Chocolate is a typically sweet, usually brown, food preparation of roasted and ground cacao seeds. It is made in the form of a liquid,
paste, or in a block, or used as a flavoring ingredient in other foods.The earliest evidence of use traces to the Olmecs (Mexico), with evidence of chocolate
beverages dating to 1900 BC.[1][2] The majority of Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the Maya and Aztecs. Indeed, the word "chocolate" is
derived from the Classical Nahuatl word chocolatl.
The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavor. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and
roasted. The shell is removed to produce cacao nibs, which are then ground to cocoa mass, unadulterated chocolate in rough form. Once the cocoa mass is liquefied by
heating, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be cooled and processed into its two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Baking chocolate, also
called bitter chocolate, contains cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions, without any added sugar. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form
of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or added vegetable oils, and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk
powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, but no cocoa solids.
>Chocolate has been prepared as a drink for nearly all of its history. For example, one vessel found at an Olmec archaeological site on the
Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico, dates chocolate's preparation by pre-Olmec peoples as early as 1750 BC. On the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico, a Mokaya
archaeological site provides evidence of cacao beverages dating even earlier, to 1900 BC.[10][9] The residues and the kind of vessel in which they were found
indicate the initial use of cacao was not simply as a beverage, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was likely used as a source of fermentable sugars for an
alcoholic drink. Aztec. Man Carrying a Cacao Pod, 14401521. Volcanic stone, traces of red pigment. Brooklyn MuseumAn early Classic-period (460480 AD) Mayan tomb
from the site in Rio Azul had vessels with the Maya glyph for cacao on them with residue of a chocolate drink, suggests the Maya were drinking chocolate around 400
AD. Documents in Maya hieroglyphs stated chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes, in addition to everyday life. The Maya grew cacao trees in their backyards
, and used the cacao seeds the trees produced to make a frothy, bitter drink.
MILK
Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that also contains milk powder or condensed milk. In the UK and Ireland, milk chocolate must contain a minimum of 20% total dry
cocoa solids; in the rest of the European Union, the minimum is 25%.
White Chocolate
Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls this "sweet chocolate", and requires a 15%
concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.[32] A higher amount of cocoa solids indicates more bitterness. Semisweet
chocolate is a dark chocolate with a low sugar content. Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter and
vanilla are added.[citation needed] It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking. It is also known to last
for two years if stored properly. As of 2017, there is no high-quality evidence that dark chocolate affects blood pressure significantly or provides other health
benefits