Chocolate, the actual word itself appears – well chocolatey! A handful of people rarely ever touch it, their palfry consumption more than made up for through the chocoholics within us. However, how did chocolate come across from the Mesoamerican peoples who nurtured the cacao tree, to the greatly desired item which we love these days? And so here is a short potted history.

The Aztecs were only one of the old civilisations to spot the potential inside the lowly bean, the very first reported proof of cultivation occuring in about 1100BC. In those years the seeds of the cacao tree were manufactured into a drink generally known as xocolātl which roughly means ‘bitter water’. Equally the Mayans and the Aztecs employed chocolate in their royal as well as their spiritual events, with officials offering up seeds to the dieties as well as dishing up chocolate drinks in the course of religious ceremonies.

A Spanish explorer and adventurer called Cortés made the primary European contact in the 1500's; the first recorded shipment was to Seville in 1585. Chocolate was still consumed as a drink but the bitterness did not appeal to the Spanish population, so the Spaniards added cane sugar, kept the vanilla, added cinnamon and other spices but threw out the chilli! By the 17th and 18th centuries chocolate houses had been established all over Europe, but still it was a sought after product and in consequence only the wealthy were able to delight in its tastes.

Inside the 1800's as a result of experiment and mechanical techniques chocolate started to arrive in solid form for eating.

Renowned brands like Cadbury, Fry and Hershey commenced the manufacture of solid bars at this time. The innovation additionally led to the various kinds of chocolate we all currently love. Dark chocolate has a modest quantity of sugar added and might contain up to 75% cocoa solids and so is perfect for use in baking as it gives a stong rich flavour. Milk chocolate is actually a sweet combination with milk powder or condensed milk added. White chocolate contains no cocoa solids at all and as a result a lot of nations don't recognise it as a chocolate.

The very last parts of processing are the ones to form the texture of the end product, more high priced products are usually processed for longer resulting in a velvety feel on the palate. One of those processes is called conching; this entails placing the liquid chocolate into a container with hundreds of tiny metal spheres that act as grinders to remove the uneven and gritty texture that this phase has. The final procedure is called tempering; this controls the crystallising of the fats in the cocoa butter and ensures the chocolate breaks cleanly as opposed to crumbles when broken.

Chocolate is nowadays far from being a luxury, having said that many individuals still choose to be spoiled and as a result pay a vast amount of money getting pricey exclusive items from the famous chocolate-makers from the world.

Cooking using chocolate is also big business and a lot of people appear to be yet more ready to utilise the more expensive forms of chocolate on the market, probably to be confident of a super outcome, as an alternative to purely picking the low cost melting chocolate off the cooking shelf. In the long run it’s all a thing of taste and that is that which you have to experiment with so as to find your own personal favourite.

A chocolate experience is just one of the various interesting things to do at the weekend that can be bought as a surprise or for you from My Outdoor Store. Follow the link to discover our vast choice of days out ideas.

Author's Bio: 

Bruno Blackstone is a freelance writer interested in all things to do with the outdoors and helping others get the most from the outdoors. Starting with a psychology degree his early career was as a social worker and family therapist working with families to help them achieve more positive and stable relationships. In his more recent career he has coached many senior executives in both small and large organisations in areas such as strategy, human resources, organisational design and performance improvement. He now continues his work in the business world but he is also co-owner of http://www.myoutdoorstore.co.uk a price comparison site for outdoor enthusiasts.