Chocolate - «Theobrama cacao» The Latin name for the fruit of the plant from which cacao and chocolate are made is “Theobrama cacao”. The literal translation is “Food of the Gods”. It grows in the humid tropics of the islands of the continents of North and South America, Australia and Asia. The beans get their chocolate aroma and color as a result of a 2-7-hour long special process of fermentation. How chocolate is made Roasted cacao beans are cut into small pieces and ground, then sugar, cacao butter and different flavorings such as ground hazelnut, almond, milk, rum, liquor, etc. are added. The formed cacao mass is then stirred in special reservoirs for several days until it becomes homogeneous. Afterwards it is cooled, put into forms and prepared in the shape of chocolate bars or chocolate shapes. Cooled chocolate is taken out of the forms and packaged. The chocolate cover must be airproof and protected from light and humidity. In the light chocolate turns sour, and in high conditions of excess humidity it gets a white fur. In addition, chocolate must be kept away from different odors as it absorbs them easily. Chocolate currency For centuries, for the Mayan people, the beans of the chocolate tree were as precious as gold and were used as small coins. Payments for more expensive goods were made with full pods of these beans. An interesting fact is that the ancient Mayan people practiced counterfeiting. Swindlers would remove beans from the pods, putting in clay instead and putting these into circulation. The chocolate economy eventually exhausted itself and around the year 600 of A.D. the Maya started planting cacao trees in plantations. Chocolate becomes chocolate Until the beginning of the XIX century people drank chocolate. It is true that they started adding cacao to cakes in 1674; however it did not prevent chocolate from being a drink for a long time. In the 1700s English people made a small revolution in the world of delicacies by adding milk to chocolate for the first time. Chocolate plantations were spreading all over the world, the import of cacao beans to Europe was increasing rapidly – the precious plant of the Aztecs and conquistadors were becoming much easier to obtain. By the end of the XVIII century every Frenchman could taste a cup of chocolate: in Paris alone there were 500 confectionery factories. The Chocolate Houses of England surpassed tea and coffee saloons in their popularity. In 1819, Swiss Francois Louis Kaye was the first in the world to obtain cacao butter, famous for its relatively hard melting peculiarity. This gave Kaye a chance to make hard chocolate bars for the first time in the world. Already in 1820, the first chocolate factory in the world was opened near Vivi city. Europe was in a chocolate boom. One factory was being opened after another. Technologies were being developed, recipes were being improved. They started adding hazelnut, candied fruit, wine and even beer to chocolate. In 1875 Swiss Daniel Peter made one more chocolate revolution. He added milk powder to chocolate. Chocolate and women Chocolate is considered the ideal sweet for women. It’s worth noting that it’s not said for nothing. The weaker sex has more fat cells; that’s why they are more inclined towards fat and sweet food (in many cases by doing harm to themselves). Chocolate eaten on time prevents a girl of any age from getting angry because of any matter, whether it’s unlucky love or a broken heel. Some scientists think that chocolate increases women’s attraction. Scientists from Helsinki University have discovered that chocolate consumption during pregnancy has a positive impact on a baby’s health. It was also discovered that children of people with a sweet tooth grow happy, active and smart. They get less frightened in unknown situations. This gives grounds for the assumption that chocolate helps not only a future mother to get rid of stress but also a child. What is most important is to keep within limits. Chocolate and men It’s important to remember that first of all, chocolate is a male product. It’s not for nothing that some chocolate producers openly target a male audience. In many countries, dark chocolate is an important part of the rations of pilots, polar explorers and military men. Nutritious and compact chocolate is an indispensable source of energy and is absolutely necessary in emergency situations. Chocolate was consumed as a drink in Mexico and cacao beans were brought to Europe by Spaniards in the 16th century. There are natural chocolate products made of cacao products (cacao beans and cacao butter) and sugar and chocolate with dry milk, coffee, nuts and other additives. There are two types of chocolate depending on the amount of ingredients: plain and dessert. Stuffed chocolate candies are also produced. 100 grams of chocolate has 35-37% fat and 2240 calories (540 kkal). After shelling, sorting and roasting cacao beans they get broken to pieces, and then ground into a liquid substance – stirred cacao. Chocolate mass is formed as a result of mixing stirred cacao, cacao butter, sugar (usually sugar powder) and necessary flavorings. The mixture is broken into pieces not larger than 20 mcm. The prepared mass is mixed once again with cacao butter and after cooling to 30-31 C is transferred to an automatic chocolate forming machine for preparation of plain chocolate or glazed candies. In addition, dessert chocolate mass (to improve aromatic and taste qualities of chocolate), before transferring it to a machine, is processed at a temperature of 70 C (approximately for three days). Chocolate is produced in the form of bars, various figures, medallions and truffles and chocolate products are produced in the form of sticks and all sorts of candies. The expiration date of natural chocolate is 6 months, and for chocolate with additives 3 months. A Chocolate Heart German chef Gregor Pfaff and his staff prepared the biggest heart in the world made of chocolate and spice cake pastry for Valentine’s Day. The heart’s weight was 922 kilos, its height and width was 5 meters. The chocolate masterpiece was placed in one of the hotels in Bangkok. High chocolate The highest chocolate model was made in Barcelona in February 1991. The chocolate masterpiece was 27 feet high (8.5 m) and it able to be enjoyed by people until some chocolate lovers started biting the exhibit. About chocolate’s goodness A French pharmacist of the XIX century wrote about chocolate: “This is a divine heavenly drink; this is a real panacea – a universal medicine against all illnesses”. Taste Our confectionery factory has exceptional recipes for the preparation of chocolate developed by professional confectioners with the traditions of European schools. Raw materials for production are brought from France, one of the most ancient producers of cacao products, and up-to-date Italian equipment allows us to achieve the optimal harmony of our products’ important qualities: color, taste and aroma. The technology and equipment used in our production process exclude the possibility of any substitutes in the products. To provide a good reputation for our brand we take into account the physical and chemical specifications of our raw materials and we use the most popular fillings in order to achieve a high quality product. That’s why we have all reason to call our products real chocolate.