Written By Sam Henselijn
Chocolate Mint For The Win. When we talk about chocolate and mint treats, we mean business. But before digging into why you indulge in some chocolate mint delicacy, we want to go back in time and talk a little bit about their history.
Chocolate comes from cacao, and these plants have been growing in Mexico more than 4,000 years ago. The earliest civilizations turned the plants into chocolate and used it as medicine but also during ritual ceremonies. It is the explorer Hernán Cortés who was the first man to bring chocolate to Spain in 1528 (he was initially looking for gold and diamonds). There, the cacao seeds started to be mixed with sugar and honey to soothe the naturally bitter taste. No need to say that it turned quickly into a huge success and even the Catholic monks started drinking it!
Chocolate Travel
It took nearly a century for chocolate to travel through Europe:
it was a delicacy only accessible to the privileged and only small quantities traveled at first. When the French court discovered it, they decided to acquire cacao plantations along the equator and other nations followed their lead.
The cacao process was slow and tedious before the Industrial Revolution. But in 1828, the chocolate press was invented and changed the course of the product’s history. The machine allowed to squeeze the cocoa butter from the roasted cacao beans, leaving only a fine cocoa powder behind. Mixed with liquids, then poured into a mold, this is how edible chocolate bars were created!
Chocolate Mint For The Win
Fun Facts About Chocolate:
- We need 400 cocoa beans to create one pound of chocolate.
- In West Africa, there are approximately 1.5 million cocoa farms and 70% come from this region.
- Cacao trees produce about 2,500 beans each.
- Chocolate companies own most cocoa farms.
- The Aztec emperor Montezuma allegedly drank 50 cups of cacao a day.
- About 50 million people around the world depend on cocoa for their livelihood.
Chocolate offers amazing possibilities to create different treats, cakes, and desserts.
Mint
Mint is also one of the most popular flavors in the entire world!
It has been cultivated since Antiquity for its medicinal properties (we found leaves in an Egyptian grave). Originally from Europe, today it is all around the world and we count no less than 600 different species.
Mint is used as an aromatic plant to cook and in phytotherapy and aromatherapy (it contains 44 to 83% of menthol, providing a sense of cold that can relieve pain).
During the 16th in Europe, people started to use mint in chocolate beverages to make them less bitter. In 1940, Henry Kessler invented the first Peppermint Patty. In 1951, chocolate mints were one of three cookies sold by the Girl Scouts. The first original chocolate mint ice cream was made in 1973 by Marilyn Rickets, a culinary student in England.
Since then, many pastries experts created amazing treats mixing these two ingredients.
On National Chocolate Mint Day, on February 19th, we love to celebrate with some mint cookie malted balls.
Let’s dig into things a bit more.
Depending on the quality that you get, chocolate is extremely nutritious (but you have to choose high-quality dark cacao). It
contains fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium! Dark chocolate with organic compounds also has polyphenols, flavonols, and catechins. These ingredients help blood flow but also lower blood pressure.
Chocolate can reduce insulin resistance and help the prevention of heart diseases and diabetes. Its flavanols can also protect against sun damage and increase skin density and hydration.
On the other hand, mint also contains antioxidants, vitamins A and C to help get rid of bacteria in case of an infection. Mint leaves included in your diet can help you reduce your appetite, ease digestion, stop hiccups, improve eyesight, strengthen the bones, boost the immune system and help fall asleep.
Chocolate & Mint
Because chocolate and mint are such interesting ingredients, we love to create recipes with them, such as the mint cookie bites.
We also love to mix nuts with chocolate, in particular almonds. They are full of antioxidants and nutrients. They lower cholesterol and help with blood sugar regulation. Because of their texture, we can make delicious crunchy chocolate snacks with them.
So eating a treat like the candy cane almonds is not only good for your morale but also your body! You have many options to choose from and enjoy yourself.
Be careful though how your store these treats, they are very delicate. We recommend you place them in the fridge to preserve the smell and texture and away from direct sunlight.
But for mint chocolate treats, choose a dry, cool place, ideally between 65 and 70 degrees F. Place your chocolates in an air-tight container and keep them away from direct light.
Sam Henselijn Author’s Biography – Meet L’Orenta Nuts CEO
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