Fun facts about chocolate

As its Easter week, we have some fun facts about Chocolate

·         Chocolate comes from a fruit tree; it’s made from a seed.

  • It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.

  • Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans.

  • Research to date supports that chocolate can be enjoyed as part of a balanced, heart-healthy diet and lifestyle.

  • The average serving of milk chocolate has about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaf coffee.

  • Because cacao trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.

  • U.S. chocolate manufacturers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make milk chocolate.

  • Studies have demonstrated that one of the major saturated fats in chocolate does not raise cholesterol like other hard fats–meaning chocolate can be enjoyed in moderation.

  • Chocolate comes from a fruit tree; it’s made from a seed.

  • Theobroma Cacao is the tree that produces cocoa beans, and it means “food of the gods.” Carolus Linnaeus, the father of plant taxonomy, named it.

  • Approximately 3 million tons of cocoa beans are turned into chocolate products each year.

  • It takes two to four days to make a single-serving chocolate bar.

  • Chocolate contains two doses of cocoa butter—the natural amount from the bean, plus an extra dollop to bump up creaminess.

  • Cacao percentage determines the amount of cocoa bean products by weight in a chocolate.

  • “Cacao” is how you say “cocoa” in Spanish.

  • Champagne and sparkling wines are too acidic to pair well with milk or dark chocolate. Try pairing a sweet bubbly with white chocolate and red wine with dark. In general you want to match the sweetness level of the wine with the sweetness level of the chocolate.

  • Some cocoa certification programs are modelled on success with a similar product–coffee.

  • Chocolate can make dogs and cats ill–meaning no tastings for your furry friend, and more for you.

  • A farmer must wait four to five years for a cacao tree to produce its first beans.

  • German chocolate cake was named for Sam German, who developed a sweet bar for Baker’s Chocolate–and was not from Germany.

  • The French celebrate April fool’s Day with chocolate-shaped fish, or “Poisson d’Avril.”

 

 

Claire Edwards