Here are some chocolate facts.
- Chocolate has been used in some form for at least 3,000 years. Its earliest documented use is in about 1400 BC in Honduras, where it was used to make alcoholic drinks.
- Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, and about 66 percent of the world’s cocoa production comes from the west of Africa.
- Commercial chocolate often contains more sugar than cocoa.
- Chocolate can actually be good for you. Studies show that dark chocolate is able to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, stimulate the brain and prevent cancer.
- On average, people eat about 5 kg of chocolate per year. The Swiss eat the most chocolate – about 10 kg per person annually.
- About half the world’s chocolate output is consumed in America and American chocolate companies use 680 million kg of milk every year.
- Chocolate has been supplied to every American space voyage.
- The very first machine-made chocolate was produced in 1780 and the first bar was manufactured by Cadbury, in 1842.
- The first milk chocolate was made in 1875, by Henri Nestle.
- Chocolate does contain caffeine, although only a very small amount. You would have to eat 10 chocolate bars to get as much caffeine as is in a cup of coffee.
- Over 17,000 people in Belgium work in the chocolate industry. The country has over 2,000 chocolate shops and produces an estimated 2,000 tons of chocolate in a year.
- It is extremely rare to have an allergy to chocolate and it can actually help to cure depression. Women are much more likely to be addicted to it than men, and more men prefer dark chocolate to the milk variety.
- Chocolate chips were first used in baking in 1937 and today over 17 billion chocolate chips are eaten every year.
- Most chocolate in the UK and US is sold around Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
