11Dec
Behind The Bean
- Chocolate is made from the cocoa bean, found in pods growing from the trunk and lower branches of the Cacao Tree.
- The Latin name of the cocoa bean ‘Theobroma Cacao’means “food of the gods”.
- In 1828, Dutch chemist Johannes Van Houten, invented a method of extracting the fat or “cocoa butter” from ground cocoa beans. The resulting ‘cocoa’ powder was much less bitter tasting and, when combined with sugar or honey, made a drink much more palatable to our taste.
- This process known as the Van Houten process made it possible for Fry & Sons of Bristol, England to manufacture and sell the first solid chocolate bar in 1847.
- In 1875 a Swiss manufacturer, Daniel Peters also used the Van Houten process to successfully combine chocolate with powdered milk to produce the first milk chocolate.
