“So noble a confection, more than nectar and ambrosia, the true food of the gods.”
- Dr. Bachot, 1662

We love Chocolate!

Cakes, cookies, brownies, bars, dark, white, milk chocolate…you can find it all here at Cook’s Fresh Market. Below are some facts you may not have known about this delectable bean…

The cocoa bean was discovered over 2000 years ago, in the tropical rainforests of Mesoamerica. It played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies.

In 1521 with their conquest of Mexico, the Spaniards discovered the Aztec custom of drinking chocolate. When the Spanish brought cacao home, they doctored up the bitter brew with cinnamon and other spices and began sweetening it with sugar. They managed to keep their delicious drink a Spanish secret for almost 100 years before the rest of Europe discovered what they were missing.

Sweetened chocolate soon became the latest and greatest fad to hit the continent. Because cocoa and sugar were expensive, chocolate became the symbol of wealth and power. By the 1800′s, solid chocolate candy was being mass produced and more affordable to the general public.

In 1894, Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company in Lancaster, PA. And the rest, as they say, is history! America’s (and the world’s) love affair with chocolate continues to grow with every generation!

Next blog…our favorite chocolate bars!