The History of Chocolate Bars
July 4, 2014
It’s been quite a while since the last time I shared some chocolate history. So here goes.
A form of solid chocolate came about in 1847, all credits to Joseph Fry & Sons. They came up with a way to mix cocoa butter to the defatted or "Dutched" cocoa powder and incorporated sugar that yielded a paste that’s moldable, then came the solid chocolate bar. They then displayed it for eating in Bingley Hall, Birmingham, England.
America first knew about chocolate in 1851. In the year 1868, Richard Cadbury whipped up the first ever heart-shaped chocolate bar for Valentine's day, and the first boxes of chocolate candies were mass marketed. After playing around with it for 8 years, Daniel Peter created the milk chocolate and collaborated with Henri Nestlé to make the first Nestlé Company.
By the year 1879, Rudolphe Lindt put more cocoa butter back into the chocolate. That’s responsible for the chocolate snap and the melt-in-your-mouth goodness we all long for today.
In 1910, Arthur Ganong who loved to go fishing alongside his employee, George Ensor, used to bring some chocolates for snack and put them in their pockets. However, they didn’t like how it created mess in their pockets and on their hands. They then thought of wrapping the chocolate in cellophane.
Eventually, they started making long molded pieces of chocolate with nuts. Their business boomed and they decided to market the individually-wrapped chocolate bar for five cents in 1898. This invention went by the name "Pal-O-Mine Bar".
Was there a certain point in your life in which a chocolate bar made an impact? Because there was in mine.
This may sound corny, but back when I was a thirteen year-old girl, there was this silent girl in my class who didn’t speak a word. She was as quiet as a snail. I came up to her and offered her a miniature bar of chocolate, and the rest, as they say, is history. From there on out, we were attached at the hip. I found my best friend through a bar of chocolate.
How did chocolate change your life? Time to put your two cents on the comment box!
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