National Bittersweet Chocolate Day is on January 10 each year. Did you know that in ancient times, bittersweet chocolate was used as a medicine to treat a wide variety of diseases? Bittersweet chocolates are popular all over the world for their unique and intense flavor. It is used in all sorts of chocolate confections and desserts, and some think it’s even better when eaten as is!
If you belong to the small part of the population for whom the rich, sweet flavor of milk chocolate isn’t just enough to satisfy your chocolate craving, Happy National Bittersweet Chocolate Day!
Bittersweet chocolate is a type of chocolate that does not contain any milk. It is a blend of at least 35% cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and a minimal amount of sugar. It’s the ratio of cacao to sugar that determines whether the chocolate is bittersweet, semi-sweet, or sweetened. Bittersweet, or dark, chocolate is at least 70% cacao.
The history and origin of the National Bittersweet Chocolate Day are unknown, but the history of chocolates is extensive. According to research, chocolate was first discovered by the Aztec, who used grounded cocoa beans for cooking a bitter beverage. They often cooked it with corn and pepper and gave it a name: ‘xocolatl’. This is the origin of the modern name ‘chocolate’.
When Europeans were taking great voyages across the ocean, a few centuries back, they found the Aztec civilization and were introduced to ‘xocolatl’. However, they did not particularly like the bitter Aztec beverage. They took the cocoa seeds back to Europe and added sugar to the ground cocoa seeds. This gave birth to the chocolate we eat today.
After that, chocolate took many forms, shapes, flavors, and colors, and today we have hundreds of chocolate brands available to satisfy our cravings. So, do we need a special day to celebrate and indulge in chocolates, as we were already doing it daily? Well, bittersweet chocolate just gives us another reason to treat our taste buds.
