When it melts in your mouth, it tastes is so good! Men hoard it, kids always want more, women adore it, and for most people, Valentine's Day isn't complete without eating it. Wondering what that could be? It is the beloved, darling chocolate.
Chocolate is food produced from the seeds of a cocoa bean, and it is a crucial ingredient of different desserts like cake, candy, ice-cream, etc. Chocolate has some fun facts that are not well known. Here are some of them:
1. The chocolate bar is more than 100 years old. The original chocolate bar was made in England way back in 1842, by the Cadbury Company. This company still exists and is famous for its delicious Easter-themed chocolates treats amongst other different assortments of goodies.
2. Cocoa beans once served as currency. Cocoa beans were so valuable to early Mayans and Aztecs that they used them as currency. The Aztecs could buy a turkey for 100 cocoa beans, a rabbit for four cocoa beans, and so much more.
3. Chocolate is food for the gods. The botanical name of Cocoa, "Theobroma cacao" means food of the gods.
4. A chocolate bar could cost more than an iPhone X. The world's most expensive chocolate bar is the "Wispa Gold." It is wrapped in an edible gold leaf and costs a staggering $1,430 per bar.
5. Chocolate prevents heart disease. Eating dark chocolate can decrease the odds of suffering heart disease by over 30 percent. Also, dark chocolate improves blood flow and lower blood pressure. However, overeating chocolate is also bad for health.
6. A chocolate bar could weigh more than an SUV. The world's biggest chocolate bar weighed 5,792.50 kg. Created by Thorntons PLC, the ingredients used for making this massive bar of chocolate were sugar, milk, butter oil, cocoa butter, emulsifier, and cocoa mass.
7. Africa is the new home of cocoa. Despite its Amazonia roots, nearly 70% of the world's supply comes from Africa. Cote d'Ivoire is the largest single producers providing about 30% of the world's cocoa.
8. Making chocolate is hard-work. Eating a bar of chocolate will probably take a few minutes, but making it takes time and require a lot of effort to finish. It takes four hundred beans of Cocoa to produce one pound of chocolate.
When next you are enjoying a cup of chocolate or a piece of chocolate pie, remember all these cool facts about it.
About the Author
Meryl Diamond
While I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I have spent the last 27 years living in the Lisle and Naperville area. The first single family home my husband and I ever owned was in Green Trails, Lisle. There were two things we loved about living in Green Trails - the sense of community and all the green space. This was a dream come true for my children who always had a friend to play with or a babysitter near by. For me, it gave me a chance to get to know the neighbors whom I have built lifelong friendships with. From neighborhood garage sales to summer barbeques, we always found reason to come together.
