Chocolate

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chocolate has been chosen to be the theme of the project, because it is the most purchased sweet in the world. On holydays like Valentine`s, Christmas, Easter, birthdays and so on, the most present gift it`s chocolate.

Also, taking into account the education received in primary school and invoking the English classes, everyone can remember the story of Charlie and the Chocolate factory from the text book.

Regarding the beauty field, any woman knows that she can make a face mask or a body treatment with chocolate. The face mask helps in facial moisturizing and rejuvenation while the body treatment helps in having a good mood, being rich in A and B vitamins, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Thus, the consumption of chocolate has a very high impact on the health.

Soaps, shower gels, face and body creams, perfumes, body sprays with chocolate flavors have seized the market. In their composition the scent of chocolate is present which is known as an aphrodisiac.

It represents an important part of people’s lives in many aspects. There are strong bonds between them, which symbolize emotions, memories and sensations.

This paper will follow the cocoa’s path from its bean stage to the moment when it becomes a delicacy for all, chocolate. It has a history of hundreds of years, this aspect is discussed in the pages to come. Finally an analysis was made, which compares two major chocolate brands, without taking into consideration the subjective criterion, meaning the taste and texture. The evaluation was purely based on the results regarding the labeling, packaging and the essential nutritional information with respect to its composition.

Chapter 2: Conceptual aspects regarding chocolate

Chocolate is a processed, typically sweetened food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cocoa tree. Of course, it can have many other ingredients too: sugar, milk, syrups, peppermint, nuts or even fruit pieces. It can be consumed as a drink, as a coating on other products or as a bar. Chocolate has been pampering our senses for centuries and it has become a part of the cultural heritage of some countries, like Belgium, Germany, France, etc.

History shows us that the cacao has been cultivated by many civilizations for at least three millennia in Mexico and Central America, yet the earliest evidence of the use and consumption can be traced back to the Mokaya and their chocolate beverages dating back to 1900 BC. Thus, the Mokaya, together with the Mayans and Aztecs made these drinks and used the phrase “bitter water” to describe it, nevertheless cacao was considered the food of the gods.

2.1. The brief history of chocolate

In 1528 the conquistadors returned home with chocolate still consumed as a beverage. After this, chocolate virtually conquered the royalty’s dishes. Chocolate drinks were brought to a royal wedding in France in 1615, and England welcomed chocolate in 1662. To this point "chocolate" as we spell it today, had been spelled variously as "chocalatall, "jocolatte", "jacolatte", and "chockelet”.