Chocolate

Chocolate is an Aztec word. Chocolate is made from the cacao bean, which is a native to Mexico, Central and South America. The Aztecs associated it with the goddess of fertility.

It was the Spanish discovery of the New World that brought chocolate to Europe in the 16th century. At first it was taken as a drink (and this was how the Aztecs and Mayans consumed it too).

Milk was added to chocolate and then sugar, but it was still taken as a drink. Then cocoa butter was squeezed out of the cacao bean and set and shaped into slabs. But solid chocolate was not mass produced till the industrial revolution made machines to press out the cocoa butter more efficiently.

The best finished chocolate is found in Europe, with many long established companies such as Cadburys, Lindt, Godiva and others producing chocolate of the highest standards.

The best quality chocolate is at least 70% cocoa solids, which means that dark chocolate is the best.

Some people claim chocolate is an aphrodisiac - it's the reason so many Valentines gifts are chocolate. Here are some of the other claims made about chocolate:

* German scientists have concluded that chocolate reduces blood-presure in the short term. Their study was confirmed by an Italian study, which not only concluded that chocolate reduced blood pressure, but that it helped the body to metabolise sugar, (and thus help those who suffer from diabetes).

* a Dutch study has found that chocolate contains the antioxidents, Catechins and Phenols, and they are found in greater concentration in chocolate than in tea. Phenols protect against the clogging of the arteries.

* a study in Northumbria university claims that it improves you maths skills.

The benefits of chocolate can be outweighed by the amount of fat and sugar added to the product. Therefore if you are eating chocolate for the health benefits, go for high quality dark chocolate, which has 70% cocoa solids. The more cocoa solids the less sugar and other additives. And of course, always eat in moderation.

The Aztecs started off by drinking chocolate, and you can still do so today. Indeed, a cup of hot chocolate just before you go to bed will help you sleep soundly.

Hot chocolate now comes ready mixed with milk and sugar by people like Cadburys and Options, where you just need to add hot water and drink it. In the 1950's, you made it with a tin of cocoa powder and added milk, water and sugar and stirred it in a pan. You can still get tins of cocoa powder and make hot chocolate this way (and the benefit of doing it this way is that you can control how chocolately it tastes by the amount of cocoa powder you add).

For the gourmets, you can make hot chocolate from scratch by buying cooking chocolate (which is dark, bitter and does not contain sugar), finely cutting it and adding it to milk and water which is warming on a stove. You need to stir continuously and ensure that the milk gets hot but does not boil so far as to develop a skin. Add sugar to taste and pour.

It wasn't till the 19th century that chocolate was put into cakes. The Victorians loved their desserts and all sorts of varieties of chocolate cake were devised, from your basic cake to very rich tortes such as the Austrian Sachertorte. Chocolate has migrated from cakes into brownies, puddings, mousses, you name it.

My favourite cook Delia Smith has a whole page of chocolate cake recipes on her website and I can't do any better than to point you in her direction. The thing about Delia is that she isn't famous for her looks or her "act" on TV (in the manner of other celebrity chefs), but instead because her recipes all work. Every one of them. And they are explained in a very straightforward way which makes it difficult to get wrong.

Once cocoa butter was produced and solid chocolates were produced, confectioners outdid themselves in producing the most delicious chocolates imaginable. From the straight plan slabs to individual chocolates filled with cherry liquior, hazelnuts, caramels you name it. The first chocolate easter eggs appeared in the 1800s in France and Germany (previously the spring festival was marked by decorating real eggs), and spread fast.

Which chocolate to choose? In my opinion European chocolates are the best. American chocolate just doesn't taste right (I don't know if this is down to the quality of milk used). If you are buying individual chocolates, you can't go far wrong with Belgian (godiva) or Swiss (Lindt). If you are buying a slab, Cadburys is the best. And of course you can buy chocolates online

Naturally with chocolate being central to modern life, it has featured in the movies.

In 2000, the movie Chocolat came out, starring Juliet Binoche as a French woman who moves to a small village in 1959 and opens a chocolaterie.

Her chocolates have magical powers, such as the ability to bring comfort and success in love. The Mayor sees her as dangerous and tries to get her out of his village. But Binoche, together with a gypsy (played by Jonny Depp) she has fallen in love with, fights back and plans a huge festival of chocolate on Easter Sunday.

The movie won the Screen Actors Guild Award.

Hot Chocolate were a 1970's British band that produced songs such as It started with a Kiss and You Sexy Thing, ("I believe in miracles, Where you're from, You sexy thing....") which hit number 2 in the UK charts in 1975 and No 3 in the American charts.