Angels Camp, CA…With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it seems that chocolate and flowers will be in abundance. I thought I would share some fun chocolate facts and add a great recipe for a yummy chocolate dessert.

• It takes 400 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate
• Each tree produces 2, 500 cocoa beans
• How many pounds of chocolate can you get from one tree? If you answered 6 1/4 pounds you are correct!
• Chocolate comes from a fruit tree
• Milk and dark chocolate come from cacao trees, an evergreen, whose family include okra and cotton, making the most important part of the sweet treat a vegetable!!
• The bean was first cultivated around 1250 BCE
• Chocolate is made from a seed
• It takes farmers 4-5 years to produce the first cocoa bean on a tree
• Chocolate was used as currency by Aztecs and Mayans
• Chocolate is both native to Mexico and both Central and South America
• Chocolate has over 600 flavor compounds and red wine has just about 22
• Chocolate milk is an effective post workout recovery drink
• Death by chocolate actually occurred once in Mexico. A Spanish bishop banned chocolate during church services. Someone put poison into his beloved chocolate and when he ate it, he died! So technically, he did not die from chocolate itself, but actually he died from ingesting chocolate.
• White chocolate is not really a chocolate at all because it does not contain exact amounts of sugar, cocoa butter, butterfat, milk solids, lecithin and flavorings
• On the scientific side, it has been noted that chocolate makes us happy. Tryptophan influences endorphins which increase serotonin levels in our brains.
• Cocoa can ward off tooth decay. The natural occurring chemicals in the beans fight bacteria in the mouth. Just don’t add the sugar.
• German chocolate is not from Germany. It was named after Sam German who developed the recipe for dark baking chocolate beans used when baking a cake.
• Chocolate inspired the invention of the microwave. Percy Spence, a scientist working on a WW 11 radar weapon project had an affection for chocolate. He had some in his pocket and after having stood near a formidable device called a magnetron, he noticed the chocolate had turned to mus. He then put two and two together and realized magnetrons might be able to heat up food at a very fast rate, thus the microwave was born.
• Napolean demanded wine and chocolate be made available to him even in time of battle
• Marie Antionette loved hot chocolate and had it served daily in the Palace of Versaella
• July 7th is chocolate day! This day marks when the monks first brought chocolate to Europe on July 7, 1550
• July 28th is National Milk Chocolate Day
• September 13th is International Chocolate Day
• November 17th is International Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
• According to Monique Tueo MD Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School, the flavonoids in chocolate dilate the blood vessels and help prevent arteria stiffness and plaque build-up
• Eating three one-ounce squares of dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao a week successfully lowered risks of cardiovascular and other heart disease and printed in “Eating Well” magazine
• Research tells us that 10 out of 14 individuals like chocolate
• 1900 Milton Snavely Hersey introduced the original Hersey milk chocolate bar
• 1905 the Hersey Kiss was created
• 1908 Hersey Milk Chocolate Almond bar is on the market
• 1911 Franklin Clarence Mars enters the world of chocolate. He is famous for creating: M&M, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Milky Way, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Almond Joy, Mounds, York Peppermint Pasty, Pot of Gold, Kit Kats, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Whoppers
• 1971 The Special Dark Chocolate bar is born
• 1980 Big Block/ King Size versions of Hersey Chocolate bars are produced
• 1994 the Cookies-N-Cream bar is invented
• 2004 The limited edition of White Chocolate with Almonds bar is fashioned
And now that your mouth is watering for something chocolate, here is that great chocolate recipe

Big Bite Chocolate Brownies
2 sticks butter
Lb. dark chocolate coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream, Crème de Menthe, dessert wine or orange juice
4 eggs
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts ½ cup flour
1 ½ cups sugar
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a sheet of foil in the baking pan, 9×13, leaving a couple inches extending over the long sides of the pan. Butter the foil. Melt the chocolate, butter, your liquor of choice or juice over very low heat. Stir frequently so the chocolate does not scorch. When it is smooth and combined remove it from the heat and set it aside. Beat the eggs until they are foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating for a couple minutes. Set the mixer speed to low and slowly add the chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Add the nuts and stir until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool. Lift the foil by the long ends and invert it onto a plate. Gently peel the foil off. Invert the brownies again onto another plate, smooth side up. Cut into squares and serve. Happy Valentine’s Day. Jenny Baxter Jenny’s Kitchen