National Chocolate Day

Everywhere in the world there are tensions – economic, political, religious. So we need chocolate.

Alain Ducasse

A food that encourages passion, many people would consider chocolate to be a gift to the world. Whether eaten in the form of a chocolate bar, enjoyed as a chocolate beverage or used to bake a variety of desserts, chocolate has a rich history and a bright future! 

How to Celebrate National Chocolate Day

National Chocolate Day offers tons of different opportunities to get involved with celebrating and enjoying the day! Consider trying out some of these fun and delicious ideas:

Take a Tour for National Chocolate Day

Have tons of fun learning all about how chocolate is made and, hopefully, get to take home some samples! Take a tour of a chocolate company like Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Or enjoy the Lindt Home of Chocolate located in Zurich, Switzerland.

Or one great place to learn a lot about the chocolate industry would be at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. With the country’s first educational bean-to-bar chocolate lab, the institute offers classes that teach all about the creative process of chocolate.

Share Chocolate with Friends

Any day worth celebrating is worth enjoying and sharing with friends! National Chocolate Day is a great time to pick up a variety of chocolates and make plans to share them. Choose some chocolate bars to pass around to coworkers at the office, or grab a box of chocolates to share with the family at home.

Got a big chocolate lover in your life? Perhaps send them a gift of chocolate in honor of this day. It’s easy to use this opportunity as an excuse to give a gift!

Try Chocolate in Some New Recipes

Though many people only think of chocolate as something that should be enjoyed as a sweet dessert, there are plenty of delicious recipes out there that include chocolate as part of the flavors of a savory dish.

Perhaps, in honor of National Chocolate Day, it would be fun to try adding a bit of chocolate to every meal of the day! Here are some ideas for savory chocolate dishes to get started with:

• Cocoa Rubbed Baby Back Ribs. Create a rub for ribs that includes warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, complemented with flavors of mustard and cocoa powder blended together. 
• Chocolate Beef and Bean Chili. Chocolate has often been used as an ingredient in certain types of chili, and this one is super delicious as it is made with a chocolate stout beer, providing a unique flavor. 
• Gascon-Style Beef Stew with Chocolate. This hearty, French-style stew offers the delicious flavors of chocolate, Armagnac, and Madiran wine – or Pinot Noir for a lighter version of the stew. 
• Chicken with Poblano Mole Sauce. This most iconic mole sauce from Mexico offers flavors like ancho, pasilla and mulato chiles, along with warm spices and, of course, velvety smooth chocolate.

History of National Chocolate Day

Dating back more than 2000 years, chocolate seems to have originated in the Amazon where the cacao beans are made into a bitter-ish drink. Ancient Mayans and Olmecs of southern Mexico, as well as Aztecs were so enamored by the chocolate drink that some said that it must have come from the gods! Which is why it was likely used as a ceremonial drink at the time.

The name of the tree that produces the beans for making chocolate is Theobroma Cacao which, when translated, means “food of the gods”. It was named by taxonomist Carolus Linneaus who likely named it after the fact that Aztecs considered chocolate to have been something that was given by the gods.

By the time chocolate was discovered by Westerners in the New World and then made its way to Europe in the 1500s, it was something that was reserved for the wealthy and upper classes. It was not only enjoyed by them for taste reasons, but it had been discovered that the cocoa beans also had some health benefits!

Sugar was eventually added to the concoction and, as the product evolved over the next couple of centuries, it went from being only something that was made into a beverage but was developed into the eating chocolate that people enjoy today.

In the 19th century, along with the development of the industrial revolution, new processes came about that offered the opportunity to produce chocolate on a more regular basis. Of course, chocolate companies began cropping up in England, Europe and the United States. Fry & Sons created the world’s first chocolate bar in 1847.

Today, chocolate continues to be a huge industry, with cocoa beans grown in warm climates and exported to chocolate manufacturers all over the globe. Whether it’s the Hershey’s chocolate company in Pennsylvania, the Lindt company in Switzerland, or a smaller local chocolate company, it’s fun to enjoy access to this delicious treat.