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What made us move to chocolate/candy business? |
A chocolate factory and a chocolate shop, dwelling in delight, or is it what we as kids dream about and than when we grow old we forget and serious business is chosen.
My thoughts go out to my dearest grandmother "Alida", who made chocolate by hand into unlimited delicious pralines. Memories like a movie picture, a little girl sharing sweets and chocolate with neighboring kids. For me a treat and now so real.
My husband, Mr. Anas Al Jazayri, and I share the same passion and interest for the business and have been working together in the distribution of sweets and chocolate. He suggested to have our own chocolate factory and manufacturig truly fine chocolate and opened our first chocolate shop as a \"boutique de chocolat\".
A dream came true, it all started with a big plan, it looks perfect and all shall see it, Thanks God!
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Chocolate Etymology |
The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztecs of Mexico, and is derived from the Nahuatl word xocolatl which is a combination of the words, xocolli, meaning "bitter", and atl, which is "water". The Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. Chocolate is also associated with the Maya god of fertility. Mexican philologist Ignacio Davila Garibi, proposed that "Spaniards had coined the word by taking the Maya word chocol and then replacing the Mayan term for water, haa, with the Aztec term, atl." However, it is more likely that the Aztecs themselves coined the term, having long adopted into Nahuatl the Mayan word for the "cacao" bean; the Spanish had little contact with the Maya before Cortés' early reports to the Spanish King of the beverage known as xocolatl. William Bright noted that the word xocoatl does not occur in early Spanish or Nahuatl colonial sources |
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Types of chocolate |
Alongside milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate are also common chocolate varieties
White chocolate is formed from a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids. Although its texture is similar to milk and dark chocolate, it does not contain any cocoa solids; thus not officially qualifying as chocolate. Because of this, many countries do not consider white chocolate as chocolate at all. Although first introduced by Hebert Candies in 1955, Mars, Incorporated was the first to produce white chocolate within the United States. Because it does not contain any cocoa solids, white chocolate does not contain any theobromine, meaning it can be consumed by animals
Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture. The U.S. Government calls this "sweet chocolate", and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties. Dark chocolate has also been said to reduce the possibility of a heart attack when consumed regularly in small amounts.[28] Semisweet chocolate is a dark chocolate with a low sugar content. Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin have been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking.
Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor
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