Who Invented Chocolate?The Aztecs?Chocolate has a long history and has become an important ingredient in many world cultures. But if you really want to know who invented chocolate, you would probably have to give credit first to the Aztec Indians. They were the first to discover that the beans from the cocoa trees which grew abundantly in their region could be used to make chocolate. In fact there is archaeological evidence that cocoa residue has been found in ancient Mayan cooking vessels dating to 600BC.
Who Invented Chocolate? The Spaniards? The first record of a chocolate drink in Europe dates to 1544 in Spain when a group of Dominican friars brought Mayan nobles to visit the Prince of Spain. The Mayans presented gifts of Cacao, mixed and ready to drink. The Spanish did not enjoy the bitter froth and added sugar to it to make it more palatable. But cocoa was in short supply and became became the drink of the upper class and kept top secret for many years.
Meanwhile an Italian traveler visiting Central America saw the drink being made and by 1606 chocolate was in Italy and France. The French court loved the drink and by 1684 had set up plantations in Cuba and Haiti making the cacao more readily available in France. By 1650 chocolate was in England and “Chocolate Houses” became popular much like the coffee shops and cafes of today. In 1687 an English doctor traveling to Jamaica tried adding chocolate to the drink and found that it was much better, so he brought this new milk chocolate back to England. With chocolate plantations growing in the tropical countries, and the start of the Industrial revolution giving birth to manufacturers like Fry’s, Cadbury and Rowntree, chocolate was now available to much more of the population.
Who Invented Chocolate? The Dutch?Although cocoa use grew over the centuries, it was not until the nineteenth century that the invention of processing methods made it a global favourite. C.J. Van Houten developed the “dutch process” which made the chocolate more water soluble and reduced the large amount of froth, otherwise known as “scum”. In 1866 Cadbury brought back a cocoa press from Holland. With some of the cocoa butter removed, suddenly cocoa and drinking chocolate was much tastier.Who Invented Chocolate? Some would say the English!After all it was in Bristol, England that the company Fry & Son made the first bar of chocolate as we know it today appeared. It was a mixture of cocoa powder and sugar with a little of the melted cocoa butter that had been extracted from the beans. Moulded into blocks and bars, and poured over fruit-flavoured centres, this plain chocolate was a real breakthrough.But the Swiss took chocolate even further!In 1875, a Swiss manufacturer called Daniel Peter added powdered milk to make the first milk chocolate bar and then started using condensed milk rather than powdered milk to produce a chocolate with a superior taste and texture. Another Swiss manufacturer had invented the conching machine in 1879 refining chocolate, and giving it the smooth texture we know today. Swiss milk chocolate dominated the British market, but in 1905 Cadbury launched the world-famous Dairy Milk bar – and it’s still going strong over 100 years later. In 1913, Swiss confectioner Jules Sechaud invented a machine for making filled chocolates making it available to the general population. |
Theobroma Cacao is the official Latin word for the plant meaning "food of the gods", a name which was a given by Swedish naturalist in the seventeenth stemming from the ancient stories of the Aztec Indians. The myth goes that one of the most important gods of the Aztecs, stole a cacao tree from his fellow gods, in paradise.and traveled to earth on a beam of the morning star to give cacao beans as a gift to the people of Mexico. The myth further explains that he specifically taught women to roast and press the cacao beans and prepare a beverage that was believed to bring knowledge and wisdom. The Aztec Emperor was said to have drank more than 50 cups per day and the beans were used as offerings for the gods.