C hocolate

Chocolate

Profile / HistoryChocolate comes from the seeds of the

cacao tree.

It was first grown in what is now known as Central and South America.

Our word ‘chocolate’ comes from the Nahuatl word ‘chocolatl’ (Nahuatl was the language spoken by the Aztecs who lived in Central Mexico)

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Chocolate was so important to the Aztecs that they went to war to conquer the areas where it was grown.

They used the cacao beans instead of money

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Chocolate was thought to be a gift from the gods.

The Maya called the plant, ‘jaguar tree’ and thought it was their tree of life.

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When the Spanish reached Central America in 1519 they saw how much the Aztec emperor liked to drink it and tried it themselves.

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They took it back to Europe and it became so popular that priests wrote about how the ladies went crazy for it.

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Moral question whether Chocolate breaks a religious fast (published in the seventeenth century)

Chocolate or Cacao is still grown in many Latin American countries like, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Venezuela.

Because the plant likes hot countries it is also grown in some African countries like Ghana

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Growing cacaoChocolate or cacao is grown on farms called plantations (or

haciendas in Spanish)

The seeds come from ‘pods’ that grow out of the tree trunk.

Drying cacao The pods are harvested. The seeds (or beans)

are extracted, and then dried in the sun

Transporting cacao

The seeds are then sold at market, and are shipped across the world to factories that make them into...

CHOCOLATE!

Making chocolate First the beans are roasted, then they are ground up.

Making chocolate Then they are mixed with sugar (sometimes milk)

and turned into a paste that is heated (cooked). In some countries (like Mexico) they also add spices like chile and cinnamon. We sometimes add nuts or dried fruit. It is then allowed to cool into bars.

Making chocolate The bars of

chocolate are then wrapped and sold, ready for eating or turning into drinking chocolate... Yum Yum...

What is your favourite chocolate bar?