The history of chocolate and how we create Keto Chocolate…
We’ve got a secret to tell you. The Keto Goodies chocolate items in our range celebrate nearly 4000 years of chocolate making. It’s a rich craft with a long history. As we celebrate World Chocolate Day, Keto Goodies is celebrating all things deliciously chocolatey. Read on for more about the history of chocolate and how we keep our treats tasting sweet….
Chocolate is one of the world’s favourite foods, but have you ever thought…where does chocolate come from? How is chocolate made? And, what is in our Keto Goodies chocolate products?
A Short History of Chocolate
The first known chocolate was produced by the ancient Olmecs of Southern Mexico. It was consumed as a bitter ceremonial drink for special occasions. This knowledge was passed on to the Mayans, who developed its usage including adding chili pepper, honey and water to produce a more enjoyable beverage. Later in history, the Aztecs were even more obsessed with chocolate. They used cacao beans as trading currency and it was worth more than gold!
When the Europeans set sail for the Americas, it wasn’t long before they came into contact with cacao beans and chocolate. There are conflicting reports as to who discovered it first, but by the late 1500s, records show that the royal courts in Spain were enjoying this imported chocolate. As popularity soared in Europe, plantations were developed to farm cacao trees and the product developed too, as hot chocolate became a sensation with the addition of cane sugar and cinnamon.
In the middle of the 19th Century, J.S. Fry and Sons managed to create the first molded chocolate bar and then a few decades later, the Nestle Company brought milk chocolate to the world. Big family chocolate companies followed, including Lindt, Cadbury, Mars and Hershey, all of which are still household names.
How is Chocolate Made?
Chocolate is made from roasted and ground cacao seeds, from the cacao trees of Central and South America. Straight from the tree, cacao seeds are incredibly bitter, so they are fermented, dried, cleaned and roasted to create a better flavour. Once the shell is removed, cocoa nibs are ground into cocoa mass, it is heated and this chocolate liquor is cooled and processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The baking chocolate that we use at Keto Goodies contains a mix of these cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
What About Keto Goodies?
From chocolate cake to muffins, macaroons to our famous choco fudgy brownies, we love creating recipes with chocolate. And because we don’t add any extra sugar, we add a hint of sweetness with naturally found sugar substitutes such as Monk fruit or erythritol. It means your chocolate Keto Goodies are sweet, delicious and low-carb.
Why not try a few chocolatey treats and see for yourself? Head over to our order page here