Which is probably why Chocolate is the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of snacks or food. Even on this blog, its filled with chocolates, YUM!
I recently Re-watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the Chocolate Waterfalls of Willy Wonka reminded me to post something about chocolates.
Here are interesting I got from my best friend Google:
- A recent study indicates when men crave food, they tend to crave fat and salt. When women crave food, they tend to desire chocolate. (so true!)
- American and Russian space flights have always included chocolate.
- Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 golden goblets of hot chocolate every day. It was thick, dyed red and flavored with chili peppers.
- Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love. (Willy Wonka said this too.)
- Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world's almonds and 20 percent of the world's peanuts.
- Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot. (OOooooh!)
- Cocoa butter is the natural fat of the cocoa bean. It has a delicate chocolate aroma, but is very bitter tasting. It is used to give body, smoothness, and flavor to eating chocolate.
- Cole Porter got a kick from fudge. He had nine pounds of it shipped to him each month from his hometown. (Wish I was rich too.)
- Columbus brought cacao (chocolate) beans back to Spain on his fourth voyage in 1502.
- Cultivation of cacao trees can occur only in tropical climates, 20 degrees north or south of the equator. Principal growing areas include West Africa, Brazil, Ecuador and the Indies. Generally, it takes five years before trees begin bearing fruit in the form of pods. Each pod contains an average of 20 to 40 cream-colored cocoa beans. Nearly 400 beans are required to make a pound of chocolate liquor, the semi-liquid mass produced by grinding the beans. A non-alcoholic substance, chocolate liquor is the basis of all chocolate and cocoa products. (so many things happen before they turn into my favorite chocolate ^^ )
- German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany. In 1852, Sam German developed a sweet baking bar for Baker's Chocolate Co. The product was named in honor of him -- Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate.
- Hawaii is the only US state that grows cacao beans to produce chocolate.
- In 1900, Queen Victoria sent her New Year's greetings to the British troops stationed in South Africa during the Boer War in the form of a specially molded chocolate bar.
- In Hershey, Pennsylvania, the streetlights along "Chocolate Avenue" are in the shape of Hershey Kisses. (I soo wanna go there and take a picture!)
- In the United States, approximately seven billion pounds of chocolate and candy are manufactured each year.
- It's a common myth that chocolate aggravates acne. Experiments conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Naval Academy found that consumption of chocolate -- even frequent daily dietary intake -- had no effect on the incidence of acne. Professional dermatologists today do not link acne with diet. (weeeee that's good news)
- One plain milk chocolate candy bar has more protein than a banana.(interesting)
- Pet parrots can eat virtually any common "people-food" except for chocolate and avocados. Both of these are highly toxic to the parrot and can be fatal. (Poor Parrot, missing so much. I don't want to be a parrot in my next life.)
- Ten percent of U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of iron is found in one ounce of baking chocolate or cocoa. Chocolate also contains Vitamins A1, B1, B2, C, D and E as well as calcium, potassium, sodium and iron.
- The American Heart Association recommends that daily cholesterol intake not exceed 300 mg. A chocolate bar is actually low in cholesterol. A 1.65 oz. bar contains only 12 mg! A one oz piece of cheddar cheese contains 30 mg of cholesterol - more than double the amount found in a chocolate bar.
- The average person will consume 10,000 chocolate bars in a lifetime. (If I was richer, I probably consumed a lot more than this :P )
- The botanical name of the chocolate plant is Theobramba cacao, which means "Food of the Gods." (Does this makes the Chocolate Chics Goddesses?)
- The daughter of confectioner Leo Hirschfield is commemorated in the name of the sweet he invented: Although his daughter's real name was Clara, she went by the nickname Tootsie, and in her honor, her doting father named his chewy chocolate logs Tootsie Rolls.
- The fruit of the Cacao tree grow directly from the trunk. They look like small melons, and the pulp inside contains 20 to 50 seeds or beans. It takes about 400 beans to make a pound of chocolate.
- The Imperial torte, a square chocolate cake with five thin layers of almond paste, was created by a master pastry chef at the court of Emperor Franz Joseph (1830 - 1916).
- The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature -- which is why it literally melts in your mouth.
- The term "white chocolate" is a misnomer. Under Fedaral Standards of Identity, real chocolate must contain chocolate liquor. "White" chocolate contains no chocolate liquor.
- The theobromine in chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for dogs, especially smaller pups. A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can even be lethal. (O.O What? that's sad)
- The world's first chocolate candy was produced in 1828 by Dutch chocolate-maker Conrad J. Van Houten. He pressed the fat from roasted cacao beans to produce cocoa butter, to which he added cocoa powder and sugar.
