History of Taste… Chocolate

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1502 was the first date of importance for Europe in getting acquainted with cocoa and chocolate. It was the adventurous time of the Spanish conquistadores with Christopher Columbus the first to set sail to the new world. When he reached the island of Guanaja, close to Honduras, the local people went part to the way by proa to meet him, their boats loaded with cocoa beans. As they offered their precious gift to Columbus, some of the beans fell into the water. The Mexicans dived into to the water to save the beans as if they were the most precious items in the world. When chocolate arrived on the European continent, it was first regarded as a medicine, rather than as a delicious foodstuff. Another example of this medicinal classification of chocolate is found in the first publication of the recipe for chocolate made by the Spanish doctor Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma in 1631. In the 17^th century, the cocoa plantations became over-cultured which exhausted the soil. When, in the 18^th century, empiric scientists like Pascal and others laid the basis of modern science, the medical potential of chocolate faded into the background while its nutritious and delicious values gained ground.

Many chocolate museums today show beautiful collections of 18^th century chocolate China. Until the beginning of the 20^th century, chocolate remained the exclusive privilege of the rich and famous. Chocolate remained extremely expensive due to very high cocoa and sugar prices in the 19^th century.

Around 1900, the price of the two main ingredients for chocolate, cocoa and sugar, dropped tremendously. From the early 1820’s the UK had developed quite a unique chocolate, taste and flavour. Their chocolate was dark and very often combined with strong, pronounced flavours like mint cream, rose & violet cream, ginger…

The beginning of the 20^th century announced the boom in industrialization of chocolate production all over Europe and the US, Belgium seemed to be at the cutting edge of innovation, fast production technology and new marketing techniques, compared to the rest of Europe. Another Belgian invention in the 1920’s was the chocolate bar.

From World War II until today, the differences in chocolate consumption volumes between labourers, clerks and the highest income groups have almost disappeared. The end of the nineties and the beginning of the 21^st century gave a new impulse to chocolate. Scientific studies on cocoa and chocolate have already revealed a lot of potential benefits from moderate consumption of cocoa and chocolate and there is more expected.

One also views and understands the process of making handmade chocolates through pictorial description. ‘Did you know’ emphasizes the healthy importance of chocolate. Thanks to its stunning taste, chocolate has become one of the favourite foodstuffs of a huge number of consumers. It evokes emotional values: enjoyment, indulgence and taste, Chocolate contains a combination of sugars and fats that can make you feel good during and after consumption. Cocoa and dark chocolate contain no cholesterol. Milk chocolate and white chocolate contain only minimal quantities due to the added mild fats.

The ‘Products’ and ‘Login’ sections highlight variety of tasty chocolates and subscription and shipping services.

www.brownes.co.uk supply numerous well-known retail outlets and other trade, wholesale and caters to customers around the UK.

So if you are craving for a big box of chocolates choose from varieties of hand-made chocolate truffles at http://www.brownes.co.uk . One of them is bound to prove irresistible for you.