chocolate

We are going to tell you something about chocolate

Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavours in the world. Gifts of foil-wrapped chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and hearts on Valentine's Day. 

Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and cocoa. Chocolate tastes very good and most of the people like it very much. They say chocolate is good for your making youf feel happy, good for your health and humour and when you have eaten chocolate it makes it easy to fall in love. Chocolate is available in dark, white and milk taste. 

Most of the cocoa trees are in South America and West Africa. In these trees grows fruit and in this fruit are cocoa beans. Cocoa is the most important thing to make chocolate. In 1674 it was possible to eat chocolate, before that you could only drink it. 

When the fruits are ripe, people get them off the tree and open them. First the beans are laid down in the sun until they’re dry enough to pack in bags and then they go to the chocolate factory. 

In the factory the beans are cleaned and then they are put in a big kettle to be roast. This happens with a temperature of 135 degrees. It’s important to do it carefully, because the beans get a horrible taste when they’re roasted too long or too short. 

The pod is really hard then and then they are broken by a machine. Cocoa comes out of it and in a machine it turns round so it becomes warm and liquid. Cocoa butter comes out of it which is used to make lipstick. The rest is the chocolate mass which is used to make chocolate. 

Lots of other ingredients are added to it, because there are many sorts of chocolate. The chocolate is still liquid and warm, so it can be put in a casting-mould. When the chocolate is cooled down, it crimps a little so it can be thrown out the casting-mould, and the bars are finished. They are packed by a machine and ready to go to the shop.

Now we use chocolate in the kitchen, we don't just eat a bar. We make special sorst of chocolate like Sinterklaas, bonbons ore beautiful chocolate cakes. In Amsterdam there are a lot of shop were you can get only chocolate in all kinds and forms. 

*In 1700 chocolate was used as a medicine for many diseases. 
*before 1300 chocolate was only a drink for men
*when the Indians in South- America got married, they had to drink some chocolate. When they didn’t do that, they won’t live happily.
The percentage of people in the world that prefer dark 68%, milk 22%, and white chocolate 10%.

This was our presentation.