Do you have it on your calendar? Sure, today is a Friday the 13th, but never fear, the antidote is right around the corner. May 15 each year is National Chocolate Chip day!
Of course this brings up the question, “Who invented the Chocolate Chip?” The answer is a very American story.
Here’s an excerpt from our own chocolate lesson #12 which is dedicated to the chocolate chip…
…The better question is, “Who invented the chocolate chip cookie?” It’s a better question because it really all started with the cookie.
Ruth Graves Wakefield is credited with having invented the first chocolate chip cookie in the 1930s.
Ruth, along with her husband Kenneth, owned the Toll House Inn, near Whitman, Massachusetts.
The most popular version of the story goes like this:
One day Ruth was making a cookie recipe and found she had to substitute semisweet chocolate for the baker’s chocolate. She had a chocolate bar which she chopped into small pieces, thinking they would melt into the dough just like the baker’s chocolate always did.
But, much to her surprise, when she took the cookies from the oven, the small chocolate bits had not completely melted. They only softened. Her new “chocolate chip” cookie turned out to be a big hit with her guests!
The semi-sweet chocolate bar that Ruth used had come from the Nestle Chocolate Company. As the Toll House Inn chocolate chip cookie recipe became popular, sales of Nestle’s semi-sweet chocolate bar increased.
Nestle and Ruth Wakefield struck a deal. Nestle would print the Toll House Cookie recipe on its packaging, and Ruth Wakefield would receive a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate! How about that for a deal, a chocolate lover’s dream!
Today, Nestle produces around 250 million chocolate chips – every single day! And, about 25% of all cookies baked in the United States are chocolate chip cookies!
Now you know some history of this great national holiday.
A few weeks ago I was interviewed for an article with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. That article appeared in the print version yesterday and online the day before.
There’s some great information about tasting chocolate as well as pairing chocolate and wine. Click this link for the full chocolate and wine article.
At the time of the interview they also captured some video as I gave a 2-minute chocolate tasting. Watch it below.
In the video I talk briefly about tasting a milk chocolate and then a dark chocolate.
It’s tough to get all the details about chocolate tasting in just a couple minutes. That’s one reason to enjoy a comprehensive chocolate education at Chocolate University Online. The first 10 lessons are all about tasting chocolate.
North Star Fine Coffees is introducing a new coffee that is designed for students of Chocolate University Online and chocolate lovers with a keen sense of taste.
“Simply Decadent” is not a chocolate flavored coffee, but rather is a coffee designed to pair well with chocolates and chocolate desserts.
I have tried Simply Decadent with dark chocolate and it’s amazing. I have also had it with a variety of chocolate desserts (the chocolate cheesecake was amazing) and breakfast items (like pancakes with chocolate chips) and it’s been fantastic!
Here’s the good news… Chocolate University Online has negotiated a deal to give you a sneak peak of this coffee, for no cost, with special arrangement from North Star Fine Coffees.
To get your free sample (enough to make 10 cups) of this premium grade 1 coffee, click the link above. Then look for the “tell us your coffee story” button on the right side. Click it. Provide your shipping information and a story about coffee.
Important: So that you get a sample of the right coffee, type in “P.S. send me Simply Decadent.”
You’ll get great coffee even if you miss this step, but if you want to be among the first to try a great new premium coffee at no cost, make sure you put in the P.S. That’s how they will know to deliver the right coffee to you.
And there is truly no cost, not even a shipping charge. We want you to be able to try this coffee because once you do, you’ll be hooked! (Sorry, this offer is only valid for U.S. delivery.)
If you’re already a Chocolate University Online student go ahead and pair your favorite chocolate from lesson 10 with Simply Decadent. I’d be curious about your experience.
If you are not a Chocolate University Online student then consider joining us. You’ll develop your own chocolate tasting profile and learn how to pair chocolate with food and wine, and coffee too.
Those two things, Mother’s Day and Chocolate, just fit together nicely, don’t they?
Mother’s Day is celebrated on different days and different months depending on which country you live in. In the United States, it is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May.
We can thank Anna Jarvis for this great day. She is the one credited for founding Mothers Day in the US.
How do you choose the perfect chocolate for Mom?
The choices are plentiful (overwhelming, really) and if you have not gone chocolate shopping in a while, you will be amazed at the variety of exotic new flavors and the gourmet quality of old classics.
Narrow down the choices by focusing on Mom’s fondness:
Floral: try chocolate truffles made with lavender, rose or my favorite, orange and geranium!
Tea: milk chocolate made with flavored teas and chai spices are absolutely delicious.
Fire: chili peppers added to chocolate bring out the intensity of the chocolate and of course, give it a kick.
Savory: don’t judge a book by its cover: chocolate with crystallized ginger, mushroom ganache or goat cheese taste better than you think.
Posh: opening a gift box of molded chocolates decorated with sprayed on cocoa butter designs, gold, and glitter will take her breath away. They might look too beautiful to eat, but do it anyway. They taste just as good as they look.
Now pair that scrumptious chocolate with a series of chocolate lessons to keep the experience lingering long after Mother’s Day and you’ve got a real winner of a gift!
“Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can!”
-author unknown
The staff here at Chocolate University Online have created a special 100th anniversary edition of this book and released it in a PDF download format.
In addition to the original text and 138 recipes, the book contains an all new introduction by CUO staff. We also took each of the pictures and moved them to the same page as their corresponding recipes. It’s much more convenient to see the picture right there rather than looking at various photo pages to get an idea of the finished product.
Furthermore, we added a great new alphabetical index. Now if you know the name of the recipe you’ll be able to find it quickly. That makes the book much friendlier than the original which, quite uselessly, listed all recipes in page number order.
Today I caught myself absent-mindedly jumping from website to website (I think this is the equivalent to channel surfing) when I landed on a site dedicated to listing American holidays. What really caught my attention was the list of American FOOD Holidays. Hey, did you know that each day of the year has an assigned food to worship?
Here are some examples:
January 16 — National Fig Newton Day
February 7 — National Fettuccine Alfredo Day
March 23 — National Chip and Dip Day
April 6 — National Caramel Popcorn Day
May 7 — National Roast Leg of Lamb Day
And so on…
That all sounds real good, but as a lover of all things chocolate, a subset of the master list fits my style better:
National Chocolate Mint Day — February 19
National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day — March 24
National Chocolate Chip Day — May 15
National Chocolate Ice Cream Day — June 7
National Chocolate Eclair Day — June 22
National Chocolate Pudding Day — June 26
National Milk Chocolate Day — July 28
National Chocolate Milkshake Day — September 12
National Chocolate Day — October 28
National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day — November 7
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day — December 16
National Chocolate Day — December 28
National Chocolate Day — December 29
As I write this blog, October 28 is coming up fast – National Chocolate Day. Notice, there is not one, but THREE National Chocolate Days. That’s more days than the number of national days set aside for Christmas. Of course, you may like to recognize the Twelve Days of Christmas. In that case three National Chocolate Days comes in second.
Take another look at the list and you’ll see this doesn’t even count Valentine’s Day, Easter, Sweetest Day, or Halloween – four more holidays that often result in the giving and consumption of chocolate!
Do you want a clever and unique idea on how to celebrate National Chocolate Day? Give the gift of chocolate lessons. As a student of Chocolate University Online, you or your special someone will receive a chocolate lesson filled with facts and fun EACH WEEK for 40 weeks, spanning across many chocolate holidays! That’s even more excitement than the 12 Days of Christmas!
Remember that fun excuse, “My dog ate my homework?” Everyone knew it wasn’t true, yet it always made the rounds, year after year, at least in jest if not seriously…
Well, that excuse isn’t very good at Chocolate University Online. Since your homework is chocolate, you’d better hope your dog doesn’t eat it! We’d hate for you to get behind on your homework tending to a sick dog.
But now, as kids are heading back to school, perhaps there is a new excuse to consider, “My Husband Ate My Homework!“ You bet, when chocolate is around, someone is going to eat it. And, as a student at CUO you’ll have chocolate lying around.
To commemorate this grand excuse we’ve introduced the “My Husband Ate My Homework!” t-shirt. You can find this in our chocolate store. Look closely and you’ll also see you can get a “My Wife Ate My Homework!” t-shirt as well. Maybe this t-shirt is even more accurate as the wife is actively prowling for chocolate.
Finally, though not so much an excuse, but a declaration, we have another t-shirt of similar style available. It tells anyone coming near to, “Eat Your Own Homework!“ Leave your hands off mine. Or maybe the same phrase expresses your excitement that you get to “Eat Your Own Homework!” Whatever it means to you, share it with a fun t-shirt from Chocolate University Online.
Get any of these funs shirts for yourself or as gifts for any chocolate lovers. You’ll find these shirts in our chocolate store.
The school year is done. Nothing new is on TV. It’s too hot to be outside. You don’t want to spend another day at the mall. And just sitting around doing nothing in the air conditioning one more day doesn’t sound very appealing either.
Is this how your summer goes? While the school year might be September to June (roughly speaking anyway), there’s nothing that says you can’t start studying something fun this summer. You can get started right now by enrolling yourself in chocolate school!
Imagine the benefits…
You can sign up right now and get started on your first lesson immediately, from the comfort of your living room.
Each week you’ll get a new lesson to expand upon your increasing chocolate knowledge.
For each of the first ten weeks you’ll be learning to taste chocolate so those trips to grocery store or mall can have a new twist, the goal of finding interesting chocolate!
You’ll have some purpose for that “alone time” before someone else starts their daily noise making.
Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. What could be better to have your mind on anyway?
No doubt there are social events with friends and family coming up. How about taking some of your new-found chocolate knowledge to impress others? Or maybe you’ll want to make a new recipe that you discover as a bonus in one of the lessons. (You don’t want to take the same dessert you took last year do you?) Or take along your new favorite candy bar to share.
Chocolate just makes everything more fun, so put yourself in summer school this year, chocolate summer school. The best type of school you can imagine. Yes, you get to eat your homework!
Chocolate University Online is where your chocolate studies will begin. And, you don’t even have to give the teacher an apple. Of course she does accept bribes of chocolate!
Chocolate University Online is dedicated to chocolate lovers who want to learn more about their favorite food.
As this blog post is being written, our new website is about to be launched. Be sure to take a look at our course offerings, our store items, and get our free ebook.
Come back to the blog frequently to learn more about chocolate. And, by all means, send your friends. (We’d appreciate your links too!)
Thanks for visiting and we look forward to having you in class.
Back in 1909 Walter Baker & Co., Ltd. published a little book called 
May 7 — National Roast Leg of Lamb Day
But now, as kids are heading back to school, perhaps there is a new excuse to consider, “My Husband Ate My Homework!“ You bet, when chocolate is around, someone is going to eat it. And, as a student at CUO you’ll have chocolate lying around. 
