When was chocolate discovered

His product became known as "Dutch cocoa," and it soon led to the creation of solid chocolate. The creation of the first modern chocolate bar is credited to Joseph Fry, who in discovered that he could make a moldable chocolate paste by adding melted cacao butter back into Dutch cocoa.

By , a little company called Cadbury was marketing boxes of chocolate candies in England. Milk chocolate hit the market a few years later, pioneered by another name that may ring a bell — Nestle.

In America, chocolate was so valued during the Revolutionary War that it was included in soldiers' rations and used in lieu of wages. While most of us probably wouldn't settle for a chocolate paycheck these days, statistics show that the humble cacao bean is still a powerful economic force. Chocolate manufacturing is a more than 4-billion-dollar industry in the United States, and the average American eats at least half a pound of the stuff per month. In the 20th century, the word "chocolate" expanded to include a range of affordable treats with more sugar and additives than actual cacao in them, often made from the hardiest but least flavorful of the bean varieties forastero.

But more recently, there's been a "chocolate revolution," Leaf said, marked by an increasing interest in high-quality, handmade chocolates and sustainable, effective cacao farming and harvesting methods. Major corporations like Hershey's have expanded their artisanal chocolate lines by purchasing smaller producers known for premium chocolates, such as Scharffen Berger and Dagoba, while independent chocolatiers continue to flourish as well.

Amanda Fiegl is a former assistant editor at Smithsonian and is now a senior editor at the Nature Conservancy. The London Restaurant. The Chocmobile. Ice Lollies. Help Contact Us. Our Guarantee. Me Sign In Register. Your shopping bag is empty, are you feeling okay?! Shop Best Selling Gifts. Help Help Contact Us. Me Me Sign In Register. Limited Edition: Stellar White. Attributed in varying accounts to either Dutch chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten or his father, Casparus, the cocoa press squeezed the fatty butter from roasted cacao beans, leaving behind a dry cake that could be pulverized into a fine powder that could be mixed with liquids and other ingredients, poured into molds and solidified into edible, easily digestible chocolate.

The cocoa press ushered in the modern era of chocolate by enabling it to be used as a confectionary ingredient, and the resulting drop in production costs made chocolate much more affordable. In , British chocolate company J. It was in Switzerland that chocolate production took one of its greatest leaps forward. In the United States , Milton Hershey pioneered the assembly-line production of milk chocolate.

Chocolate bars soared in popularity during the Roaring Twenties. By the end of the decade, more than 40, different candy bars were being made in the U. Father-and-son duo Frank C. Mars and Forrest Mars Sr. From its roots more than 5, years ago, chocolate has become a big business. While the cacao plant is native to the Americas, its cultivation has now shifted to Africa , which is now the source of more than two-thirds of worldwide cocoa production.