EARLY HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
The earliest record of chocolate was over fifteen hundred years ago in the Central American rain forests, where the tropical mix of high rain fall combined with high year round temperatures and humidity provide the ideal climate for cultivation of the plant from which chocolate is derived, the Cacao Tree.
The Cacao Tree was worshipped by the Mayan civilisation of Central America and Southern Mexico, whobelieved it to be of divine origin, Cacao is actually a Mayan word meaning "God Food" hence the tree's modern generic Latin name 'Theobrama Cacao' meaning ‘Food of the Gods’. Cacao was corrupted into the more familiar 'Cocoa' by the early European explorers. The Maya brewed a spicy, bitter sweet drink by roasting and pounding the seeds of the Cacao tree (cocoa beans) with maize and Capsicum (Chilli) peppers and letting the mixture ferment. This drink was reserved for use in ceremonies as well as for drinking by the wealthy and religious elite, they also ate a Cacao porridge.
The Aztecs of central Mexico also prized the beans, but because the Aztec's lived further north in more arid regions at higher altitudes, where the climate was not suitable for cultivation of the tree, they had to acquire the beans through trade and/or the spoils of war. The Aztecs prized the beans so highly they used them as currency - 100 beans bought a Turkey or a slave - and tribute or Taxes were paid in cocoa beans to Aztec emperors. The Aztecs, like the Mayans, also enjoyed Cacao as a beverage fermented from the raw beans, which again featured prominently in ritual and as a luxury available only to the very wealthy. The Aztecs called this drink Xocolatl, the Spanish conquistadors found this almost impossible to pronounce and so corrupted it to the easier 'Chocolat', the English further changed this to Chocolate.
The Aztec's regarded chocolate as an aphrodisiac and their Emperor, Montezuma reputedly drank it fifty times a day from a golden goblet and is quoted as saying of Xocolatl: "The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food"
In fact, the Aztec's prized Xocolatl well above Gold and Silver so much so, that when Montezuma was defeated by Cortez in 1519 and the victorious 'conquistadors' searched his palace for the Aztec treasury expecting to find Gold & Silver, all they found were huge quantities of cocoa beans. The Aztec Treasury consisted, not of precious metals, but Cocoa Beans
wow, kite sekarang tau bedal je ek? hoho!
this is how chocolate is made, i chose hershey's choclate
Born in the Jungle
Cacao trees grow melon-like fruit, which is harvested by hand. Inside each pod are about 20-40 seeds, or cocoa beans. It’s these beans that give chocolate its special flavor.
After the beans are removed from the pods, they are placed in large heaps or piles. This is called fermentation, and takes about a week. During this time, the shells harden, the beans darken, and the rich cocoa flavor develops. After drying, the beans are ready for transport to the chocolate factory.
Liquid Chocolate
Cocoa beans from different countries each have a distinct flavor. After arriving at the factory, the beans are stored by country of origin until they are blended to give them that special Hershey taste.
Cocoa beans are roasted in large, revolving roasters at very high temperatures.
A special hulling machine then takes the dry, roasted cocoa beans and separates the shell from the inside of the bean - called the “nib.” This is the part of the bean actually used to make chocolate.
The nibs now are ready for milling. Milling is a grinding process which turns the nibs into a liquid called chocolate liquor - a smooth, dark stream of pure chocolate flavor which, by the way, contains no alcohol. Now it is ready for the rest of the ingredients!
Mixing it Up
Hershey uses fresh, whole milk to make its milk chocolate. It’s been that way since Milton Hershey developed the recipe in 1900. Tanker trucks bring the fresh milk to the factory every day where it is tested, pasteurized, and then mixed with sugar. The whole milk-sugar mixture is slowly dried until it turns into a thick, taffy-like material.
At the heart of the chocolate factory is the central blending operation where the chocolate liquor is combined with the milk and sugar. This new mixture is dried into a coarse, brown powder called chocolate crumb.
Perfecting the Product
The crumb becomes a thick liquid called chocolate paste. The paste is poured into huge vats called conches. Once inside the conche, large granite rollers smooth out the gritty particles from the crumb. This process can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to complete.
Now the chocolate paste has the smooth, familiar look of milk chocolate and it’s ready to be made into our favorite HERSHEY’S products. The paste is tempered, or cooled in a controlled manner to the right texture and consistency. Other ingredients, like almonds or peanuts, can be mixed into the paste during tempering or added directly to the moulds.
Chocolate Bars and HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates 
Now it’s ready to wrap… fresh, delicious, HERSHEY’S chocolate.
While a lot of HERSHEY’S chocolate products are poured into moulds, HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates are made a little differently. Special machines drop a precise amount of chocolate onto a moving steel belt and then quickly cool it to form the famous HERSHEY’S KISS shape. Hershey makes more than 80 million Kiss-shaped products every day at its chocolate factories in Hershey and California.
awesome is it?? why dont u make me a bar of chocolate? im glad to have ur handmade choclate! hohohoh!!!!
xoxo,
human
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