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Chocolate is the most widely and frequently craved food. The earliest documented use of chocolate drinks was found in remains of pottery from the lower Ulua Valley in northern Honduras dating around 1100 BC. The Maya and Aztecs made a beverage known as xocolatl which means "bitter water". Chocolate is also associated with the Mayan god of fertility.

Chocolate is a food that contains a range of nutrients--including not only fats and sugar, but also is a rich source of magnesium and phosphorus and other carbohydrates and proteins . Chocolate is very much like wine and beer, you have to develop an appreciation for the richness of the product to appreciate the subtleties in the origin of the fruit or grain it is derived from. It is also a symbol of sweetness and innocence and is frequently used to enhance moods. Although it is not an aphrodisiac, it contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love. Chocolate is supposed to be heart healthy, even though it has a lot of fat. It is a mild stimulant to humans mainly due to the presence of theobromine.

Chocolate is the product of a long, complicated refining process starting with the cream-colored bitter beans that grow in pods of the tree Theobroma cacao which contain a family of compounds known as methylxanthines. The seeds are in the Cacao pod that grows year round on trees from Central and South America. Each pod holds 30 to 40 Cacao seeds and it takes 20 to 25 pods (each with 30-40 seeds) to get 2 pounds of cocoa. The average adult trees produce 300 to 1,000 pounds per year per acre of cocoa for about 50 years. After roasting and grinding the product, what we know as cocoa, is combined with the fats such as cocoa butter (natural vegetable fat from the cacao bean) and some sugar to get chocolate.

Chocolate is very sensitive to temperature and humidity and so it is best kept at around 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the normal temperature of a pantry or dark cabinet. The natural taste of the Cacao seed is bitter and must be fermented to develop the flavor. Chocolate is a special mixture of the cocoa solid with the cocoa butter at a specific temperature, and cooled down in a special way. Chocolate is tempered when its temperature is between 84deg F and 88deg F (29 deg and 31deg C). Making good chocolate is about forming the most of the type V crystals. Generally, the chocolate is first heated to 45 C (113 F) to melt all six forms of crystals. Then the chocolate is cooled to about 27 C (80 F), which will allow crystal types IV and V to form (VI takes too long to form).

At this temperature, the chocolate is agitated to create many small crystal "seeds" which will serve as nuclei to create small crystals in the chocolate. High-quality chocolate is conched for about 72 hours, lesser grades about four to six hours. A conche is an agitator that evenly distributes cocoa butter within the chocolate, and may act as a 'polisher' of the particles. It also promotes flavor development through frictional heat and release of volatiles.

The chocolate is then heated to about 31 C (88 F) to eliminate any type IV crystals, leaving just the type V. The classic way of manually tempering chocolate is working the molten chocolate on a heat-absorbing surface, such as a stone slab, until thickening indicates the presence of sufficient crystal "seeds". The chocolate is then gently warmed to working temperature.

Fancy chocolate candies have been the inspiration of artists that make wonderful yummy looking creative chocolate candies that are not for eating since they are made of either polymer clay, glass or textile mixed media.

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