Considering that chocolate has been around for about 4000 years, its history is long and varied. These fun facts about chocolate will answer many questions about this interesting food.
Did you know that chocolate...
- was first discovered in the Amazon and Central America? Beans were taken from the cocoa tree, then toasted and ground.
- was brought to the United States in 1765 by John Hanan?
- was once prescribed by doctors to cure certain ailments?
- chips were introduced in 1939?
- contains antioxidants which are known to help fight disease?
- is poisonous to dogs?
- contains iron and magnesium?
- contains a small amount of caffeine, but not nearly as much as a cup of coffee?
Other fun facts:
- The Aztecs and the Mayans used cocoa beans as currency.
- One of the first ways chocolate was used was to take the ground beans and make a spicy drink.
- The first chocolate bar was made by Fry and Sons of Bristol, England in 1847. The company later merged with Cadbury.
- It takes as long as three to five years for a cocoa tree to produce beans.
- The first chocolate recipe was published in the Sears and Roebuck catalog.
- Cocoa beans were only afforded by the wealthy until the mid 1700's.
- Africa produces the most chocolate.
- Switzerland consumes the most chocolate per capita.
- Dark chocolate has a much richer flavor than milk chocolate, because of the high cocoa content.
- Women crave chocolate much more than men.
- Hershey's is the oldest chocolate maker in the U.S.