Chocolate University Online Blog
Chocolate, a native to Mexico, has been a staple there for centuries already. Initially, they enjoyed chocolate as a drink. They made variations og chocolate by incorporating different flavors and ingredients such as honey, spices, and nuts, among many others. The chocolate beverages they made did not have a sweet taste to them. Nevertheless, it was well-loved by the Aztec and Mayan royalty.
The Aztecs were whipping up and enjoying their hot chocolate drinks when the Spaniards arrived. They took the cacao beans along with them as they headed home, and started enhancing the flavors by adding milk and sugar. You can trace the roots of the hot chocolate drink recipe back to that. Shortly thereafter, chocolate became all the rage in European royal places. Special china pots and cups were produced, intended only for drinking hot chocolate. Nowadays, such kitchenware are considered as collectors’ items and can sell for a fortune if they come in a complete set.
  Hot chocolate drinks are still enjoyed by the people of Mexico today, and the rest of the world, for that matter. They prepare it with cinnamon and authentic Mexican chocolate. And if you have access to a disk of Mexican chocolate in local Latino markets, then your chocolate drink gets all the more authentic. Otherwise, just opt for unsweetened chocolate.
And among the things that make a real Mexican hot chocolate such a winner is the frothiness. In contemporary times, mixers or immersion blenders are utilized to create froth, but the authentic way to do so is by means of using a whisk called molinillo.
A molinillo is a wooden tool which was invented by the Spaniards in the 17th century in Mexico. The molinillo is held between the palms and rotated by rubbing the palms together. By doing so, you create froth in the drink. Molinillo’s are actually still available even in this day and age. You can look them up and buy them online.
But before anybody was able to come up with the idea of creating the molinillo, they used to create froth by pouring hot chocolate back and forth using two cups. This certain frothing process tends to make hot chocolate cool down, and you wouldn’t want your hot chocolate cold, do you?
Today, frothy chocolate is made using machines. But if authentic Mexican hot chocolate is your thing, a molinillo can always come in handy! 
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: aztecs, chocolate drinks, chocolate facts, chocolate history, hot chocolate, mayans
Consumers of all ages (especially those 24-35 years of age, mostly women) across all USA are embracing specialty foods this year, according to a new report from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Needless to say, chocolate has always been popular. But now, chocolate has already triumphed over coffee as the top specialty food purchase.
For the time being, Chuao Chocolatier in San Diego County has won a sofi Gold award from the NASFT in the hot-beverage category for its Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate. The just-add-water hot chocolate drink is a blend of cinnamon, pasilla chile and cayenne pepper, giving a spicy finish to it. They all come together with a blend of premium 58 to 72 percent Venezuelan chocolate to make this particular beverage gourmet.
The progress of well-made artisan chocolate was unrelenting even during tough economic times, that’s why the emerging popularity of gourmet chocolate came as no surprise to Michael Antonorsi, president of Chuao. “We’ve been seeing the growth, and I was excited to see that chocolate was at the top of the list,” he said. “Ever since we started we have always had this culinary approach to chocolate. Our mission is to arouse your senses – to take it to a much higher level than (just) sweets or candy.”
“Economic challenges spell opportunity for the $70 billion specialty food industry,” said Ron Tanner, Vice President, Communications and Education for the NASFT. “Specialty foods like dark chocolate, artisanal cheeses and creative condiments have become an integral part of the culinary landscape and consumers continue to enjoy them.”
Chocolate reigns as the top specialty food purchases reported this year and olive oil and specialty oils come after it. Next come cheese, yogurt and kefir and then cold non-alcoholic beverages. Coffee ranks sixth. Farmers markets are ahead as a source for specialty food, but supermarkets still lead.
Again, chocolate is 2011′s number 1 specialty food. So let me see that smile on your face, you little chocoholic you! 
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate drinks, chocolate facts, favorite food, hot chocolate
Here’s are some facts and tidbits of the early history of the use of cacao tree, the main source of chocolate!
Chocolate was first developed in the area now called Mexico. In 1519 it was served during breakfast by emperor Moctezuma to his guest, Hernan Cortes Pizarro.
The Spanish conquistador was so impressed with the delicious taste of the “chocolatl” made from cocoa beans that he brought the recipe back home to Spain. He also brought cacao trees with him and he named it the precious tree.
The Spaniards added cane sugar to chocolate, which made it sweeter and tastier. In 1631, Colmenero de Ledesma, an Andalusia physician, published the first recipe for chocolate drink. Soon after, more chocolate drink recipes were created and became a stylish drink enjoyed by the rich.
Soon these chocolate discoveries began to travel to other European countries.
The first recognition of chocolate in England took place in 1657. It became visible in an advertisement as a West India drink that is readily available in a Frenchman’s house in Queenshead Alley. Since then, chocolate drinks have been very popular in England.
At present, chocolate remains popular in Mexico, Spain, and England, but it has spread to all corners of the world. Chocolate is beginning to play an essential role in the diets of people everywhere. Today we can find chocolate producers and consumers in nearly all countries.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate drinks, Hernan Cortes Pizarro, hot chocolate, Moctezuma, West India drink, world chocolate
This hot chocolate recipe is big enough to serve your entire crowd for a holiday party!
Cook it up, grab a mug, and share.
Austrian Style Hot Chocolate
• 30 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken in pieces
• 10 small strips of orange peel, finely grated
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 15 cups milk
• 2 1/2 cups whipping cream
• Grated chocolate or cocoa powder
• 30 cinnamon sticks (each approx. 3 inches long)
Combine chocolate, orange peel, ground cinnamon, and 3 tablespoons of milk in a saucepan and heat very gently until chocolate  melts, stirring frequently. Add remaining milk and heat through gently until piping hot, stirring frequently. Separately, whisk whipping cream until soft peaks form.
Pour hot chocolate into mugs or heatproof glasses. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with grated chocolate or cocoa powder and add a cinnamon stick to each one for stirring.
NOTE: Wrap a curly strip of orange peel around cinnamon sticks for a pretty effect, if desired. Serves 15 – 30, depending on size of mug or cup. |
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate drinks, cinnamon, hot chocolate, orange
 Back in 1909 Walter Baker & Co., Ltd. published a little book called Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes By Miss Parloa and Home Made Candy Recipes By Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill.
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.
The new version is for sale and immediate download at our Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes page. Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes, fun chocolate facts, shameless self promotion
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate candy, chocolate dessert, chocolate history, hot chocolate, nostalgia
I like kitchen gadgets, baking tools, and small appliances. Sometimes I even use them! (lol). I especially love chocolate paraphernalia.
 The molinillo (pronounced moh-lee-NEE-yoh) is the Mexican chocolate whisk. It is a “stirrer,” typically made of wood and used to froth warm drinks such as hot chocolate.
This tool was invented by the Spanish colonists in Mexico around the 1700′s. The first molinillos were made to fit into a container with the handle sticking out of the top. Then the user would rapidly rotate the molinillo between his/her palms. The twisting motion frothed the chocolate.
Not only is this little cutie useful, but it loads of fun, too. And it looks cool! It starts many conversations because my friends have to ask what it is and what I use it for.
I have a couple different molinillos but one in particular, the one pictured here, has an interesting story behind it.
When my son was born, a very good friend of the family who happened to be a local antique dealer, presented us with a baby gift. She called it a Victorian era baby rattle. The rattle is made of wood with circular discs surrounding the “neck” of the rattle and decorated with inlaid ivory. It has a long handle with carved geometric designs, beautifully stained and varnished. It looks attractive and interesting. Kind of a funny looking rattle, though.
Years go by and one day I am looking online to find a Mexican Hot Chocolate recipe. Embedded in the recipe is a link to view the recommended tool of choice, the molinillo, to froth up the chocolate drink. When I clicked on the link, several photos of different styles of molinillos popped up and HOLY SMOKES! there is my Victorian era “baby rattle” working hard to put a creamy head of foam on a mug of hot chocolate! I always thought it was a funny looking rattle!
Categories: chocolate gifts, fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate tools, hot chocolate
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