Chocolate

Chocolate refers to the candies or sweets made from the cacao beans. The first culture who processed cacao beans for consumption were the Maya and Aztecs over 2000 years ago.http://www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history.html Cacao was brought by the Spanish to Europe.

These days chocolate are mostly eaten as sweets. There are three main types of chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. Flavorings are often added to the candies, such as liquor and nuts. Chocolate is also added as ingredients for desserts.

People who love chocolate are called chocoholic. A research has found that eating dark chocolate may lower levels of stress hormones in people feeling stressed out.http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/news/20091113/dark-chocolate-takes-bite-out-of-stress

The chocolate we are most familiar with today is eating chocolate that comes in milk, dark, and white varieties. The amount of cocoa butter in relationship to sugar and dairy is what affects the color and sweetness of chocolate.

Chocolate is often eaten plain, but it is also an ingredient is many different types of food, from savory sauces, to rich desserts.

Chocolate consumption in the U.S. peaks around holidays, especially Christmas and Valentine's Day.

1. "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." --Forrest Gump
2. "There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE"--Linda Grayson
3. "What use are cartridges in battle? I always carry chocolate instead." --George Bernard Shaw

• GiveChocolate.com: Chocolate Books
• Amazon.com: Chocolate Cookbooks
• From Amazon.com:
  • Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate
  • The Chocolate Bible
  • Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers