Ah…..Chocolate!

It is odd to think of life without a good piece of chocolate!  Although the peoples of the United States were introduced to drinking chocolate in the mid-1700’s, it was not until the mid-1800’s that they were able to enjoy chocolates, as we know them today, and not until later on in the 1800’s that milk chocolate was being made.

Chocolate was being enjoyed way back – in fact it is said that cocoa, from which chocolate was created, was first used by the Amazons in 2000 BC.   It was considered a delicacy and through the years, beans were used as currency to procure everything they needed.

In the early 1500’s, chocolate arrived in Spain and it was there that they found that if one mixed sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon with the chocolate, it made for a wonderful treat – one which the upper classes only enjoyed.
                                                                                                                  Hot Chocolate by Raimundo Madrzo

The first chocolate house opened in London in 1657, and the people of this wonderful city thoroughly enjoyed the drink.  The upper crust of London’s society enjoyed these chocolate houses thereby making them the trendy meeting places.  They would gather there and sip their new-found luxury.

By the mid-1700’s, chocolate had made its way to the United States and the desire for it spread more quickly than anywhere else!  But, this was still merely in a drink form.  It was not until 1830 when J S Fry and Sons, a British chocolate maker developed solid eating chocolate with the Cadbury brothers developing it more and more a couple of decades later.  To this day, Cadbury is one of the leading chocolatiers in the world, shipping their chocolates everywhere!

Milk chocolate was developed in 1875 and by 1913, a Swiss company had perfected the process for filling chocolates.

So yes, there was a time, and not too long ago, when your hostess would not have had the pleasure of offering you a lovely piece of chocolate after dinner…..

….and your loved one could not have presented you with a box of chocolates to proclaim his love for you!

As you no doubt have learned, there are all sorts of wonderful ways to use chocolate – oh golly, too, too many to list but we thought it would be fun to give you a great chocolate fudge recipe.  With the holidays coming up, we are sure you will find reason to make up this very easy recipe.

 Best Chocolate Fudge

3 cups (18 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup butter
Dash salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (optional) pecans, walnuts or almonds

Line 8- or 9-inch pan with waxed paper.  Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt in heavy saucepan.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and nuts if you are using them. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Chill 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan by lifting edges of waxed paper; peel off waxed paper. Cut into squares.

And please do not forget THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE or our wonderful HOT FUDGE SAUCE!  They are ALWAYS  winners.

Ah yes, chocolate!  What do you think of when you think of chocolate?  Love, joy and abundant living, we have no doubt!  That is certainly what we think of.

P.S. Today we salute and give honor to all those who have served each of us and our country in the armed forces.  Why not make something chocolate for your favorite veteran?