Made from beans that come from the cacao tree, a plant that thrives in equatorial climates, chocolate is prepared by a complex process of fermentation, drying, cleaning, blending, and roasting the beans, which are then ground and mixed with sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids.

Cortez was the first to bring chocolate to Europe–Spain, to be exact. And for centuries, that country had a monopoly on this mysterious and very popular elixir. (Chocolate was a drink for thousands of years before it was a candy bar. Candy bars weren't invented until 1847).

Cortez was introduced to chocolate by Montezuma, the great Aztec emperor. (The Aztecs used the cacao bean both as the basis for their special drink, chocolatl, and as actual currency. It was that precious!) It seems that Cortez was as entranced by the drink as much as he was by the gold cups in which it was served, for he brought chocolate back to Spain, along with the various precious metals and gems his men had pillaged. After a long period of Spain's having a corner on the chocolate market, other European monarchs figured out that they, too, could plant cocoa plantations in their colonies and reap the harvest.

Chocolate became, and remained, THE drink among the European elite – until right around the Industrial Revolution, when the leisure class dwindled and a working/business class arose. The population then needed a stronger dose of caffeine in their morning beverage, and hence the rise of coffee and tea. Right around this time, Dutch-processed cocoa was developed, and a more benign, digestible drink was thus invented. This latter invention was highly suitable toãand appreciated byãchildren, and thus hot cocoa was soon all the rage at nurseries everywhere.

In the late 18th century, chocolate candy was developed in both the United States and Europe, and chocolate also began to be used as an ingredient in baking.

Culinarily Speaking: Both chocolate and cocoa powder should be stored in a cool, dry place. Chocolate should not be refrigerated, as that causes "sugar bloom" (grayish-white streaks), the result of temperature fluctuations, which doesn't really affect the taste, but makes it less beautiful.

Unsweetened chocolate is cocoa solids with no sugar added. It is bitter, grainy, and melts with some difficulty. It is used for baking, but for little (or nothing) else.

Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate contains some sugar has a minimum of 43% cocoa solids, and is sweetened just slightly. It cannot be used interchangeably with unsweetened chocolate.

Milk chocolate has a lower percentage of cocoa solids, and contains real milk. It is generally very sweet and cannot be swapped with semisweet or bittersweet chocolate in a recipe.

White "chocolate" is technically not chocolate at all, because it contains only cocoa butter, milk, and sugar, and has no cocoa mass. Sometimes white "chocolate" contains vegetable fat in place of cocoa butter and is thus truly fake. Many people get all dewy-eyed and swoon over white chocolate as though it were a precious delicacy. I never did understand this hoax! It is decorative at best, making a lovely visual contrast when used in juxtaposition with dark.

Cocoa powder is only 18% cocoa butter, and is made by extracting all the cocoa butter from the roasted beans. This produces dry cakes of cocoa, which are then ground into powder. "Dutching" is a process with neutralizes cocoa's acid, making cocoa powder easier to dissolve.

Nutritionally Speaking: There is not much to say about the nutritional profile of chocolate, except that it is believed to contain some trace antioxidant, and is known to contain phenylethylamine, a chemical (often referred to as an "endorphin") that the brain produces when stimulated by the emotion of Love. That chemical causes a feeling of temporary positivity and occasional euphoria, which may explain people's emotional attachment to chocolate, beyond its merely tasting good. No wonder the botanical name for the cacao tree translates as "food of the gods!"