Today’s Spotlight is on Chocolate – on Anything.

Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that are available as a a flavoring agent in other foods. It’s made by fermenting, drying, and roasting the beans from the cacao tree. The beans have a bitter taste.

Chocolate is neither a fruit nor a vegetable. It’s made from cocoa beans, which are harvested from the cocoa plant, a tropical tree native to Central and South America.  The cocoa plant’s fruit is called a cacao pod. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called “beans”, embedded in a white pulp. Some say that chocolate is a fruit because it comes from the seed of the Cocoa tree’s fruit. Others say that chocolate is a vegetable because it’s made from the seeds of the cacao plant.

Chocolate is made up of:

• Cacao powder
• Cocoa butter
• A sweetener, such as sugar

Modern chocolate also includes Milk solids, Added flavors, Modifiers, Preservatives. Chocolate is available as a liquid, solid, or paste. It can be consumed as candy, used to make beverages, or used to flavor or coat other foods. Which is what today is all about.

 

Celebrating Chocolate

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day is celebrated on December 16 every year. It’s a day dedicated to dipping things in chocolate. It’s likely that a candy company or confectioner started National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. The day celebrates the joy of combining chocolate with other treats. The day celebrates the joy of combining two delicious treats.

The day is celebrated by dipping things in chocolate, such as:

• Fruit, Nuts, Pretzels, Marshmallows, Sour cherries, Fresh strawberries.

Here are some other things you can cover in chocolate:

• Bacon, Apricots, Doughnuts, Churros, Marshmallows, Biscuits, Cake, Cheese, Popcorn

You can also dip these foods in chocolate:

• DIY Samoas
• Sweet potato chips
• Peanut butter Hi-Hat cupcakes
• Peanut butter stout chocolate chip cookies
• Citrus segments
• Peanut butter crackers
• Turtle pretzel rods
• Classic Oreo balls
• Cherry Oreo balls
• Peanut butter Ritz cookies
• Peppermint Ritz cookies
• Christmas homemade Thin Mints
• Peanut butter Buckeyes
• Crunchy Buckeyes

 

History

The Olmec civilization was the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate. They drank chocolate during rituals and used it as medicine. The Mayans later praised chocolate as the drink of the gods.

Chocolate’s history began in Mesoamerica, present-day Mexico, over 4,000 years ago. The Olmec civilization drank chocolate during rituals and used it as medicine. The Maya, Toltec, and Aztec people also prepared a beverage from the cocoa bean. The Maya considered chocolate to be the food of the gods, and they buried dignitaries with bowls of chocolate. The Mexica believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom. The seeds were once so valuable that they were used as a form of currency.

The word “chocolate” is believed to be derived from the Aztec word “xocoatl,” which referred to the bitter drink consumed by the Aztec people. The word “cacao” comes from the Olmec word “kakawa”.

So, it seems that this celebration of putting chocolate on anything has been coming for a long time.

 

Here are some fun facts about chocolate:

• White chocolate is not technically chocolate because it doesn’t contain cocoa solids.
• Cocoa can be added to chili.
• The name chocolate comes from the Aztec word “xocoatl”.
• The world’s largest chocolate bar weighed over 12,000 pounds.
• The smell of chocolate can help relax and reduce stress.
• Dark chocolate has health benefits.
• Milk chocolate was invented in Switzerland in 1875.
• Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by 1/3.

 

Since today is a day dedicated to putting chocolate on anything, we thought it fitting to present a recipe for dipping chocolate. You can decide what you want to dip in it.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate, semi-sweet, dark chocolate, or white chocolate morsels)
• sprinkles (optional, decor)

Instructions:

1. Break chocolate bars into small chunks using a chef’s knife to measure, otherwise measure out your chocolate morsels.
2. Double Boiler: Use either a double boiler or a homemade version (make sure your glass bowl is heat-safe) and place it over a small amount of water in a saucepan.
3. Simmer the water in your double boiler or saucepan and heat the chocolate slowly in the top of your double boiler, or in the glass bowl set atop the saucepan.
4. Microwave: Use a microwave-safe bowl heat the chocolate in 30-second intervals to start, stir, and continue heating in short intervals of 15-30 seconds.
5. (With either double boiler or microwave method) Stir until the chocolate is almost completely melted then remove from heat and stir vigorously until smooth.
6. Dip, drizzle, and decorate as desired.
7. Enjoy!

 

Consumption

Americans consume 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate each year, or over 11 pounds per person. Americans eat an average of 22 pounds of candy each year, split almost equally between candy and chocolate. In 2023, the world is projected to consume 7.5 million tons of chocolate. The average person consumes just under 2 pounds of chocolate per year.

The United States is one of the top 10 chocolate-consuming countries in the world. In 2023, the average American consumed 9 kilograms of chocolate, or approximately 12 pounds. This is slightly more than the amount that health experts say is reasonable, which is 1 ounce a few times a week.

Here are some other chocolate-consuming countries:

• Germany: 5.8 kilograms per capita
• Switzerland: 11 kilograms per capita
• Ireland: 16.3 pounds per year
• United Kingdom: 16.3 pounds per year

The world’s largest chocolate market is Europe, with an estimated per capita consumption of 5.0 kilograms per year.

 

Your Thoughts

We’d love to hear from you on the things you like to dip in chocolate. Let us know in the comments.