Today Americans are expected to exchange over 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate as a token of love. And our fixation on this famed mood-booster extends beyond today, fulfilled by hundreds of chocolate and cocoa products produced around the country year-round. Sweet, smooth and delectable, chocolate has been cherished for centuries.

Fun fact: By far, chocolate is the country's most popular flavor. In a recent survey, 52% of U.S. adults said it was their favorite. Berry flavors and vanilla tied for second at only 12% each.

The history of chocolate dates back to America's discovery. When Christopher Columbus returned from his famous 1492 journey, he presented the Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella with exotic souvenirs. Among these New World tokens were cocoa beans, which looked like dark brown almonds and were far from impressive. These mysterious beans would become the main ingredient in all our chocolate and cocoa.

Of course, at the time, the King and Queen had no inkling that the unremarkable beans could produce such delicious concoctions. The famed Spanish explorer, Hernando Cortez, would have to help enlighten the Old World to the cocoa bean's commercial potential.

When he conquered Mexico, Cortez discovered that the Aztec Indians made the realm's royal drink--"chocolatl" meaning "warm liquid"--from the beans. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma, who allegedly drank 50 or more servings a day, presented his Spanish guests with chocolatl in golden goblets.

But despite being heralded as a food for the gods, Montezuma's chocolatl did not appeal to the Spaniards because of its extremely bitter taste. To make it more palatable to Europeans, Cortez and his countrymen came up with the idea of mixing it with cane sugar to sweeten it.

Cortez and his crew brought the drink back to Spain, where it was tweaked some more with newly discovered spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. Eventually, serving it hot became the preference.

The new drink quickly gained devotees, particularly among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain decided to grow cacao trees, which produce the cocoa beans, in its overseas colonies, thus starting a flourishing business. But surprisingly, the Spanish kept the cocoa industry a national secret for nearly a century.

The rest of Europe finally got a taste of the exciting new flavor through Spanish monks, who were in charge of processing the cocoa beans. Chocolate was an instant hit, gaining a reputation as a tasty and healthy food. It also became the drink of choice in the fashionable Court of France for a while. Chocolate drinking caught on rapidly, reaching across the Channel to Great Britain, where in 1657, the first of many renowned English Chocolate Houses cropped up.

The hand methods of manufacture employed by small shops would soon make way for the mass production of chocolate. Aiding the transition was the development of the steam engine, which automated cocoa grinding. By 1730, chocolate prices had plummeted from three dollars or more a pound to a rate affordable to all. The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 took another big bite off chocolate prices and boosted the quality of the beverage by removing part of the cocoa butter, the naturally occurring fat in cocoa beans. Starting from then, drinking chocolate displayed more of its trademark velvety consistency and delectable flavor.

The 19th century served up two more sweet successes for chocolate. In 1847, an English company unveiled solid "eating chocolate" which consists of fondant chocolate, a smooth form that has almost entirely supplanted the once-popular coarse-grained chocolate. Then in 1876, in Switzerland, Daniel Peter figured out how to add milk to the chocolate and thus created another mouth-watering favorite--milk chocolate.

Fun fact: Most American chocolate eaters (65%) prefer milk chocolate.

In the States, the chocolate boom was more pronounced than in any other country. Production took off at record rates, starting from the nation's first chocolate factory in pre-Revolutionary New England in 1765. Today, chocolate is so popular that any supply disruption would be noticeable.

Its ability to improve one's mood has not gone unnoticed either. During World War II, the U.S. government granted precious shipping space to the importation of cocoa beans because it realized that the sweet substance not only nourished the Allied Armed Forces but also bolstered their morale. Many soldiers were indeed heartened by the pocket chocolate bars that provided them with energy to endure until the arrival of more food rations.

The Art of Chocolate Making

Today, we consume billions of pounds of chocolate a year (Fun fact: According to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, we eat about 11.64 pounds per person per year) and enjoy a wide range of chocolate products, which have secret manufacturing formulas. But while manufacturers have undisclosed variations in processing operations, which lead to distinctive tastes, they all share a general processing pattern in making chocolate.

Fun fact: About 1,000 locations around the country currently produce chocolate and cocoa products. They employ nearly 43,000 people.

Indeed, chocolate making is an art, requiring skill, care and patience. The manufacturing process is exacting and time-consuming. For example, it takes two to four days just to make an individual-size chocolate bar.

First, manufacturers must carefully store the sensitive cocoa beans so they are isolated and far removed from any odors that can be soaked up as an off-flavor. Then processors must thoroughly clean the cocoa beans, sending them through a cleaning machine that eliminates any extraneous material.

After cleaning, the beans are weighed and blended according to the company's particular formula. This secret recipe, which also includes bean selection, is usually the result of the company's experience and is based on the desired taste.

To release the trademark chocolate aroma, manufacturers roast the beans in huge rotary cylinders. Roasting can go on for 30 minutes to two hours at temperatures starting from 250ºF, depending on the company's particular formula and the type of beans.

After roasting, manufacturers rapidly cool the beans and remove their thin shells. In most factories, shell removal is performed by a "cracker and fanner," a large machine that cracks rather than crushes the beans and uses fans to separate the meat or "nibs" from their shells.

The meat or nibs, which are about 53% cocoa butter, then proceed to mills, where big grinding stones or heavy steel discs crush them and liquefy the cocoa butter. This liquid cocoa butter is called chocolate liquor (but the liquor does not indicate any alcohol content, it just means liquid). This liquid will form unsweetened or bitter chocolate if allowed to harden into cakes.

At this point in the process, the manufacturing of chocolate and cocoa take separate paths. But there is one connection between them--cocoa butter--a by-product of cocoa but a crucial ingredient of chocolate. In fact, cocoa butter accounts for about 25% of the weight of most chocolate bars. Its ability to resist spoiling makes it extremely useful. It can be stored under normal conditions for years without becoming rancid.

The chocolate liquor that is meant to become a cup of cocoa is poured into gigantic hydraulic presses weighing up to 25 tons. These machines squeeze the cocoa butter out, which slips away through metallic screens as a yellow liquid. It is then gathered for chocolate manufacturing. The pressed cake that remains is pulverized and sifted into cocoa powder.

In comparison, all eating chocolate--such as dark, bittersweet and milk chocolate--is manufactured by adding cocoa butter. This vegetable fat makes eating chocolate more fluid and flavorful.

Producing eating chocolate involves melting and combining ingredients in a big mixing machine until dough-like consistency is achieved. Ingredients vary depending on the type of chocolate. For example, sweet chocolate is made from unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter and a pinch of vanilla. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, entails the mixing of less unsweetened chocolate and milk.

Fun fact: U.S. chocolate makers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolate.

Whatever the ingredients may be, the mixture moves through a series of heavy rollers, which grind it and turn it into a smooth paste. The paste next undergoes "conching," a kneading process that further develops the flavor. Some manufacturers replace or supplement conching with emulsifying, which breaks up sugar and other particles in the mixture for a silky smooth texture.

After conching or emulsifying, the mixture undergoes heating, cooling, and reheating. It is then placed into molds, which give the product its final shape. The molded chocolate is carefully cooled and after removal from the mold, it is wrapped, packed and shipped to distributors, confectioners and others around the country.

When chocolate is to be used by other food manufacturers, it is often transported in a liquid state. Candy, cookie and ice cream manufacturers use it to give their products a tasty flavor. Also, a part of the country's total chocolate output is used in coatings, powders and flavorings that make our foods more scrumptious and deepen our love affair with chocolate.

Fun fact: Chocolate literally melts in your mouth. That's because cocoa butter's melting point is slightly below our body temperature (98.6 degrees).

Sources:

History of Chocolate
National Confectioners Association
www.candyusa.org/Chocolate/history.asp

Chocolate Fun Facts!
National Confectioners Association
www.candyusa.org/Classroom/Facts/default.asp?Fact=Chocolate!

Valentine's Day
National Confectioners Association
www.candyusa.org/Classroom/Facts/default.asp?Fact=Valentine's%20Day

Facts for Features: Valentine's Day
U.S. Census Bureau, December 16, 2004
www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2005/cb05ff02.pdf

About Chocolate: Facts: Statistics: Consumption
Chocolate Manufacturers Association
www.chocolateusa.org/about-choc/facts/statistics/consumption/index.asp