CHOCOLATES

Who discovered the chocolate?

Chocolate invented 3,100 years ago by theAztecs - but they were trying to make beer. Scientists have discovered that chocolate was invented at least 3,100 years ago in Central America and not as the sweet treat people now crave, but as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol.

Chocolate comes from cocoa beans, which grew on trees in Central Americaand South America starting probably about 100 million years ago; cocoa trees may have gotten their start on the lower slopes of the Andes Mountains. Cocoa trees can only live in hot, rainy places near the Equator.

Why is it called chocolate?

Because the cocoa mass is usually liquefied before being molded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter.