CHOCOLATE IS THE FOOD OF THE GODS, THE CARB ANALOGUE OF TRUE LOVE. If you're smart, you'll make a pound of chocolate fudge right now, get some cello-wrap with a bow and gift it to someone you love. You will show up as the Wizard of Ahhhhhs, the total FUDGE GURU! There's a lot of personal mastery as well as romantic chemistry involved in making (and gifting,) old fashioned, chocolate fudge. The recipes below call for an eagle eye, an angel's hand. It also calls for a Rabbi's sense of justice, for if you cheat on the ingredients, you cheat your fudge recipients on joy. And it calls for the sternness of a loving parent, for one must protect the sugar from itself. Sugar always wants to turn back into those pesky, crunchy crystals. You cannot let it. You've got to be buttering the sides of the steel, copper bottomed pan, so that crystals (which sugar WAS before you softly simmered it,) cannot climb the edges, scorch and form again. They will instead, roll back into the simmering pot.
The
recipe is simple.
http://www.momswhothink.com/fudge-recipes/old-fashioned-chocolate-fudge-recipes.html
That's a big recipe but you can half the amount with THIS second RECIPE: Combine 1 cup milk (or half and half), two or three squares of bitter baking chocolate, 2 cups sugar and a tbsp of corn syrup (another way to confound the crystals that tend to form. TWO types of sugar mean the crystals can't easily form)
Then you simmer gently, at a very very slow heat until the temperature of the syrup reaches exactly 238 degrees F (at sea level, less if you're high in mountains with less atmospheric pressure, in which case consult a book! IT will be different!) At that point, you turn off the fire. Drop in the butter softly, a few tbsps, then cool the pot to lukewarm, NOT TOUCHING or stirring it, just cooling to 115 degrees and then adding vanilla 2 tsps, and you slide the mixture quietly, softly into a buttered bowl, or onto a buttered slab of marble, pouring only the central, smooth part of the fudge (avoiding any crystals on the side,) into this new, clean receptacle, leaving all the dicey, maybe-slightly-crystallized stuff from bottom of pan or sides.....(giving the contaminated pan to your assistants to be licked and scraped.) Then beat or paddle the pristine fudge gently until the surface shine disappears and at that second, let it set up.. Some let it harden on the marble where it was paddled. Some on a buttered plate. Some have added walnuts at this point. Some have a freaking mass of sugar crystals on their hands but down below are insructions on how to remelt the stuff and try again. Do NOT throw the whole mess down the drain
If you don't follow the cautions in the recipe -- i.e . a little corn syrup,. oiling the sides of the pan, covering the pan for a few minutes early in the cooking process; taking it to exactly 238 degrees, never scraping the pan; not so much as moving or disturbing the candy until it's cooled; and not letting anything, even a speck of dust, fall into the cooling fudge -- just the butter but not stirring it, letting them cool together, and then adding vanilla, you are very likely to wind up with a coarse, gritty mass instead of creamy fudge! So FUDGE is a recipe that separates the masters from the maniacs.
Little Candymaker concepts: Sugar dissolves far less readily in cold liquids than in hot. There is no way that two cups of sugar will dissolve in a cup of milk at room temperature. Heating the sugar and milk mixture allows the milk to dissolve more and more sugar, and by the time the mixture is boiling, all the sugar is dissolved. The general principle is that at a particular temperature, a given solvent (in this case, milk) can dissolve only so much of a particular solute (sugar). When the milk has dissolved all the sugar it can hold, and there is still some undissolved sugar left, the mixture is said to be saturated. The higher the temperature, the more concentrated the saturated solution becomes.
Water (and milk) boil at 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) at sea level, but the sugar changes that. In general, a solid dissolved in a liquid makes it harder for the liquid molecules to escape. Consequently, the solution has to be hotter for the liquid molecules to get away at the same rate, and the boiling point rises.
In our fudge, the rise in boiling temperature is an exact function of the amount of sugar in the solution. Consequently, we can use the temperature of the boiling syrup to tell when enough water has boiled away to give the syrup the right ratio of sugar to water. For fudge and similar creamy candies, the syrup should boil at a temperature 26 degrees F (14 degrees C) hotter than the boiling point of plain water. When it reaches that heat, some of the initial water in the syrup has now boiled away. Because the sugar couldn't dissolve completely until the mixture was near boiling, the syrup reaches saturation very soon after it starts to cool. If you've done everything right, however, sugar does not come back out of solution. Instead, the syrup continues to cool as a supersaturated solution. The solid phase -- in this case, sugar -- cannot start to crystallize without something to serve as a pattern, or nucleus. You don't let a crystal get in the mix. Like off the edges of the pan. If a single sugar crystal is present, the syrup will start to crystallize, the crystals will grow steadily as the syrup continues to cool, and the result will be very grainy fudge.
This is why most fudge recipes require that the sides of the pot be oiled early in the cooking process. Also useful, putting the lid on the pan for about three minutes during the beginning of the boiling, to allow steam to remove any sugar crystals clinging to the container walls. It is also why the recipes specify that the sides and bottom of the pan should not be scraped into the bowl where the candy is to cool. There is too much chance of scraping in a stray sugar crystal! POUR the hot fudge out into another bowl. What is left in the pan is for cooks and their children to nibble!
As the cooling syrup gets more and more supersaturated, its tendency to crystallize becomes even stronger. Even a speck of dust can start the process if all the candy contains is sugar, milk, and chocolate. Using more than one kind of sugar can counter this tendency. Most fudge recipes contain either corn syrup (which contains glucose instead of the sucrose of table sugar) or cream of tartar (which breaks sucrose into glucose and fructose). The different sugars tend to interfere with each other's crystallization and minimize the chance that the candy will crystallize too soon. They must be used in moderation, however -- too much and the fudge will remain a thick syrup forever!
The final stage is stirring the syrup when it is lukewarm to promote FINE crystallization all at once throughout the candy. Disturbing (stirring) a very supersaturated solution causes many crystals to form at once. Because they compete with each other for the dissolved sugar, none can grow very large. The result is the proper creamy texture of fudge and the change in appearance from shiny (supercooled liquid) to dull (a mass of very tiny crystals).
Do it right and your
fudge will be creamy like peanut butter. Do it wrong.....it's still very
tasty, just doesn't feel right on the tongue. Like beach sand kind of.
BUT I FIND NOTHING WRONG with the crunch of freshly toasted almonds or
walnuts. OR PECANS! Pre toasted NUTS could turn superb fudge into
HEAVEN! 
REMEDIAL FUDGEMAKING 101
You've made a batch of fudge
and after cooling to room
temperature it still flows.
Now you're on the internet trying to
fix the sticky situation
you've gotten yourself into.
If just anyone could make
fudge then everyone would be doing
it... but as you've (and
I've) experienced it can be
heartbreaking. So what can
be done for fluid fudge?
* BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY ONLY -
If the fudge is too hard then
you've generally boiled too long or
didn't reduce the boiling
point for your altitude (so at Las
Vegas, NV (elevation about
1500 ft) the 234°F would be reduced by
3°F so you'd stop at
231°F). Generally people don't complain if
the fudge is too hard. To
soften the fudge up you can expose it
to a moist environment -
like placing a moist paper towel in a
plastic bag... poke a few
holes in it... then store the fudge and
bag in an air-tight container
for a few days.
The recipe solution to hard
fudge is to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup
of corn syrup to the recipe
(or an equivalent amount of honey)
the next time you make the
fudge. These sugars act to "impede"
the crystalization process
making the fudge slightly softer.
If the fudge is too soft then
you're "out of ratio." Too much
liquid. The balance of solid
to liquid is crucial. I generally
like to see recipes with
a ratio of liquid (milk, cream, corn
syrup) to sugar ratio of
2.5 to 3.5. It's kind of a rough
rule of thumb. [For purists,
I consider corn syrup and
marshmallow creme as a 'half
liquid-half solid'.] So when your
fudge is soft you need to
either:
A. Add More Sugars/Solid
B. Remove More Liquid/Moisture
Rarely is any one ingredient
that resulted in failure. No
guarantees... but consider
the following before you toss that
treasure into the waste can:
BOIL OPTION:
A. Prepare a 2-quart saucepan
by spraying the sides with Crisco
or PAM.
B. Place the entire contents
of the fluid fudge into the
saucepan. Warm on LOW heat
for about 5 minutes.
C. Increase the temperature
to MEDIUM and bring to a rolling
boil.
D. Boil for an additional
3 minutes stirring intermittently.
E. At the end of the boil
add one of the following (in order of
preference):
o 1/2 cup chocolate chips
(semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
o 1 tsp cream of tartar
o 1/2 cup powdered sugar
o 1 tsp corn starch
o 1/4 cup light corn syrup
F. Stir until creamy and
let set for a few minutes. Once it
begins to thicken up then
pour back into a prepared pan. The
nuts and other additives
will settle to the bottom so you
may want to mix it again
-- at the risk of inducing sugar
granules - after a few minutes
of cooling.
BAKE OPTION:
A. Pre-heat the oven to 250°F.
B. Place the pan of fudge-liquid
into the oven. Cook for 15-45
minutes. Stir gently every
15 minutes with a metal spoon.
C. When the fudge on the
metal spoon sets at room temperature,
remove from the oven and
cool quickly to room temperature.
You might be able to make
a silk purse out of a sow's ear - you
may not be able to rescue
a fudge gone astray. My prayers are
with you.
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Definitions
Fudge Failure
Failure of the fudge to set.
The objective standard by which
failure is measured is this:
after the fudge has cooled a
small square is cut from
one corner. If after an hour the
remaining fudge has shifted
into the missing square area
then the fudge is considered
a 'failure.' Typically this is
the time the stories begin...
What went wrong? What could I
do differently? Did anyone
see me make this stuff? Who can
I blame?
Fudge is meant to be sent
to friends and relatives. Sure,
you make some for yourself,
but really you should spread the
love around and get the fudge
out to others. This means
using the US Postal Service.
Fluid Fudge will make a mess of
any package in which you
sent it.
Fluid Fudge
Failure of the fudge to set
and you try to mask the problem
by putting in the refrigerator
(or freezer) in a futile
attempt to fix it. It gets
firm enough to cut when cool but
then begins to resemble a
squashed bug as it warms to room
temperature. This is typically
(but not exclusively) the
result of way too much butter,
too high a water content, or
the substitution of an inferior
margarine for superior
butter.
Fudge Disaster
A fudge disaster is not the
same as a fudge failure... it's
something much worse. Fudge
Disaster is a fudge which should
never have been made in the
first place. These disasters
come in three (3) grades.
Grade I: Fudge which tastes
bad but doesn't set.
Grade II: Fudge which tastes
bad but does set.
Grade III: Fudge which tastes
bad, sets, and was sent out by
the US Postal Service to
a valued friend or relative.
Fudge which doesn't set
is
unlikely to be given away so it
poses little risk. Fudge
which sets is at risk of being sent
out but if you taste it (be
honest now) you'd never send it
out. Bad tasting fudge which
sets and is sent out can be a
time bomb. Words of Wisdom:
Regardless of the time, expense,
or good intent - DON'T send
out bad fudge. You will regret
it. (And don't feed it to
the dog, it's not good for them.
Cats won't eat fudge as they're
smart. It would kill them.
THE ONLY thing to do with
bad fudge is buy a quart of vanilla
ice cream, serve it to your
guests, then bring the bad fudge,
heated to the boiling point
in and with exclamations of great
affection, pour it over their
ice cream and follow it with a great
big glob of whipped cream.
These people will rave about your
cooking for years afterwards,
and NOBODY will be the wiser.
Faux Fudge
False (fake) Fudge. Also
called "Pseudo-Fudge" or "No-Fail
Fudge" or "Fail-Proof Fudge."
Also called "Frosting" or
"melted Chocolate Chips."
These are confections (and some of
them okay) which are not
true fudges. A Fudge, by
definition, requires a sugar,
a liquid, and a flavoring. I
could butter a Hershey bar
and sprinkle sugar on it. Would
that make it a fudge? No.
The broader definition requires
the Big Three components,
but also requires a boil, the
creation of a 'set-able'
sugar slurry, and separate flavor
base. Most of what passes
for Fudge is either a Frosting, a
Fondant, or a Flavor Base
(like Chocolate Chips) with nuts.
Fondant
This is an icing made of
sugar syrup and glucose, which is
cooked to a specific temperature
and then kneaded to a
smooth, soft paste. This
paste can then be colored or
flavored and used as an icing
for cakes and petit fours.
Opera Fudge
This confection qualifies
as a fudge in that it contains
sugar, butter, and a flavoring
agent. It doesn't contain a
major flavoring agent (such
as chocolate chips) but a minor
flavoring agent (such as
vanilla, mint, or rum). It has a
whitish-tan cast but should
not be mistaken for White
Chocolate Fudge. Optional
helpers can be used as normal.
Think of this fudge as your
link to the 1800's before
Chocolate Chips (and chocolate
for that matter) made it to
the masses.
Evaporated Milk
Basically milk which has
been boiled down so that there's
less water (60% of the water
removed). Instead of 2% milk
consider it 6% milk (I don't
know the actual percentage).
This is a convenient vehicle
for the milk proteins with less
water.
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Is like evaporated milk (about
50-60% water removed) but
with gobs of sugar added.
This makes a milky slurry similar
in consistency to honey.
Milk proteins, dissolved sugars,
and little water.
Butter
Made from milk fat and containing
80% fat and the remaining
20% is moisture and milk
solids. Lends good flavor to baked
goods and things like fudge.
Margarine
Like butter, margarine contains
both fats (70-80%) and
solids (20-30%). Instead
of milk fat, however, vegetable oil
is used making the consistency
different depending upon the
cooking conditions. [Experiment:
Take a margarine stick and
put it in a clear measuring
up. Warm it in the microwave
until liquid and let settle.
You'll find that 20-30% of
solids will settle in the
bottom and 70-80% of liquid
(vegetable oil) will rest
on top. If you do the same with
butter, you'll also get a
layer of solids and a liquid layer
on top. This liquid layer
is called 'clarified butter' and
is much more flavorful than
vegetable oil.] MY ADVICE?
SKIP IT. MARGARINE is bad
for you and tastes bad.
WHAT IS THE POINT?
Whipping Cream
The fatty layer skimmed off
the top of milk and contains
20-40% milk fats. Half-and-half
(Light Cream) contains less
fat, only 10-30%. Whipping
cream is often used with other
milks to create a smooth,
rich sugar slurry.
Cream of Tartar
This white powder is the
by-product of grape fermentation
and is used to stabilize
whipped egg whites, meringues,
angel food cakes, and marshmallow
cremes. It is the major
component of Baking Powder.
Marshmallow
A confection made from corn
syrup, egg whites, gelatin, and
other agents. Typically dusted
with powdered sugar.
Marshmallow creme is marshmallow
which has not been "puffed"
to dry it's surface. Previously
marshmallow was made from
the root of the Mallow plant.
In today's society, no Mallows
are killed in the production
of marshmallows - mini or
otherwise.
Corn Syrup (& Others)
Sugar in another form: corn
syrup, maple syrup, molasses,
cane syrup, sorghum, and
others. Instead of sucrose (table
sugar) it is another kind
of sugar molecule (i.e., dextrose
and others) but doesn't meet
the FDA definitions of refined
sugar so it's not called
"sugar." [Substitutes: If you don't
have corn syrup you can substitute
(1 cup extra-fine
granulated sugar + 1/4 cup
liquid for (1 cup corn syrup).]
Rolling Boil
A boil which cannot be stirred
down. In essence, the whole
solution is boiling, not
just one hot part of the mixture. A
common mistake in fudge making
is to call the first sign of
a boil as the beginning of
the boil. Thus the mix is
under-boiled and too much
water results... fudge failure.
Ripening
During storage the fudge
will become softer and take on a
more velvet like texture.
This usually begins after the
first 24 hours. It must be
kept in an air-tight container in
order for ripening to occur.
Penuche Fudge
Penuche fudge is a basic
fudge with no flavoring agents
except vanilla. What makes
it a unique taste is that the
sugar is composed of a 50/50
mix of brown sugar and refined
granulated sugar. Brown sugar
is the same as white sugar but
with less molasses removed.
Thrown
To create by the interaction
of two or more components. The
process of making fudge is
called 'throwing' fudge. This
term is also used in reference
to livestock, "that cow
throws good calves."
Cast or Toss
To pour into its final mold.
Usually fudge is cast into a
9"x9" glass dish. Some have
tried nifty tricks like putting
a rounded tablespoon of the
thrown fudge into cupcake cups
(lightly buttered).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Emergency Substitutions
Emergency substitutions only.
Don't use these combinations unless
all sense of decency has
been lost.
Component Amount Substitute
6 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate
Chips + 6
Chocolate Chips oz. Any Other
Flavored Chips. This
Mixes 12 oz allows for variations
in flavor
without having to modify
any other
components (such as butter).
Sweetened Condensed (1/3)
cup Evaporated Milk with (1/3)
Milk 2/3 cup cup Extra Fine
Granulated Sugar
(1/3) cup Sweetened Condensed
Milk
Evaporated Milk 2/3 cup with
(1/3) cup Regular Milk.
Decrease the amount of sugar
by 1/2
cup.
Unsweetened Baking 1 oz. 3
Tbl. Hershey's Cocoa or Hershey's
Chocolate square European
Style Cocoa + 1 tsp.
shortening or oil
12 Tbl. Hershey's Cocoa or
Hershey's
Semi-Sweet Chocolate 12 oz.
European Style Cocoa + 14 tsp. sugar
chips
+ 1/2 cup shortening
Sweet Baking 4 oz. 3 Tbl.
Hershey's Cocoa or Hershey's
Chocolate square European
Style Cocoa + 4 1/2 Tbl.
sugar + 3 Tbl. shortening
Doubling, Halving, and
Tripling the recipes should
be undertaken cautiously.
Boiling times - if based
upon time - will NOT be accurate.
Using the techniques I've
described on the previous
page(s) should be applicable no matter
how much you mess with the
recipe. However, if you're new to
Fudge then stick with the
original recipe.
Component Amount Substitute
2 cups of Mini-Marshmallows
or 20
Regular Sized Marshmallows.
Marshmallow Creme 7 oz (1
Marshmallows contain gelatin so may
jar)
not be acceptable to vegetarians
and
make the fudge slightly "chewier."
Microwave Melting Guidelines
Times may vary depending upon
the your particular microwave
wattage.
Chocolate or Chip Amount Directions
Microwave on HIGH 90 seconds
then stir.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate If necessary,
microwave on HIGH at 15
Chips 12 oz second intervals
until melted when
stirred.
Microwave on HIGH 60 seconds
then stir.
Baking Chocolate, If necessary,
microwave on HIGH at 15
Semi-Sweet 2 oz. second intervals
until melted when
stirred.
Microwave on HIGH 60 seconds
then stir.
Baking Chocolate, If necessary,
microwave on HIGH at 15
Unsweetened 2 oz. second
intervals until melted when
stirred.
White Chips, Microwave on
HIGH 60 seconds then stir.
Butterscotch Chips, If necessary,
microwave on HIGH at 15
or Peanut Butter 10 oz. second
intervals until melted when
Chips stirred.
Microwave on HIGH 60 seconds
then stir.
Milk Chocolate Chips 11.5
If necessary, microwave on HIGH at 15
oz. second intervals until
melted when
stirred.
Microwave on HIGH 90 seconds
then stir.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate If necessary,
microwave on HIGH at 15
Chunks 10 oz. second intervals
until melted when
stirred.
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High Altitude Corrections
If you don't know your elevation
above sea level -
call your city hall or your
local librarian.
Adjustments to boiling temperatures
and times depend upon the
altitude.
High altitude cooking alter
the boiling point and
the amount of water available.
The two basic
adjustments include:
* Increased boiling times
* Alterations in the proportions
of leavenings. (Does not
apply to fudge.)
Atmospheric pressure decreases
with increasing altitude.
Therefore the boiling point
drops ( water boils at less than
212°F). [For high altitude
boiling reduce the 234°F by 2°F for
each 1,000 feet above sea
level. Boil using the same parameters.
- Got this from a cooking
book and I cook at sea level so I can't
confirm these numbers.]
GUIDE FOR COOKIE/CAKE BAKING
AT HIGH ALTITUDES (DOES NOT APPLY TO
FUDGE)
Adjustment for 3000 feet:
* Reduce baking powder: for
each tsp., decrease 1/8 tsp.
* Reduce sugar: for each
cup, decrease 0 to 1 Tbsp.
* Increase liquid: for each
cup, add 1 to 2 Tbsp.
Adjustment for 5000 feet:
* Reduce baking powder: for
each tsp., decrease 1/8 to 1/4
tsp.
* Reduce sugar: for each
cup, decrease 0 to 2 Tbsp.
* Increase liquid: for each
cup, add 2 to 4 Tbsp.
Adjustment for 7000 feet:
* Reduce baking powder: for
each tsp., decrease 1/4 tsp.
* Reduce sugar: for each
cup, decrease 1 to 3 Tbsp.
* Increase liquid: for each
cup, add 3 to 4 Tbsp.
Adjustment for over 7000 feet:
* What are you crazy? Drive
to a lower elevation and bake
there.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
Confectionery
history has a record of at least 4,000 years, when Egyptians displayed
their pleasures on papyrus. Sweetmeats were
being
sold in the marketplace in 1566 BC. Yet chocolate didn't appear on the
scene until the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures
discovered
the value of the cacao plant. It is reputed to have originated in the Amazon
or Orinoco basin.
In 600
A.D. the Mayans migrated into the northern regions of South America, establishing
the earliest known cocoa plantations
in
the Yucatan.
It has
been argued that the Mayans had been familiar with cocoa several centuries
prior to this date. They considered it a
valuable
commodity, used both as a means of payment and as units of calculation.
Mayans
and Aztecs took beans from the "cacao" tree and made a drink they called
"xocoatl." Aztec Indian legend held that cacao
seeds
had been brought from Paradise and that wisdom and power came from eating
the fruit of the cacao tree.
Ancient
chronicles report that the Aztecs, believing that the god Quetzalcoatl
traveled to earth on a beam of the Morning Star with
a cacao
tree from Paradise, took his offering to the people. They learned from
Quetzalcoatl how to roast and grind the cacao seeds,
making
a nourishing paste that could be dissolved in water. They added spices
and called this drink "chocolatl," or bitter-water,
and
believed it brought universal wisdom and knowledge.
The
word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan "xocoatl"; "cocoa" from
the Aztec "cacahuatl." The Mexican Indian word
"chocolate"
comes from a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl ("water");
early chocolate was only consumed in beverage form. As part of a ritual
in twelfth-century Mesoamerican marriages, a mug of the frothy chocolate
was shared.
Arthur
W. Knapp, author of The Cocoa and Chocolate Industry (Pitman, 1923) points
out that if we believe Mexican mythology,
"chocolate
was consumed by the Gods in Paradise, and the seed of cocoa was conveyed
to man as a special blessing by the God of the Air."
Ancient
Mexicans believed that Tonacatecutli, the goddess of food, and Calchiuhtlucue,
the goddess of water, were guardian
goddesses
of cocoa. Each year they performed human sacrifices for the goddesses,
giving the victim cocoa at his last meal.
Swedish
naturalist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) was dissatisfied with the word
"cocoa," so renamed it "theobroma," Greek for "food
of
the gods."
Christopher Columbus is said to have brought back cacao beans to King Ferdinand from his fourth visit to the New World, but they were overlooked in favor of the many other treasures he had found.
Chocolate was first noted in 1519 when Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez visited the court of Emperor Montezuma of Mexico. American historian William Hickling's History of the Conquest of Mexico (1838) reports that Montezuma "took no other beverage than the chocolatl, a potation of chocolate, flavored with vanilla and spices, and so prepared as to be reduced to a froth of the consistency of honey, which gradually dissolved in the mouth and was taken cold." The fact that Montezuma consumed his "chocolatl" in goblets before entering his harem led to the belief that it was an aphrodisiac.
In 1528
Cortez brought chocolate back from Mexico to the royal court of King Charles
V. Monks, hidden away in Spanish
monasteries,
processed the cocoa beans and kept chocolate a secret for nearly a century.
It made a profitable industry for
Spain,
which planted cocoa trees in its overseas colonies.
It took
an Italian traveler, Antonio Carletti, to discover the chocolate treasure
in 1606 and take it into other parts of
Europe.
"With
the decline of Spain as a power, the secret of cacao leaked out at last,
and the Spanish Crown's monopoly of the chocolate
trade
came to an end. In a few years the knowledge of it had spread through France,
Italy, Germany, and England." (The Nestle
Company,
Inc., White Plains, New York, The History of Chocolate and Cocoa, p. 2.)
When the Spanish Princess Maria Theresa was betrothed to Louis XIV of France in 1615, she gave her fiance an engagement gift of chocolate, packaged in an elegantly ornate chest. Their marriage was symbolic of the marriage of chocolate in the Spanish-Franco culture.
The first chocolate house was reputedly opened in London in 1657 by a Frenchman. Costing 10 to 15 shillings per pound, chocolate was considered a beverage for the elite class. Sixteenth-century Spanish historian Oviedo noted: "None but the rich and noble could afford to drink chocolatl as it was literally drinking money. Cocoa passed currency as money among all nations; thus a rabbit in Nicaragua sold for 10 cocoa nibs, and 100 of these seeds could buy a tolerably good slave."
Chocolate also appears to have been used as a medicinal remedy by leading physicians of the day. Christopher Ludwig Hoffmann's treatise Potus Chocolate recommends chocolate for many diseases, citing it as a cure for Cardinal Richelieu's ills.
Chocolate
traveled to the Low Countries with the Duke of Alba. By 1730, it had dropped
in price from $3 per lb to being within the
financial
reach of those other than the very wealthy. The invention of the cocoa
press in 1828 helped further to cut prices
and
improve the quality of chocolate by squeezing out some of the cocoa butter
and giving the beverage a smoother consistency.
With the Industrial Revolution came the mass production of chocolate, spreading its popularity among the citizenry.
Discussing
the introduction of coffee, tea, and cocoa into
Europe,
Isaac Disraeli (1791-1834) wrote in his six-volume
Curiosities
of Literature: "Chocolate the Spaniards brought from
Mexico,
where it was deno minated chocolatl. It was a coarse
mixture
of ground cacao and Indian corn with roucou; but the
Spaniards,
liking its nourishment, improved it into a richer
compound
with sugar, vanilla and other aromatics. We had
Chocolate
houses in London long after coffee houses; they seemed
to
have associated something more elegant and refined in their
new
form when the other had become common."
Prince
Albert's Exposition in 1851 in London was the first time
the
United States was introduced to bonbons, chocolate creams,
hand
candies (called "boiled sweets"), and caramels.
An 1891
publication on The Chocolate-Plant by Walter Baker & Co.
records
that, "At the discovery of America, the natives of the
narrower
portion of the continent bordering on the Caribbean Sea
were
found in possession of two luxuries which have been
everywhere
recognized as worthy of extensive cultivation; namely,
tobacco
and chocolate."
Chocolate
was introduced to the United States in 1765 when John
Hanan
brought cocoa beans from the West Indies into Dorchester,
Massachusetts,
to refine them with the help of Dr. James Baker.
The
first chocolate factory in the country was established there.
Yet,
chocolate wasn't really accepted by the American colonists
until
fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, accepted cocoa
beans
as payment for cargo in tropical America.
Where
chocolate was mostly considered a beverage for centuries,
and
predominantly for men, it became recognized as an appropriate
drink
for children in the seventeenth century. It had many
different
additions: milk, wine, beer, sweeteners, and spices.
Drinking
chocolate was considered a very fashionable social
event.
Eating
chocolate was introduced in 1674 in the form of rolls and
cakes,
served in the various chocolate emporiums.
In 1747
Frederick the Great issued an edict forbidding the
hawking
of chocolate.
By 1795,
Dr. Joseph Fry of Bristol, England, employed a steam
engine
for grinding cocoa beans, an invention that led to the
manufacture
of chocolate on a large scale. Around 1847, Fry &
Sons
sold a "Chocolat Delicieux a Manger," which is thought to be
the
first chocolate bar for eating.
Nestle
(The History of Chocolate and Cocoa, p. 3) declares that
from
1800 to the present day, these four factors contributed to
chocolate's
"coming of age" as a worldwide food product:
1. The
introduction of cocoa powder in 1828;
2.
The reduction of excise duties;
3.
Improvements in transportation facilities, from plantation
to
factory;
4.
The invention of eating chocolate, and improvements in
manufacturing
methods.
By the
year 1810, Venezuela was producing half the world's
requirements
for cocoa, and one-third of all the cocoa produced
in
the world was being consumed by the Spaniards.
The
invention of the cocoa press in 1828 by C.J. Van Houten, a
Dutch
chocolate master, helped reduce the price of chocolate and
bring
it to the masses. By squeezing out cocoa butter from the
beans,
Van Houten's "dutching" was an alkalizing process.
In his
1923 volume The Cocoa and Chocolate Industry, Arthur W.
Knapp
attributes the rise in popularity of cocoa to these
innovations:
1. The
introduction by Van Houten of cocoa powder as we now
know
it.
2.
The reduction of the duty to a low figure which remained
constant
for a number of years.
3.
The great improvements that have taken place in the methods
of
transport.
4.
Improvements in the manufacture of eating chocolate.
Daniel
Peter of Vevey, Switzerland, experimented for eight years
before
finally inventing a means of making milk chocolate for
eating
in 1876. He brought his creation to a Swiss firm that
today
is the world's largest producer of chocolate: Nestle.
In 1879
Rodolphe Lindt of Berne, Switzerland, produced chocolate
that
melted on the tongue. He invented "conching," a means of
heating
and rolling chocolate to refine it. The name was derived
from
a Greek term meaning "sea shell" and refered to the shape of
old
mixing vats where particles in the chocolate mixture were
reduced
to a fine texture. After chocolate had been conched for
72
hours and had more cocoa butter added to it, the original
"fondant"
was created.
Cadbury
Brothers displayed eating chocolate in 1849 at an
exhibition
in Bingley Hall at Birmingham, England.
Swiss
confiseur Jules Sechaud of Montreux introduced a process
for
manufacturing filled chocolates in 1913.
The
New York Cocoa Exchange, located at the World Trade Center,
was
begun October 1, 1925, so that buyers and sellers could get
together
for transactions.
Brazil
and the Ivory Coast are leaders in the cocoa bean belt,
accounting
for nearly half of the world's cocoa.
While
the United States leads the world in cocoa bean importation
and
chocolate production, Switzerland continues as the leader in
per
capita chocolate consumption.
In 1980
a story of chocolate espionage hit the world press when
an
apprentice of the Swiss company of Suchard-Tobler
unsuccessfully
attempted to sell secret chocolate recipes to
Russia,
China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
By the
1990s, chocolate had proven its popularity as a product,
and
its success as a big business. Annual world consumption of
cocoa
beans averages approximately 600,000 tons, and per capita
chocolate
consumption is greatly on the rise. Chocolate
manufacturing
in the United States is a multibillion-dollar
industry.
According to Norman Kolpas (1978, p. 106), "We have
seen
how chocolate progressed from a primitive drink and food of
ancient
Latin American tribes -- a part of their religious,
commerce
and social life -- to a drink favored by the elite of
European
society and gradually improved until it was incomparably
drinkable
and, later, superbly edible. We have also followed its
complex
transformation from the closely packed seeds of the fruit
of
an exotic tree to a wide variety of carefully manufactured
cocoa
and chocolate products. Beyond the historical,
agricultural,
commercial, and culinary sides to chocolate, others
affect
on our health and beauty, and inspiration to literature
and
the arts."
HOLISTIC VIEW OF CHOCOLATE - YOU CAN MAKE DATE FUDGE with real, thick CHOCOLATE. See, the deal is, CHOCOLATE is good for you. Sugar is not. Milk is half way OK. Use dates, rice bran syrup or stevia to sweeten regular, bitter baker's chocolate, add black coffee, and you have a highly medicinal candy or add enough liquid, a drink that will alleviate depression. A widow's brew. Taken in the morning, especially in winter, it has no injurious effects. Taken late in the day, it will impede sleep. Even without the coffee in it. You will wake at four a.m. unable to go back to sleep. This is what ruins your health. LACK OF SLEEP not chocolate!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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