From the Bean to Chocolate We now come to the remarkable art of chocolate making, a process that is comparable with the skill and finesse of the world’s greatest chefs. The manufacturing process requires much time and painstaking care. Just to make an individual-size chocolate bar, for instance, takes from two to four days or more. The problems involved in chocolate production especially in regards to kosher chocolate production are not generally understood and it is hoped that this review, will contribute to an appreciation of

History of Chocolate   Chocolate through the Years Chocolate, the delicacy that seems to have been around forever, is in fact quite a recent invention. A world without chocolate seems like a most tasteless place to live. But with only 500 years since its discovery and less than 200 years since mass production, humanity somehow survived without this sweet for centuries. When Christopher Columbus first visited the New World, he encountered many new foods; potatoes, tomatoes, corn. Amidst these wondrous vegetables, he missed the fact that cocoa

The Cocoa Bean Cocoa beans are the product of the cacao tree. The origin of the cacao tree is in dispute. Some say it originated in the Amazon basin of Brazil; others place it in the Orinoco Valley of Venezuela, while still others contend that it is native to Central America. Wherever its first home, we know the cacao tree is strictly a tropical plant thriving only in hot, rainy climates. Thus, its cultivation is confined to the lands not more than 20 degrees north of