Uploaded January 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Here is the first episode of our new series : Food Facts - Chocolate! If you like it please like and comment the video! And for even more Food Facts about Chocolate, read our article on the blog foodpeopleplaces.com/food-facts-chocolate !
#1 Aztec and Mayan origins of Chocolate
The ancient Maya are believed to be the first people to regularly grow cacao trees and drink chocolate. While Cacao is a Maya word meaning God food, the word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word “xocoatl". During Aztecs and Mayans times, cacao was a common offering as it was considered to be the drinks of gods: cocoa was crushed to form a paste, then mixed with blood from the person doing the offering (he pierced his tongue or ear for that purpose).
#2 Chocolate as An Aristocratic Beverage
After having been brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus, chocolate was in fact consumed as a liquid, not a solid, for 90% of its history. It was considered as a medecine, served in a really small cup with a lot of spices (such as cinnamon, chili) and water, and reserved for the rich people.
#3 The magical properties of Chocolate
Chocolate contains a chemical called phenylethylamine that releases certain “pleasure” endorphins in the brain, similar to how people feel when they’re in love.
#4 Over 600 flavor compounds
A recent analysis found that the individual aroma molecules in roasted cacao beans can smell of everything from cooked cabbage to human sweat to raw beef fat. Together, more than 600 of these flavor compounds melt together in just the right combination to yield the taste and scent of what we all call chocolate, according to Peter Schieberle, a food chemist at Munich Technical University and director of the German Research Center for Food Chemistry. That’s three times more flavor compounds than red wine…
#5 Melting on your tongue
Chocolate is the only edible substance that melts under 37°C, that’s why it melts in the mouth. Cocoa butter melts at just below average body temperature and therefore it is easily desolved into the skin, making it the ideal foundation in moisturising creams and other such products.
#6 White chocolate isn’t chocolate
In order to be classified as real chocolate, a product has to contain cocoa solids or cocoa liquor. White "chocolate" contains cocoa butter instead.
#7 World Bestselling Chocolate Bar
Snickers holds the top spot for the bestselling chocolate bar in the world. Made by Mars, Incorporated, Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion. The peanut, caramel and chocolate bar was named after the Mars family’s favorite horse when it was introduced in 1942.
#8 Explosive
At one point the Nazis plotted to assassinate Winston Churchill with an exploding bar of chocolate.
#9 And Smart!
Research published last year showed a high correlation between a nation’s chocolate intake and the number of Nobel Prizes it wins.
#10 Nutella
Nutella was invented by an italian pastry, Pietro Ferrero, who after WWII used hazelnuts from Piemont, its region, to extend his poor stock of cocoa. To suit every national taste and habits, it differs according to the country: French one being softer and less chocolated, while German one is more compact and cocoa enriched (German bread being harder and with stronger taste).
Now you can still eat it, but do you see it the same way after those Food Facts about Chocolate?
You like this series? Tell us in the comments what you want to know about next!
Here is the first episode of our new series : Food Facts - Chocolate! If you like it please like and comment the video! And for even more Food Facts about Chocolate, read our article on the blog foodpeopleplaces.com/food-facts-chocolate !
#1 Aztec and Mayan origins of Chocolate
The ancient Maya are believed to be the first people to regularly grow cacao trees and drink chocolate. While Cacao is a Maya word meaning God food, the word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word “xocoatl". During Aztecs and Mayans times, cacao was a common offering as it was considered to be the drinks of gods: cocoa was crushed to form a paste, then mixed with blood from the person doing the offering (he pierced his tongue or ear for that purpose).
#2 Chocolate as An Aristocratic Beverage
After having been brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus, chocolate was in fact consumed as a liquid, not a solid, for 90% of its history. It was considered as a medecine, served in a really small cup with a lot of spices (such as cinnamon, chili) and water, and reserved for the rich people.
#3 The magical properties of Chocolate
Chocolate contains a chemical called phenylethylamine that releases certain “pleasure” endorphins in the brain, similar to how people feel when they’re in love.
#4 Over 600 flavor compounds
A recent analysis found that the individual aroma molecules in roasted cacao beans can smell of everything from cooked cabbage to human sweat to raw beef fat. Together, more than 600 of these flavor compounds melt together in just the right combination to yield the taste and scent of what we all call chocolate, according to Peter Schieberle, a food chemist at Munich Technical University and director of the German Research Center for Food Chemistry. That’s three times more flavor compounds than red wine…
#5 Melting on your tongue
Chocolate is the only edible substance that melts under 37°C, that’s why it melts in the mouth. Cocoa butter melts at just below average body temperature and therefore it is easily desolved into the skin, making it the ideal foundation in moisturising creams and other such products.
#6 White chocolate isn’t chocolate
In order to be classified as real chocolate, a product has to contain cocoa solids or cocoa liquor. White "chocolate" contains cocoa butter instead.
#7 World Bestselling Chocolate Bar
Snickers holds the top spot for the bestselling chocolate bar in the world. Made by Mars, Incorporated, Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion. The peanut, caramel and chocolate bar was named after the Mars family’s favorite horse when it was introduced in 1942.
#8 Explosive
At one point the Nazis plotted to assassinate Winston Churchill with an exploding bar of chocolate.
#9 And Smart!
Research published last year showed a high correlation between a nation’s chocolate intake and the number of Nobel Prizes it wins.
#10 Nutella
Nutella was invented by an italian pastry, Pietro Ferrero, who after WWII used hazelnuts from Piemont, its region, to extend his poor stock of cocoa. To suit every national taste and habits, it differs according to the country: French one being softer and less chocolated, while German one is more compact and cocoa enriched (German bread being harder and with stronger taste).
Now you can still eat it, but do you see it the same way after those Food Facts about Chocolate?
You like this series? Tell us in the comments what you want to know about next!
