nPostednon July 28, 2015
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nIndon’t know how smart it is to have any sort of chocolate day in July!nUs Northern-Hemisphere types often have hot, hot days and warm nightsn– just the sort of weather that can make a mess of chocolate treats!
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nButnI got to wondering when people first started eating chocolate…
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Here’snthe scoop:
Here’snthe scoop:n
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nThenword cocoa comes from the Spanish word cacao, whichncomes from the native-Central-American (Nahuatl) word cacahuatl.nThe cacao tree is native to South and Central America, but thenAmerican natives who used parts of the cacao tree for food first usednthe fleshy fruit to make alcohol. The seeds (beans) found in pods innthe middle of the fruit were not the first attraction to the plant.
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| These are cocoa beans in their pod. |
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By 1400 or 1500 BCE, various Central- and South-American peoples were roasting the cocoa beansnand shucking off their papery skins. They used the chocolate innvarious ways, and many people even used cocoa beans as a form ofnmoney.
By 1400 or 1500 BCE, various Central- and South-American peoples were roasting the cocoa beansnand shucking off their papery skins. They used the chocolate innvarious ways, and many people even used cocoa beans as a form ofnmoney.n
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nYounhave probably already guessed that cocoa beans from the cacao treenwere one of the many foods introduced to Europe and the rest of thenworld by the Spanish conquistadors. Now, however, about 70% of thenworld’s chocolate is grown in Africa!
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nHerenare some chocolate terms:
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ncocoanbutter is the fatty part of the cocoa bean
cocoansolids are the remaining, nonfat part of the cocoa bean,nwhich is ground into a powder
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nchocolatenliquor is a liquid created by melting cocoa beans; itsnabout half butter and half solids
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nrawnchocolate has never been heated or mixed with otherningredients, and it has never been processed in any way
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nunsweetenednchocolate is pure chocolate liquor mixed with other fatsnto create a solid; trust me, this is hard to eat!
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nbakingnchocolate is unsweetened chocolate; it is often mixed withnsugar to make chocolate cookies or cakes
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nbitternchocolate is also unsweetened chocolate
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ndarknchocolate is created by adding fat and sugar to cocoa;nit’s yummy
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nbittersweetnchocolate is dark chocolate that only has a little bit ofnadded sugar; sometimes vanilla is added
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nsemi-sweetnchocolate is dark chocolate with more added sugar; manynchocolate chips fall into this category
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nsweetnchocolate has more sugar even that semi-sweet
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ncouverturenis chocolate with a lot of extra cocoa butter
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nmilknchocolate is made by adding milk powder, liquid milk, orncondensed milk to chocolate along with sugar and perhaps extra cocoanbutter
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nwhitenchocolate is sugar, milk, and cocoa butter – but noncocoa solids
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ncompoundnchocolate is made by adding vegetable fats to cocoa
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ncocoanpowder is made by removing nearly all the cocoa butter andngrinding the rest of the cocoa bean into powder
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nmodelingnchocolate is used to create decorations; it is made byncombing melted chocolate with corn syrup or other syrup
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- Checknout these amazing things made out of chocolate,
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- Didnyou know that there is a World Chocolate Masters competition?n Check out this video about how people sculpt chocolate.
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- Somenpeople have gathered amazing chocolate sculptures on Pinterest pages!
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- Learn how to make chocolate doilies and molded chocolate candies.
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nAlsonon this date:
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Anniversarynof Watkin Glen’s Summer Jam
Anniversarynof Watkin Glen’s Summer Jamn
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nBuffalonSoldiers Day
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nAnniversarynof the introduction of potatoes to England and Ireland
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nIndependencenDay in Peru
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Authorn/ illustrator Beatrix Potter’s birthday
Authorn/ illustrator Beatrix Potter’s birthdayn
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nOlavsoka Eve in the Faroe Islands
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nPlannahead:
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nJulyn holidays
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nJulyn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in July
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nAugustn holidays
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nAugustn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in August
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