Modern Chocolate: Can Chocolate Be Tamed?

From earliest childhood, happy contented memories are laced with chocolate. Holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions and even ordinary summer days most likely stir images, flavors, and aromas within our earliest memories. Knowing that the chocolate we eat bears little resemblence to the primitive cacao plant from which it originates, has chocolate been tamed with modern processing techniques?

The substance, chocolate, hasn't always been a staple product for indulgence and pleasure. In fact, chocolate as we know it (a solid form for candies and cooking) has only been available since just before the dawn of the twentieth century. Until recent times, chocolate has been available for consumption as either a sweet drink (hot cocoa) or a sauce for meats (Mexican mole').

Chocolate in any form has always been the stuff of legends, magic, and superstition. Even within modern times, many superstitions abound. Chocolate bars became popularized during World War I when American troops received these items as an inclusion in their rations for the purpose of an energy bar. By World War II, Americans passed out their surplus rations to the civilians in France and Germany on V-day, and the chocolate candy bar became a global treat. With whetted appetites, the world, especially veterans, purchased chocolate, for taste and energy, in record numbers after that point.

Admonitions warning of tooth decay, acne, diabetes, obesity, and other health concerns have little effect on the person that sports a sweet tooth for chocolate. In fact, all these adverse claims lean more toward the addition of sugar for flavoring than the chocolate itself. But then, what is chocolate without sweetening? It's more like peanut butter without the jelly, yen without the yang, or man without the woman, right? So with the joys and benefits of chocolate come the adverse effects of the sugar that sweetens.

Besides the legend of the energy bar, chocolate has an ancient reputation for stirring the libido and feelings of love. This is most likely the reason that men provide chocolate treats for courting, a custom that evolved into the ritualistic giving of chocolates on Saint Valentine's Day. Other superstitions claim chocolate's powers for healing (it contains powerful antioxidants), and increased intelligence and concentration. Scientists in many parts of the world are investigating all these claims today.

From the earliest primitive uses of chocolate to the present, the same uses of love potion, aphrodesiac, brain booster, and energy bar are still up for debate within current scientific communities.

While 75% of chocolate purchases are made by women all year long, during the days and minutes before Valentine's Day, 75% of the chocolate purchases are made by men. Over $1billion of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day.

The first solid edible chocolate candy appeared in England in 1847.

The invention of refrigeration, around 1900 gave chocolate a boost. Chocolate could be made and sold all year round.

Milton Hershey, of today's Hershey's Chocolates, invented the chocolate candy bar.

Never give a dog chocolate, as it contains theobromine, which is a central nervous system stimulant. As little as 2 ounces can be lethal to a small dog.

Chocolate supposedly made its film debut when Jean Harlow ate candy in the 1933 comedy 'Dinner at Eight'.

Chocolate syrup was used for the blood in the famous shower scene in the Alfred Hitchcock movie 'Psycho'. The scene lasts for about 45 seconds in the movie, but took 7 days to film.

In the U.S. chocolate candy outsells all other types of candy combined, by 2 to 1.

Total value of shipments in 2006 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products was an estimated $13.9 billion.

The primitive origins of this substance are fascinating. To linger on the primitive, view Primitive Chocolate-- History of Chocolate Part One. From the time chocolate was discovered by Hernando Cortes to the chocolate we now enjoy, many changes have taken place. Early Spaniards probably were reluctant to give chocolate a try since the Aztec word for chocolate was "cacahuatl" which is loosely translated as "poop water" in Spanish.

With the addition of sugar, chocolate eventually became the rage of Europe. Many took chocolate for indulgence or medicinal purposes. The art to the right of this article is called Hot Chocolate and is a popularized scene rendition by Raimundo Madrazo. By the 1600's, stylish chocolate houses began appearing throughout all of Euope.

In 1753, Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist named the cacao tree by its current scientific name, Theobroma cacao meaning "food of the gods".

By the 1700's the chocolate and sugar industries were powered primarily through slave labor. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were kidnapped and sent to the Americas to live and die on sugar and cocoa plantations. Ironically, few of these early workers tasted even once the delicious delicacies that their labors produced.

In 1828, Coenraad Van Houten, a Dutch inventor, built a press that separated cacao seeds into two parts, the fatty and the pure chocolate. With this invention, the beginning of the industrialization of chocolate began. The next advance came with the addition of evaporated milk to the chocolate solid creating the smooth texture of today's chocolate. The chocolatier was the Swiss Daniel Peter of the future Lindt Chocolate Company who worked with a recipe developed by Henri Nestle' of Nestle's Chocolate. The last invention was the conching machine which worked the chocolate like a conch, smoothing the mixture and eliminating the previous grainy sandy quality that chocolate once held.

The newer firm chocolate was first used to cover caramels until Milton Hershey tried the first solid chocolate bar is the 1890's. The rest is history. By providing chocolate bars to the military during the World Wars, Hershey cemented his place in history. Through clever consistent marketing, Nestle', Hershey, Lindt, and Cadbury (in the UK) have emerged as household names in the chocolate industry. I doubt that anyone has lived without the taste of chocolate from one or all of these brands. Chocolate is now an international staple.

The common enjoyment related to chocolate emerges with a price, and today's consumer is responsible for the dollars spent for goods obtained. Many of the cheap chocolate providers still rely on unethical African laborers for the production of chocolate. That's right. Many cocoa laborers barely make wages to sustain their current existence and have little hope for improvement in the quality of life for their children. As consumers, it's a responsibility to look for the "fair trade" label on current chocolate wrappers.

Besides the social political issue concerning the production of chocolate, it's clearly known that the cacao tree is indigenous to the rainforest. As such, it suffers the same threats as all species in the rainforest-- extinction. It may be argued that cacao plants that are derivative of today's chocolate are domesticated varieties of trees (cultivated similarly as today's peach or apple orchards). But when a variey fails, botanists continue to return to the wild variety to begin anew. This wild cacao is the variety that is delicate and must be protected.

Because the cacao tree is susceptible to disease and pests, an overabundance of herbicides and pesticides have been enlisted to protect the trees with little regard as to the effects its fruits may have on consumers. Today's savvy consumers look for labels that quote high cacao content (dark chocolate of 50% or higher) and list chocolate as "organic" and "fair trade". Higher cocoa content without the mix of milk yields a vast high end antioxidant product that is both delicious and healthy. In fact, dark chocolate is reported as being "good" for cholestoral balance, high blood pressure, and overall heart health. This select high quality chocolate is more costly in dollars, but informed consumers know the extra cost purchases a product that is far superior to powdered hot chocolate or cheap chocolate bars.

What exactly makes chocolate so special? What's in it anyway? It would take a long time and a broad space to answer such a question. Depending on the type of chocolate and the way it's produced and processed, a piece of chocolate may contain between 300 to 800 different compounds or even more! Several links below may provide insight to further searches concerning this subject. But considering all the facts, chocolate is a complex and romantic subject. As long as purity and high concentration of this treat is available, it will never be quite tame. It's very quality of the wild and uncivilized nature is at least in part the very essence of its attraction. Chocolate is and always will be wild, elusive, and primal. Maybe it's one of the few substance on this earth that makes that claim. Maybe that's the reason we love it so.

Special Note from the Author

Although this lens is a whimsical tribute to the history of modern chocolate, a current footnote in this history is so disturbing, awareness is critical. It's difficult to conceive that slavery exists in the twenty-first century, but it does.

Just this week, special correspondents from CNN reported from the Ivory Coast with this agenda: "Ten years after the chocolate industry promised to end trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast, was that promise kept? " The answer is no.

The children who work there began as young as seven-years-old. They've never tasted chocolate. They're not allowed to attend school or leave the farm, and they're not paid. They live and work in quiet acceptance as they've never known freedom. No visits from government or chocolate industry representatives were reported upon CNN's journalistic investigation last week for the previously promised reform of child trafficking and child slavery.

What can we do to help? It's imperative to look for the fair trade label on chocolate that we as consumers enjoy on a daily basis, for how can we indulge knowing our palates are soothed with the fruits of human trafficking and child slavery? Also, as this article is non-profit, (royalties are forwarded to Women's Future Benefit) feel free to pass the word through forums, tweets, and other social media.

Lastly, if you're so moved, you may donate to Women's Future Benefit directly from this lens via a link at the end. This is a fine organization that fights poverty worldwide for women, children, and the disabled.

**Some good news-- Hershey chocolate pledges this week to do their part to end slavery in West Africa through a $10 million donation over the next five years. Way to go, Hershey.

Thank you for your interest. Please enjoy an otherwise satisfying history of modern chocolate.

Sources for this article may be found in the sections entitled "Chocolate for the Brain" and "Chocolate Web Links" sections.