By Lonnie Mays
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of http://picapp.com
Chocolate is known as the food of the gods. People desire the rich flavor and scrumptious smell. It comes in many shapes and sizes. It is also an ingredient we use in making a variety of homemade goodies.
Several sayings add to the chocolate hype. We all know that “Hershey’s is the Great American Chocolate Bar.” We also know that “Nestle makes the very best chocolate.” Forrest Gump proclaims, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deanna Troi says, “I never met a chocolate I didn’t like.”
According to Erowig.org, the chemical equation for chocolate is C7H8N4O2. Hershey Company’s website explains that chocolate is made from cocoa beans. The cocoa beans are placed in piles for about a week and fermented. The fermented beans are then made into chocolate liquor, which is non-alcoholic. This liquor, cocoa butter, sugar and milk are combined to form the wonderful bar of chocolate that everybody loves.
You might have had chocolate cereal or chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast this morning. You might have even had a chocolate muffin. Yoo-Hoo is a widely-distributed chocolate drink, and Extreme Moose Tracks is ice cream that is simply loaded with chocolate. Ex-Lax even uses chocolate in their laxatives. Chocolate can be found in some very unique products.
Oh fudge! I almost forgot about cooking with chocolate. People can use chocolate to make all kinds of cakes, pies, and candies. Fort Collins, Colorado even hosts “Fantasy in Chocolate,” an annual festival that includes chocolate sculpting contests. Now that you are thinking about chocolate, why not whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and don’t forget to save some from your friends.
