Thanks for joining me Over Coffee
A writer by passion and profession, I've been writing since I was old enough to know how, so establishing a weblog
seemed a natural progression. By adding a blog to my site, I can speak about my passions and life, share my writing, art
and photos, and comment on current events.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
C O N T I N U E S
Anyone who's title is "The Gateway to ALL THINGS CHOCOLATE" (emphasis theirs) can't be bad. I give you the official site for the Chocolate and Cocoa inudstry. There you can find information about the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, the American Cocoa Research Institute and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). Here you can find information about sustainable cocoa agriculture and organic cocoa farming.
The major goal of WCF-sponsored research has historically been to ensure an adequate supply of low-cost, high quality cocoa for chocolate manufacturers and for public consumption.
Amen! Now that's science, baby!
From there, you can visit The Cocoa Tree for educational fun, which includes an extensive library of clips showing the process of bean to bar. You can even learn neat new words like CONCHING (using heavy rollers swirl continually through the mixture, developing the chocolate flavor) and ENROBING (a process that uses chocolate to cover candy centers such as caramel, creams and nuts).
Quick Chocolate Facts
Seventy-one percent (71%) of American chocolate eaters prefer milk chocolate.
The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature, which is why it literally melts in your mouth.
Chocolate manufacturers currently use forty percent (40%) of the world's almonds and twenty percent (20%) of the world's peanuts.
The first "chocolate box" was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868 -- decorated with a painting of his young daughter holding a kitten. (Cadbury also invented the first Valentine's Day candy box.)
The retail chocolate industry in the U.S. is worth $13 billion per year.
