| A: When it contains less than 60% cocoa. Everything below that magical number is classified as confectionery as it consists of 80% sugar! This enlightening insight in the "History of Chocolate" was delivered on Monday by the eminent Jennipher Marshall-Jenkinson at the Club's evening meeting at the Odney Club in Cookham. Jennipher, who normally can be found as a guest speaker onboard cruise liners, gave us an entertaining lesson on the importance of cocoa. We were also challenged to taste the difference between a 'confectionery bar' and a proper chocolate bar. The cocoa trees were originally planted as a gift to the gods in Meso America. We could have had the indulgence in Europe a lot earlier if Christopher Columbus hadn't messed up! He was given cocoa beans as payment in exchange for goods as early as 1502, but didn't understand the importance of them. One ship load was destroyed as it was thought that the beans were sheep droppings. We had to wait until 1761 when Fry's built their first chocolate factory, followed by Cadbury. |  To produce ONE chocolate bar 400 cocoa beans are needed. The world's biggest chocolate bar weighing SIX tonnes was manufactured by Thorntons in 2011. |
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