american-made chocolate and cocoa products number in the hundreds. there is a fascinatingstory behind these wonderful products.

　　chocolate through the years

　　the story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of america. until 1492, the old worldknew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor富有刺激性的口味) that was to become the favorite of millions.

　　the court of king ferdinand and queen isabella got its first look at the principal ingredientof chocolate when columbus returned in triumph from america and laid before the spanish thronea treasure trove of many strange and wonderful things. among these were a few dark brown beansthat looked like almondsand seemed most unpromising. they were cocoa beans, todays source of all our chocolate and cocoa.

　　the king and queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be, and it remained for hernando cortez, the great spanish explorer, to graspthe commercial possibilities of the new world offerings.

　　food of the gods

　　during his conquest of mexico, cortez found the aztec indiansusing cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the realm, chocolate, meaning warm liquid. in 1519, emperor montezuma, who reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily, served chocolate to his spanish guests in great golden goblets, treating it like a food for the gods.

　　for all its regal importance, however, montezumas chocolate was very bitter, and the spaniards did not find it to their taste. to make the concoction more agreeable to europeans, cortez and his countrymen conceived the idea of sweetening it with cane sugar.

　　the new drink quickly won friends, especially among the spanish aristocracy. spain wisely proceeded to plant cacao in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. remarkably enough, the spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of europe for nearly a hundred years.

　　chocolate spreads to europe

　　spanish monks, who had been consigned to process the cocoa beans, finally let the secret out. it did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed throughout europe as a delicious, health-giving food. for a while it reignedas the drink at the fashionable court of france. chocolate drinking spread across the channel to great britain, and in 1657 the first of many famous english chocolate housesappeared.

　　the 19th century marked two more revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. in 1847, an english company introduced solid eating chocolate through the development of fondant chocolate, a smooth and velvetyvariety that has almost completely replaced the old coarse grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. the second development occurred in 1876 in vevey, switzerland, when daniel peter devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.

　　chocolate comes to america

　　in the united states of america, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. it was in pre-revolutionary new england-1765, to be exact-thatthe first chocolate factory was established in this country.

　　during world war ii, the u.s. government recognized chocolates role in the nourishmentand group spirit of the allied armed forces, so much so thatit allocated valuable shipping spacefor the importation of cocoa beans. many soldiers were thankful for the pocket chocolate bars which gave them the strength to carry on until more food rationscould be obtained. today, the u.s. army d-rations include three 4-ounce chocolate barslate has even been taken into space as part of the dietastronauts.

　　american-made chocolate and cocoa products number in the hundreds. there is a fascinatingstory behind these wonderful products.

　　chocolate through the years

　　the story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of america. until 1492, the old worldknew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor富有刺激性的口味) that was to become the favorite of millions.

　　the court of king ferdinand and queen isabella got its first look at the principal ingredientof chocolate when columbus returned in triumph from america and laid before the spanish thronea treasure trove of many strange and wonderful things. among these were a few dark brown beansthat looked like almondsand seemed most unpromising. they were cocoa beans, todays source of all our chocolate and cocoa.

　　the king and queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be, and it remained for hernando cortez, the great spanish explorer, to graspthe commercial possibilities of the new world offerings.

　　food of the gods

　　during his conquest of mexico, cortez found the aztec indiansusing cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the realm, chocolate, meaning warm liquid. in 1519, emperor montezuma, who reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily, served chocolate to his spanish guests in great golden goblets, treating it like a food for the gods.

　　for all its regal importance, however, montezumas chocolate was very bitter, and the spaniards did not find it to their taste. to make the concoction more agreeable to europeans, cortez and his countrymen conceived the idea of sweetening it with cane sugar.

　　the new drink quickly won friends, especially among the spanish aristocracy. spain wisely proceeded to plant cacao in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. remarkably enough, the spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of europe for nearly a hundred years.

　　chocolate spreads to europe

　　spanish monks, who had been consigned to process the cocoa beans, finally let the secret out. it did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed throughout europe as a delicious, health-giving food. for a while it reignedas the drink at the fashionable court of france. chocolate drinking spread across the channel to great britain, and in 1657 the first of many famous english chocolate housesappeared.

　　the 19th century marked two more revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. in 1847, an english company introduced solid eating chocolate through the development of fondant chocolate, a smooth and velvetyvariety that has almost completely replaced the old coarse grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. the second development occurred in 1876 in vevey, switzerland, when daniel peter devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.

　　chocolate comes to america

　　in the united states of america, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. it was in pre-revolutionary new england-1765, to be exact-thatthe first chocolate factory was established in this country.

　　during world war ii, the u.s. government recognized chocolates role in the nourishmentand group spirit of the allied armed forces, so much so thatit allocated valuable shipping spacefor the importation of cocoa beans. many soldiers were thankful for the pocket chocolate bars which gave them the strength to carry on until more food rationscould be obtained. today, the u.s. army d-rations include three 4-ounce chocolate barslate has even been taken into space as part of the dietastronauts.