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Chocolate: It's not just for your Valentine
The holidays serve as a good excuse to indulge in your favorite food or dessert. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, one can't escape the temptation to delve into some chocolate. While more than $1 billion of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day alone, chocolate is enjoyed all year round by almost everyone.
For the history, health benefits, science, myths, business and addictive, literary and aphrodisiac qualities behind the cacao (pronounced kah KOW) bean, visit CBC News Online at http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/valentines. Its chocolate timeline eloquently explains why the treat has had universal appeal for more than 3,000 years!
Explore the sweet lure of chocolate even further with the Field Museum's "All about Chocolate" exhibit at http://www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/about.html. Details of chocolate's role in religion and romance reveal how eating chocolate has taken on symbolic significance throughout history. You'll discover how cultures around the world have used chocolate and its botanical source, cacao, to worship gods, win political favor and woo loved ones. For those interested in how cacao seeds turn into delicious chocolate, this site takes you through the fascinating process—from the tropical rainforest to the factory floor. And don't miss the Just for Kids section where you can download puzzles, wordplays and recipes, and even make a virtual chocolate bar.
Visit Hershey's Web site at http://www.hersheys.com/discover/ to read about Milton Hershey, the famous entrepreneur who created the popular milk chocolate bar. Kids will have fun with the wealth of games and trivia in the Kid's Corner section at http://www.hersheys.com/syrup/kids/index.asp. And whether you're a baking pro or a dessert newbie, you'll find the baking hints and tips resourceful.
The Exploratorium museum has an online exhibit on the sweet science of chocolate at http://www.exploratorium.edu/chocolate/. A unique feature is the virtual tour of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Makers factory. You can listen to scientists explain the chemical properties of chocolate, while discovering why it may be good for your health.
Tales of chocolate's medicinal benefits stem far back. According to one physician as early as 1652, with "the wise and moderate use of chocolate, health is preserved, sicknesse diverted and cured." The database Early English Books Online (EEBO) at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/eeb.html provides access to such treatises. A simple keyword or subject search on the word chocolate retrieves documents explaining the virtues of consuming the sweet, as well as details about the early cacao trading industry.
A cup of hot cocoa may be the best accompaniment while investigating these delightful Web sites. It doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to enjoy this decadent treat.
—Laura Taddeo, University Libraries