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Where did chocolate bars come from, when generations of people were drinking the chocolate in liquid form? Only after many centuries did the cocoa beans reach Europe. Obviously the beans were experimented with and was discovered that by adding sugar and various flavors of spices, fruit and nuts it became a delicious sweet substance.
It took a couple of nations to each add their expertise to the process of making chocolate bars. Each invention was obviously born from the desire to make more of the cocoa bean than just a drink. During the 1600’s Sir Hans Sloane added milk to the cocoa drink to make it lighter and give it a smoother taste. This caught on quickly and a better tasting cocoa drink was invented.
In 1657 the first Chocolate House of England was opened in London. These Chocolate Houses were later opened all over England and were run on the same grounds as coffee houses. People went there to relax, smoke a pipe and socialize over a cup of chocolate.
In later years a certain Frenchman invented a hydraulic machine to grind the cacao seeds into a paste. Then another Frenchman, named Dubuisson, invented a steam driven chocolate mill. Things were now becoming easier to refine the cocoa bean.
In 1828 a Dutchman by the name of Coenraad van Houten invented a press, which could squeeze the cocoa butter from the cocoa seeds. This was a great stride in chocolate making, as the chocolate could now be made much smoother, creamier and cheaper. This was the birth of solid chocolate and the chocolate bar. Now the cocoa paste and cocoa butter were separated and the cocoa butter could be added in much smaller amounts as desired.
Van Houten also found that by adding alkaline salts to the powdered chocolate it would make it darker in color, easier to mix with water and give it a milder flavor
It was only in 1849 that Joseph Storrs Fry, a chocolate maker produced the first chocolate bar. In 1875, a Swiss chocolate maker named Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle, who invented powdered milk, teamed up to put condensed milk in chocolate. This was a hit as it gave the chocolate a rich, creamy flavor not experienced before.
A couple of years later a guy name Rodolphe Lindt, a Swiss chocolatier, invented the conching machine, which blended the chocolate into a smooth delectable blend, which was ideal for making chocolate bars as there were no more lumps and grit in the chocolate.
In 1893 an American confectioner, Milton S. Hershey, discovered chocolate processing equipment at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He immediately bought the machinery and set up a factory in a small town in Pennsylvania, called Derry Church, to start making his chocolate bars.
He chose this spot as it was in the heart of dairy country where he could get easy access to milk, as he had planned to experiment with various ways of making milk chocolate bars. He started making the world’s finest milk chocolate in what ended up being the largest factory of its kind in the world.
During this period chocolate makers in Europe were also making huge strides in refining chocolate and producing chocolate bars with various flavors.
