, although there is a version that Peter I could have been at the origins of its domestic history. Confectionery was the lot of a foreigner, so in 1850 a German opened one of the first chocolate factories in Moscow concern his last name - Einem. The treats were intended for the elite and were wrapped in velvet and silk packages with postcards inside. Today the factory has the name "Red October" and is rightfully considered one of the best.

In Soviet times, the design of chocolate products was not given much attention, but the quality was not inferior to Swiss. The reason for this was that the partner countries of the USSR were the main suppliers of cocoa. In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, hand-made dessert production again became a priority. Andrey Korkunov became one of the first confectioners who opened his own factory after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Products of this brand are in great demand and are of good quality.

Journal of the Smithsonian Institution, cocoa beans, from which chocolate is made, were used as payment during Mayan and Aztec times. Studies show that these beans were faked by molding them from clay.

2. Chocolate was the equivalent of money in the military

5. Cocoa helps you recover faster after workouts

These are scientists from the US Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences. Cocoa helps to recover faster after sports due to the high content of protein and carbohydrates in the drink.

6. Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants.

Dark chocolate is good for heart health. It lowers blood pressure due to its high amount of antioxidants. Daily consumption of 100 g of chocolate significantly reduces the risk of heart disease.

7. Each chocolate bar has an average of 50 mg of caffeine.

This is evidenced by data from Coca-Cola. 50 mg of caffeine is contained in one cup of espresso.

Fun Scientific Facts About Chocolate

8. The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec word "chocolatl"

"Chokolatl" is translated as "bitter water". In those days there was no sugar, so the taste of chocolate was completely different in ancient times.

9. The scientific name of the tree that grows cocoa beans is "Food of the Gods"

The scientist Carl Linnaeus was a fan of chocolate, so in 1753 the cocoa tree was named "Food of the Gods".

10 Cocoa Was Invented In Jamaica In The Early 1700s

The cocoa drink was first made by the Irish botanist Hans Sloan in Jamaica. The locals gave him cocoa beans. He mixed them with milk to quench his thirst. And so it turned out to be cocoa.

11. There are actually four types of chocolate.

Some people think that only dark, milk and white chocolate exist. But there is also blond chocolate, which was created by accident. White chocolate contains 32% cocoa. It tastes a bit oily.

12. White chocolate is not chocolate at all.

White chocolate contains cocoa butter but no cocoa powder. This oil is not very tasty, so milk fat, vanilla and sugar are added to it.

13. Chocolate has over 600 flavors

Chocolate contains over 600 aromatic compounds, according to the American Chemical Society. For example, in red wine there are only about 200 of them.

Chocolate business

14. It takes an annual harvest of beans from one tree to produce 10 chocolate bars.

Yes, the beans from one tree are only enough for 10 chocolates.

15. Chocolate cookies were invented by accident.

American Ruth Graves Wakefield made cookies by accident in the 1930s. She wanted to serve baked goods to guests at the Toll House Inn. Instead of butter, she added chocolate. And so it became a popular delicacy.

16. The inventor of chocolate chip cookies sold the recipe for a lifetime of chocolate.

Ruth Wakefield later sold the chocolate chip cookie recipe to Nestle in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate.

17. The chocolate bar was invented in 1847

It was created by Joseph Fry together with his son. The first bar consisted of cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sugar.

18. The turnover of the chocolate industry is more than 75 billion dollars

This is one of the most successful industries in the world. Each year, the manufacture and sale of chocolate brings in $75 billion.

19. The most expensive chocolate in the world was sold for 687 dollars (40 thousand rubles)

It was a Cadbury chocolate bar. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that in 1901, together with Robert Scott, he was on the first American expedition to Antarctica. At the time of sale, the chocolate was 100 years old.

20. More than half of chocolate is eaten in Europe

Forbes magazine talks about it. The largest consumer countries are Switzerland, Germany and Ireland.

21. Most chocolate sold at Brussels Airport

Nothing less than 800 tons of chocolate a year!

22. Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate at a printing shop.

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States sold chocolate along with stationery and Bibles in his printing shop. It was in 1739.

23. Famous candies were called "kisses" because of the sound of cars

"Kisses" from Hershey's was named so because the machine that stamps candy makes a sound similar to a kiss.

24. Milky Way chocolate is not named after the Milky Way.

Producers of famous chocolate on their page in

Chocolate fashion. As in any other art, there is a concept of fashion in the art of making and eating chocolate. For example, nowadays connoisseurs prefer the tart vanilla taste of chocolate.

From the history of chocolate. During the time of the Mayan Indians, cocoa trees were deliberately not grown. They grew a lot, but not enough for everyone to drink the divine drink to their heart's content. As a result, the Indians began to use cocoa beans as a means of payment. Each fruit counted: for 100 cocoa beans, as historians write, one could buy a slave. Chocolate has long been exclusively a drink. It was consumed cold - roasted cocoa beans, which themselves have a bitter taste, were mixed with water, and then chili pepper was added to this mixture.

Chocolate has gradually gained a lot of admirers in history. Mass recognition intersected with exclusivity - few and infrequently managed to taste chocolate. In England, the so-called Chocolate Houses began to appear, where the English elite gathered. The most famous was White's Chocolate House, which opened in 1893. He brought his popularity to our times, carefully preserving the created culture of eating chocolate.

In 1700, the British added milk to chocolate. Later extraction of cocoa butter from cocoa beans was a watershed event in the history of chocolate: now it could be produced not only as a drink, but also in the form of tiles.

The main thing in chocolate is cocoa. About 400 grams of chocolate can be made from the annual harvest of each cocoa tree.

Chocolate and cocoa trees have a similar character. Chocolate is whimsical: it does not like hot sunlight. So is the cocoa tree. In order for it to grow to our joy, the tree needs shade and protection from the wind. Before the tree begins to bear fruit, it will take 3-4 years. Only then do pink and white flowers begin to appear. Like other tropical trees, the cocoa tree blooms all year round, but not every flower is destined to become a cocoa bean. The annual harvest is about 30 fruits per year, and cocoa beans grow directly from the tree trunk..

The largest chocolate bar, Armenia.

Real chocolate. Real chocolate is a confectionery product, in the manufacture of which only cocoa butter and cocoa mass are used (a pounded mixture of cocoa beans in cocoa butter), and not a product based on cocoa powder and cocoa butter substitutes based on a mixture of vegetable fats. In addition, the most important parameter of chocolate is the so-called dispersity of the mass, that is, the size distribution of the particles of sugar and cocoa beans included in the chocolate mass, by size.

Cocoa butter in chocolate can solidify in different crystalline states - it is characterized by polymorphism. For cocoa butter, 6 polymorphic structures are known, which are denoted by the Greek letters "alpha", "beta", "gamma", etc. All these forms have different solidification and melting points, structure, density and, most importantly, taste. It turned out that the highest quality chocolate is chocolate with crystals of the “beta” structure. This chocolate is denser, has the richest "chocolate flavor" and "chocolate sheen", breaks with a pleasant crunch and keeps better...

Formula 1 chocolate car, Spain.

The path from cocoa beans to chocolate bars is a long and difficult journey with many complex technological stages. Moreover, the slightest violation of technology at any stage of chocolate preparation leads to a loss of chocolate quality and, as a result, an irretrievable loss of an expensive initial product - cocoa beans.

A good chocolate mass is the most important, but not the only condition for obtaining a high-quality chocolate bar. Much is also determined by the features and technological nuances in the very procedure for casting tiles into molds and their subsequent packaging.

White and dark chocolate. In the beginning, only a chocolate drink was made from cocoa beans. Bar chocolate appeared by historical standards recently. The basis of the chocolate bar, which makes it hold its shape, is cocoa butter, which is white in color. We add powdered milk and powdered sugar to it and we get white chocolate in color, while cocoa butter gives the chocolate flavor. Dark chocolate is also cocoa butter plus cocoa powder, which gives the bar a dark color.

Couverture- the best and most expensive variety with a high content of cocoa butter, which gives the chocolate a unique taste and aroma. Properly melted couverture has a beautiful glossy surface.

culinary chocolate There are different varieties: its quality depends on the content of cocoa butter in it. It affects the taste, color, and density of the product. Culinary chocolate has a variety of uses, is less expensive than couverture, and is suitable for all chocolate-based products.

Table or dessert chocolate contains less cocoa butter, but it has a wonderful taste. It is easy to use, but quite expensive. This variety is best used for making pudding cookies, specialty desserts or homemade sweets. When molten, it is quite thick, so a smooth glazed coating will not work from it.

chocolate fondant actually contains so little cocoa butter that it hardly deserves to be called chocolate. It has a less pleasant taste than other types of chocolate, the texture is soft and rather oily, however, the finished fudge has advantages - it is convenient to use, and it is cheaper. Ready fudge is suitable for the preparation of any products with chocolate components.

Columbus discovered chocolate, and the chocolate drink in its original form was presented to the Spanish king in 1528 by Fernand Cortes. "Chocolatl" - a drink based on cocoa beans with the addition of pepper, honey and vanilla was made by the Aztecs and Mayans for several centuries. In Europe, sugar and milk were added to the drink to reduce the bitter taste. The drink became so popular among the Spanish nobility that, according to the decree of Charles V, the secret of making chocolate became a Spanish state secret. Only 100 years later, when marrying the daughter of King Philip Anna of Austria to King Louis XIII of France, cocoa beans were sent to Paris as a wedding gift to make this wonderful drink.

• 1659 - The first chocolate manufactory was opened in Paris: the beans were cleaned by hand,fried and ground, then the resulting mass fell out onto a stone,mixed and rolled with an iron roller.
• 1825 - chocolate was invented in the form of bars at the Mellier factory. So chocolate became availablefor general sale.In the same year, the Dutchman Konrad Johannes Vas Huten to reduce the fat content of the drinkinvented a method for extracting cocoa butter from cocoa beans. From the resulting product and cakelearned how to make cocoa powder.
• 1828 - one of the greatest discoveries in the food industry was made -invented a recipe for making chocolate as we know it now, that is, peoplelearned how to combine cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sugar.
• 1848 - Auguste Poulain founded his chocolate factory and invented cocoa powder.
• During the time of Marie Antoinette, a chocolate drink prepared according to her was popular.own recipe: chocolate was mixed with orchid flower powder, flowersoranges and almond milk.
• During the First and Second World WarsThe recipe brought to Europe from Venezuela was extremely popular:a mixture of chocolate, sugar and banana flour.
• Hard chocolate was first invented in England in the 17th century, and in 1831 John Cadbury beganown chocolate production, which in the twentieth century turned into one of the chocolate empires.
• In the days of Columbus and Cortes, chocolate was actually worth as much as gold.
• Indians could buy one slave for 100 seeds. America even developed chocolatecounterfeiting - since the value of the product was determined by weight, scammerslearned how to extract the beans from the pods and replace them by weight with small stones.
• "The last to know chocolate will be the first" - chocolate in the most "chocolate" countryworld - Switzerland appeared only at the end of the 17th century, and the first confectionery openedonly a hundred years later. And, nevertheless, it was the Swiss who became the most zealouschocolate aficionados in Europe.
• 1828 - Amede Kohler figured out how to make chocolate with nuts.
• 1875 - Daniel Peter developed a recipe for milk chocolate. Together with partner Henri Nestlé (who was a pharmacist by trade), they began mass-producing a mixture of chocolate and milk.
• 1868 - Jean-Paul Tobler began to produce instant chocolate in his factory. His son Theodore combined the family name and the Italian word "torrone" (honey-almond nougat) and, under the name "Toblerone", produced the now famous chocolate in the form of "curbs". And Rudolf Lindt invented chocolate with fillings and started production in Bern.

Chocoatl ancient recipe for kings and nobility

The recipe for chocoatl, the very first cocoa drink, is not like modern chocolate recipes. Once only the elite drank, the cacao beans were roasted over a fire and then coarsely ground between stones to make this spicy drink. This produced a paste, which was then mixed with water and heated until cocoa butter appeared on the surface. The oil was removed, after which the drink was cooled and whipped until foam was formed. Chocoatl was drunk freshly prepared, with the addition of chili peppers, vanilla, cornmeal, and other exotic ingredients.

Divine power of cocoa fruits

It was believed that the cocoa tree grew in paradise, many supernatural abilities were attributed to the chocoatl. Legend has it that whoever consumes cocoa beans becomes wise, rich and strong. Therefore, it is not surprising that cocoa was intended only for the elite of the Aztec society, who called it "black gold". Before reaching Europe in 1519, cocoa was drunk by adult men, including priests, high-ranking warriors, and sacrificial men and women.

When money grows on trees

"Money grows on trees." These words were written by Spanish chroniclers who accompanied the conquistadors to the New World. The Aztecs really valued cocoa beans so highly that they even began to play the role of money with them. The monetary value of the beans was high. The rabbit cost - 10 cocoa beans, the slave - 100. "Kakau" was originally translated as "an offering from those who raised cattle, works and cultivates the land", which can be interpreted as an exchange or payment. Long after the disappearance of the Aztecs, as late as 1858, beans were used as money in the Central American market.