By Kayla Good, Senior
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Courtesy of Mentalfloss.com
National Chocolate Day, held on January 28th, celebrates the entire world’s favorite flavor. This national day is held each year and is an entire day all about chocolate. Some other countries dedicate other dates, such as July 7th and December 28th, as the “National Chocolate Day.” From dark chocolate to white chocolate, the iconic flavor is held as many people’s favorite throughout the world.
Chocolate is made from extracted elements of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. The cacao tree has been cultivated for at least three millennia according to National Day Calendar. It can be found in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America. The first cacao seed was found in 1100 B.C. and has been planted ever since! These cacao plants, however, contain an extremely bitter flavor that is not too pleasing to taste. Therefore, it requires a lot of fermentation to develop a sweet, enjoyable flavor. The cacao beans are extracted from the plant and go through a process of fermentation and are then dried, cleaned and roasted. After this, the shell is removed to create cacao nibs, which are grounded into cocoa mass to create pure chocolate. The chocolate is usually liquified and then molded into different forms with other ingredients to create different flavors, textures, and shapes.
How should you celebrate? Simple - visit your favorite restaurant, store, bakery, and pick up some chocolate! You could even host your very own Chocolate Tasting Party and invite some friends over. Besides, you deserve it, and chocolate has many benefits, such as stress relief, lower cholesterol, lower levels of anxiety, and much more. Some great, chocolatey desserts include lava cake, fudge, chocolate oat bars, fudge brownies, more to enjoy. Happy National Chocolate Day!
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