The Aztecs used cacao beans as currency and 100 would have bought you a slave.
Chocolate has a melting point just below human body temperature, which is why it melts in your mouth.
The famous chocolate river in the original “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” was actually made from real chocolate, cream, and water – which after 4 days of filming had a decidedly distinctive smell!
These were just 3 of the fascinating facts shared by our speaker, Juliette Jahaj, who attended our February meeting to tell us `All About Chocolate`.
After a brief outline of her career as a Food Scientist, she took us through the history of chocolate consumption from its original use as a drink, to the introduction of the solid chocolate bar by Joseph Fry & Sons in 1847 and ending with the multimillion pound industry it is today.
This included the moment that many of us had been waiting for when we enjoyed a variety of tastings, focussing on the differences between samples with varying amounts of cocoa solids.
We also explored other aspects of food production and analysis including the use of the Electronic Tongue to spare human analysts the task of tasting pet food and the crunch -o-meter to assess the crunchiness of crisps. It was an enlightening and interesting meeting.
Later in the month a `Winter Warmer` event brightened the cold February days when around 40 ladies gathered for a fish and chip lunch followed by a mini-quiz .
At our March meeting we`ll be welcoming Martin Heard with a talk titled “The Gardens of Impressionism”. Although we tend to associate Monet and other Impressionists with their art , this talk will also explore their interest in gardens and gardening. Sounds interesting? Visitors are welcome.
Marilyn Wells
