Chocolate. Cho-CO-late. Cho-co-o-o-o-o-late.

photobucket.com

Just something about saying the word makes you want some. The slower you say it the more your mouth waters! What is your first thought when you hear or say chocolate: bar, bonbon, box, bunny? There is the chocolate bar with and without nuts, sweet and semi-sweet, even with toffee, chocolate so creamy it melts in your mouth. The succulent bonbon boasts small confections with a center of fondant, fruit, or nuts enrobed in chocolate, each morsel rich in texture and taste. Then, the best gift ever is the BOX of chocolates in which one might find milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, smooth truffles, decadent cremes, caramels and luscious chocolate pralines. Of course, one cannot even think about chocolate without the chocolate bunny coming to mind.

How did this delicacy even get its start and what are the best chocolates indeed? Of course, naming the BEST is definitely a matter of taste. Let's look at its origin first and save the best for last.

Embrace the Past. . .

As you pondered first thoughts when you hear the word chocolate, it is possible hot cocoa or chocolate milk came to mind. In fact, it is chocolate in the form of a "drink" that came first, rather than that which you "eat." For most of chocolate's history, it was strictly a beverage—not the hot cocoa or chocolate milk of today and NOT something sweet!

The word, chocolate, traces its origin back to the Aztec word "xocoatl," a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. Cacao refers to the plant or the beans, whereas "chocolate" refers to that which is made from the beans. Mixtures of cacao have been documented in rituals to celebrate, to heal and to savor. Preparations—ceremonial, medicinal, culinary—date back to the Early Formative (1900-900 BC) period.

Of course, that is simply the skinny behind all there is to know about chocolate—Just a few nuggets for you to chew on!

Empower the Present. . .